00:00Hello and welcome to this episode of the Scotsman Football Show. My name is Mark Atkinson,
00:07sports editor, and I'm going to preview a Europa League qualifier between Hibs and FC
00:14Midgetland which is taking place on Thursday night. Really exciting tie this between the
00:21side from the capital and the Danish Super League outfit. The first leg in Herning was
00:27a one-all draw. I thought Hibs played really really well against a side loaded with talent,
00:34loaded with European experience and loaded with players that have got serious valuations on them.
00:41Some of their players have been linked with moves to clubs such as Borussia Dortmund and as a result
00:46Midgetland were pretty heavy favorites for this tie but Hibs earned a really valuable one-all draw
00:52in Denmark. As a result, leave the tie delicately poised to go into the second leg in Easter Road.
01:01Hibs fans have responded accordingly. It's a sellout for the game on Thursday evening. More than 18,500
01:08Hibs fans expected, which would be the biggest home attendance at the stadium since it was redeveloped
01:15in the mid-1990s. It shows just how much excitement there is around David Gray's team. While Midgetland are
01:23a very, very tough opponent, Hibs fans have got good reason for optimism. They haven't lost at home to
01:29anybody competitively since November 9 last year. That was St Miriam when they won 3-0. Since then,
01:35Hibs have beaten Celtic, beaten Hearts, beaten Aberdeen and drawn twice with Rangers. They've shown
01:42exemplary performances at the Leaf Stadium. You have to think there'll be another really big effort
01:50required though to take care of Midgetland. Their manager, Thomas Thomas Burke, when the draw was
01:55made a few weeks ago, was very confident that they would progress and one suspects they probably
02:00underestimated Hibs a little bit in the first leg. They were booed off by their fans at the
02:07MCH Arena last week and responded by winning 6-2 in the Danish league on Monday night against Sonderiska.
02:15And that's just a reminder that this Danish side have got plenty of ammunition. Frankolino,
02:21their African striker, is very highly regarded, but there's goals and creativity throughout the pitch.
02:27What Hibs can take, I suppose, some element of comfort from is that they caused Midgetland
02:32plenty of issues themselves and showed that when they get their counter-attack and high-pressing game
02:38going, they can be a real force to be reckoned with. A lot of people when this draw was made
02:43thought that Hibs would almost certainly lose in the second qualifying under the Europa League and drop
02:48into the Conference League. That may of course happen, but there's a real chance and a real opportunity
02:52awaiting Hibs. Should they get the job done against the Danes, they would go into the third
02:57qualifying round and take on Frederikstad. They would be guaranteed at least a play-off
03:04round berth in either the Europa League or the Conference League. If they lose, they're still in
03:08Europe and they'll most likely take on Serbians like Partizan Belgrade who lead Alexandria of Ukraine 2-0
03:15in the first leg of their second qualifying round in the Conference League. I do think Hibs have got
03:21a chance against Midgetland on Thursday night. It's going to be one of those memorable European
03:26evenings at East Road, potentially akin to the game against Ike Athens many, many years ago.
03:32Hibs fans will be hoping for a slightly different outcome. While they won that tie 3-2 on the night,
03:36they went out in glorious failure against the Greek side. Head coach David Gray spoke about how the job is
03:43only half done. He knows just how good this Danish team can be and defender Jack Ardell was also on
03:50media duties before the match and he said that while Midgetland showed just how good they are,
03:55Hibs also showed what threats they can provide against the Danish team. Fascinating night awaits at
04:02East Road. I'll be there for the Scotsman on Thursday reporting on all the action and bringing you
04:07the reaction and analysis from what could be a memorable night at East Road, I hope. If you are going
04:12to the game and enjoy it, and if not, you can keep up to date here on Scotsman.com. Bye for now.
