Hibernians coach Andrea Pisanu vowed that his team will take no chances in next week’s second leg of their UEFA Conference League second leg tie against Levadia Tallinn and will go out in search of a win that will seal their place into the next round.
The Paolites put on an eye-catching performance in Tuesday’s first leg at the Centenary Stadium and looked to hold the edge when Yunusa Muritala put them 3-1 ahead in the first minute of stoppage time.
However, Ernest Agyiri’s goal with virtually the last kick of the game kept the tie firmly open as the Paolites head to the Estonia capital holding a tight 3-2 advantage.
Speaking to the Times of Malta, coach Pisanu said that he was still very pleased with his team’s performance.
“I am very pleased with the performance of my players,” Pisanu said.
“We have put in a very strong display, playing with guile and high intensity for much of the opening 70 minutes of the match. We created a lot of chances and could have scored more.
“Then in the final 20 minutes of the match, Levadia Tallinn’s superior physical fitness came to the fore. They are in the middle of the season, having played already 20 matches, so it was only natural that they would end much stronger than us. Levadia showed that they are a good team and were desperate to put themselves back into the tie.”
Pisanu said that his only regret was that his team didn’t manage to clinch a third goal, particularly in the first half, that would have killed off their opponents.
“The only regret that we have is that we failed to score a third goal in our best moments in the first half,” Pisanu said.
“In the first half we completely dominated our opponents and created several chances to score. Had we added a third goal would have killed off Levadia. Obviously, it hurts to concede a goal in the 94th minute but sometimes football is like that.
“But we still have to be happy with our performance as the team is progressing very well.”
Pisanu said that it was now important for the team to prepare well for next week’s return leg in Estonia and said that despite having the advantage of banking on two results to progress he only has one goal in mind – to win the match.
“We have already started our preparations for the return leg,” Pisanu said.
“It’s true that we have two results that could see us through but for me my only focus is to go there and win the match. It’s not in my DNA to play a match looking to get a draw I always want to win and that is the message I want to inject in my players.
“Hibernians will go there play our game and make sure that we give everything we have and then see what happens.
“But we have to make sure to give all we have so we don’t have any regrets afterwards.”
