Easter Road fans backed to bring the noise in UEFA Conference League play-off
He was at Anfield for one of the great European comebacks of all time. But new Hibs signing Adam Mayor insists being on the pitch for a historic triumph can top even that experience as a lifelong Liverpool fan.
The versatile wide man, just a kid when his beloved Reds overturned a 3-0 first-leg deficit to beat Barcelona 4-0 on Merseyside in the 2019 Champions League semi-final, is trying to become part of the first Hibs side ever to reach the group or league stages of Eurpean football. After last night’s 0-0 draw with Gent in Belgium, David Gray’s men have given themselves more than just a fighting chance.
Wide man was young fan at Anfield
Liverpool 4 Barcelona 3 – semi-final, 2018/19placeholder image
Liverpool 4 Barcelona 3 – semi-final, 2018/19
Mayor, still just 21, is adamant that contributing to that sort of a first would to straight to No. 1 on his personal footballing hit list, saying: “There would be nothing better, it would be top. It’s got to be.
“I grew up watching Liverpool so I’ve been quite lucky seeing a lot of European games. So to be part of that would be really special.
“I’ve got a season ticket for Anfield and the comeback against Barcelona, the 4-0 one, is the game that really stands out. There has been a few over the years but if we get through next week, that will be top.
“I know what those nights are like as a fan, when you’re team is doing well it’s the best feeling in the world. I’ve had a few good nights watching Liverpool so if we can give that to the fans here it would be great.
“It’s a chance for us to write our names down in the club’s history and there’s nothing better than that.”
Effective and important contributor to Hibs
Mayor endured a sluggish start, to say the least, to his Easter Road career. Those first few games were not an easy watch.
Yet he’s become integral to the side, doing a very effective – and very important – job in a sort of hybrid formation that asks a lot of the left-sided midfielder/wingback/defender. He’s loving every minute of it.
In a career that has taken him from Morecambe to Milwall, Bromley and then Cambridge United, being part of something as big as a UEFA Conference League campaign is a particular thrill. Especially when it means getting to enjoy the sorts of celebrations that took place with Hibs fans last night.
“You saw what it meant to our fans at the end, going over to them was great and it gives you that extra drive as well,” said the Englishman. “We have confidence in ourselves - and I think you could see they’ve got confidence in us.
“They were unbelievable. When you’re playing in the games it’s sometimes hard to notice them, but then when you go over at the end it’s special. It’s not that we need any more motivation to get to the group stages but it’s a massive help.
“I have no doubt Easter Road will be packed and bouncing next week. All the lads believe we can do it.
“We know how good a team we can be, with the players we have as individuals and collectively as a unit as well. We are full of confidence going into it.
“I think the fans saw we came into the game and will have a lot of confidence from the way we played. We know we’re a good team so taking it home at 0-0, it’s only half time and it can go either way now.”
‘Underdogs’ surprised Gent
Hibs can reflect with pride on their performance in Belgium. Put under pressure to get a result, they might have returned home with a 1-0 win, had Owen Elding shown more oomph with his penalty kick – but can hardly be disappointed with how they played.
“We went into the game as underdogs but you saw from the way we played the belief everyone has,” said Mayor. “We had a game plan, let them have the ball at the back then be strong defensively.
“It was all about taking it back for the second leg either in front or at least not getting beat. We limited them to a few crosses and a couple of shots, but that was it really.
“We managed the game well. The first 15 minutes we could have managed better because they made a fast start and we needed to settle down into it a bit. But as the game went on we grew into it and got better.
“The confidence got a bit higher and you could see in the second half we had a decent bit of the ball and played some good football.
“It’ll be the same again for the second leg, obviously we will want to be a bit more attacking at Easter Road - but the first thing will be being that solid again because you can build from there.
“Having this weekend off is really important because it’s been really busy going on that Thursday and Sunday run since the start of the season. It gives the lads a bit of space to reset, recover and get ready for next week.
“Some boys might be playing with little knocks trying to get through, but this gives us a chance to get some rest into the legs and maybe patch a few people up.
“We have learned that Gent will want to try to play the ball round at the back, they’ll go forward and we can turn them over if they force it. Now we’ve had that experience of them we’ll be able to spend the next week analysing it to see where the gaps are and how we can exploit them.
“They will come to Edinburgh expected to win, they’ll come at us quick. But I think if we can soak that up for the first fifteen minutes then settle the game down, we can go on and get through.
“Did we surprise them a bit? Yeah, we know we’re all good players but we showed we can play as a team.
“It’s about connecting it all together now, get that final bit at the top end to create and take chances. But I think over in Belgium we showed we can play.”