Martin Boyle, the Hibernian winger, is adamant the capital club have nothing to fear from Brondby as he vowed to test the defensive mettle of the Danes.
On first glance, Neil Lennon’s side face an uphill task against the Danish giants as they aim to tee up a Europa League third qualifying round clash with Hertha Berlin, having succumbed to a 1-0 defeat last week.
They slumped to the reverse due to a mistake after just 15 seconds by rookie goalkeeper Otso Virtanen, with the young Finn spilling a tame shot to allow Kamil Wilczek to tap in from close-range.
Nevertheless, Hibs’ response was laudable and, but for an erroneous offside flag, would have equalised when Jason Cummings finished off a superb cross by Boyle just before the half-hour.
Given the encounter was a mere fortnight into their pre-season campaign and the first competitive outing under new boss Lennon, Boyle sees plenty of cause for cheer ahead of tomorrow evening’s second leg in Copenhagen.
“No way is the tie over,” insisted the former Dundee man. “We can take a lot of positives from the first leg, I thought we played very well considering we were only a couple of weeks into pre-season and trying to find our legs.
“I think we can go over there, there is nothing to fear and we’ll give it a good go and attack them.
“I thought I did okay, personally, but I thought the entire team was brilliant. We pressed as a team, we got balls into the box and got at them. We played some really good football.
“We know it will be very hard, but [Europa League] is a new experience for us and we are really looking forward to going away.
“I’m sure the Brondby fans will be trying to get on our backs form the start but when you step onto that pitch it is just a game of football and it will come down to how well we play.
“This is a great experience, this is the stage we want to be playing on and, if we play the way we did at Easter Road then, there could be plenty more nights like this.”
Boyle, 23, insists he was not surprised by how well the Hibees responded to a catastrophic start against Alexander Zorniger’s side.
Hibs bounced back from an early deficit against Motherwell in their final warm-up game of pre-season before roaring back to claim a 4-1 win, while they secured a first Scottish Cup triumph since 1902 by coming from behind to beat Rangers in May.
And the versatile forward believes the mental strength in the Easter Road dressing room is unquestionable - and will stand them in good stead as they seek to upset the odds in the Danish capital.
“People have seen our mentality before, against Motherwell where we conceded an early goal but fought back to win,” he continued. “You saw it throughout last season as well.
“It is something the gaffer is going to drill into us. It is up to us not to concede slack goals but the mentality and togetherness to fight back is absolutely there.”
Boyle will hope to get the nod on the right-flank again tomorrow evening after turning in a lively, direct display in the first-leg, which would have heralded an assist if Cummings’ strike had not been ruled out.
He tormented Denmark under-21 left-back Patrick da Silva and admits he is relishing the prospect of cementing his place on the wing under Lennon.
Boyle added: “It’s a position I played a few times last season and I chipped in with a few goals and I feel like I can offer a lot down there with my pace and the gaffer seems to be a believer in me.”
Towering defender Benedikt Rocker has warned Hibs that Brondby are on a mission to continue their blistering form after racking up an aggregate scoreline of 15-0 from their last four fixtures.
The Danish giants have made a blistering start to the season under new boss Alexander Zorniger, putting 10 goals past Icelandic side Valur over two legs in the previous round of the Europa League.
A Kamil Wilczek goal then saw off the Hibees at Easter Road, before they kicked off the Superliga season on Sunday with an impressive 4-0 win over Esbjerg, who included ex-Hibs midfielder Victor Palsson in their ranks.
With Brondby yet to concede a competitive goal under Zorniger, there is little doubt about the magnitude of the task facing the capital club as they seek to overturn a 1-0 deficit.
And the former Stuttgart stopper has told Hibs that the Danes’ confidence is sky-high ahead of tomorrow’s clash in the outskirts of Copenhagen.
Rocker said: “We have been on a very good run of form and it must be our objective to deliver the same performance against Hibs. The latest results have given us the confidence to do that.
“We have seen that when we defend and attack as a team, then we have the ability to score goals and keep clean sheets - making life difficult for the opposition.
“We have a clear goal to move on to the next round, but if that is to happen, then we need to deliver 100 per cent on the pitch, as we know Hibs will come out and try to chase a goal.
“The match in Edinburgh was intense, played at a fast pace with a few tough individual battles. We expect the same type of game at Brondby Stadium and it will be a tough test.
“But if we prepare properly and are focused, as we have ben in previous matches - with our fans at our back - I am convinced that we can advance to the next round.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here