On-form Hibs’ striker Florian Kamberi insists that the players won’t go to Greece next week trying to defend their 3-2 lead against Asteras Tripolis.
Attack is the best form of defence these days for Hibs who have scored an incredible 20 goals in their last four competitive games but have also conceded 12.
The Swiss star has been excellent since he joined the club on loan in January before making the move permanent in the summer.
The supporters have taken Kamberi to their hearts and even composed their own song about him based on the tune ‘The lion sleeps tonight.’
Should Hibs avoid defeat in Tripolis, they are likely to face Norwegian side Molde in the third qualifying round and Kamberi believes they will achieve this because Hibs proved that they are a better side.
Speaking after the final whistle on Thursday night , Kamberi who scored the winning goal in time added on said: “I felt something the whole game that I will leave the pitch with a goal. I just had the feeling from the start and I felt very emotional and very happy when I managed to do it, especially in the circumstances of it being such a late goal to win the match.
“I thought that I was maybe offside and didn’t hit it cleanly but I didn’t care. t was just so important to win and I wanted to run away and celebrate with the fans.
“It was an unbelievable win for us. To go through 90 minutes like that in a European qualification game was just amazing.
After the first half, going 2-0 down, it was not easy to come out for the second half but we played really well after that. I think we could have scored more and we now have to rest up and be ready for the second leg.
“I’m confident for next week, we saw that we were the better team and we played the better football, but losing those two goals quite quickly together in the first half, we can definitely improve on that.
“I think that we deserved to win if you look at the whole game. We want to take this confidence into the second leg.
“I don’t think we will play for the draw or play on the counter, I hope we’ll attack in the second leg. I don’t think we will go their to play defensively for 90 minutes.
“We will go there thinking it is 0-0 and we want to win this game over there.
“We are a winning team and we always want to win games but we know it will be a difficult game in Greece. We just have to keep our feet on the ground, even after such an amazing night.
“It was an unbelievable win for us. To go through 90 minutes like that in a European qualification game was just amazing. We are showing that we can compete at this level and we are trying to make the club proud.
“We had a great season last year to be here and we are showing now that we can achieve good things in Europe.
“We have to keep improving because, if you go through, then you know that the level of opponents will also increase.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
