David Gray insists Hibernian can rise to the occasion in Warsaw next week and overturn a first-leg deficit in their UEFA Conference League play-off round tie.
Josh Mulligan’s 87th minute goal kept Hibs’ hopes alive after Jean-Pierre Nsame’s penalty and a Pawel Wszolek strike had given Legia a 2-0 half-time lead at Easter Road last night.
Gray believes Mulligan’s strike could yet prove to be a turning point in their bid to reach the league phase of the tournament which would be worth around £4.5million to the club.
The Hibs manager also takes heart from his team’s previous away performances in Europe this season which saw them draw 1-1 with Midtjylland in Denmark and beat Partizan Belgrade 2-0 in Serbia.
‘It’s a huge goal from Josh,’ said Gray. ‘It gives us belief and momentum. From what I’ve seen, we are still very much in this tie.
‘We need to believe we can go to Poland and turn it around next Thursday. We’ve already shown we can produce good levels of performance away from home in Europe this season.
Gray was happy with his side’s second-half showing and retains belief they can progress
Mulligan wheels away after his late strike changed the complexion of the tie for Hibs
Legia were awarded a first-half penalty after a VAR review ruled Bushiri had handled in the box
‘No one gave us much of a chance away to Midtjylland or Partizan Belgrade but the players got positive results in both games.
‘I thought the players started well tonight and went toe-to-toe with a good Legia side who reached the quarter-finals of the tournament last season.
‘There is a lot of football still to be played in the tie. We are only one behind and that’s something we can easily change over there.
‘We created lots of chances and we need to make sure we take more of them when they come.’
Hibs went behind to a controversial penalty in the 34th minute following Rocky Bushiri’s handball, with the home team’s coaching staff adamant there was an offside from the visitors in the run-up to the incident.
Gray added: ‘I don’t know if they’ve seen it as a second phase, whatever phase, when that phase of play starts.
‘I do think it is offside, I don’t know if that counts in that phase, but at the same time, I’ve not seen it back with the lines or anything like that, so I’m not going to sit and moan about decisions that I can’t affect now.
‘I say that all the time, one thing I don’t do is moan about refereeing decisions, so I try and worry about things I can affect, which is my team’s performance.
Campbell heads a decent chance over the bar, one of many spurned opportunities for Hibs
‘But again, I’ll just reiterate to the players, as I’ve just done, there’s a lot to be positive about.
‘I’ll never accept losing games of football, but it’s slightly different over two legs because it is only half-time in the tie.
‘And listen, it’s all to play for going over there, because there is only one goal in it. We’ve got the momentum now after back of that goal.’
Legia Warsaw head coach Edward Iordanescu was unsurprisingly satisfied with an outcome which makes his team heavy favourites to progress next week.
‘I have to congratulate my players on a very important result,’ said Iordanescu. ‘I’m very happy with the performance. But I’m also a little bit frustrated we missed chances to make it 3-0 and it finished 2-1.
‘It is very difficult to play here against a physical and intense team who are well supported from the stands. Now we have to fight again in the home game. With the support of our fans, I’m confident we will be able to qualify.’
