Sallinger Focused on Hibs' Comeback After Hearts' Collapse
Raphael Sallinger spent Tuesday night in the Tynecastle stands watching Hearts crash out of Europe in brutal fashion. On Thursday, he intends to make sure Hibernian don’t suffer the same fate across the city.
Hearts’ 2-0 home defeat to Sturm Graz sealed a 6-0 aggregate humiliation, the worst two-legged European scoreline in the club’s history. Hibs’ goalkeeper had more reason than most to be there: a professional interest, and a personal one.
“My missus actually works for Sturm Graz as a nutritionist so it was obviously clear for me to go and watch her at Tynecastle,” the Austrian explained. “She’s not over in Scotland very often. She’ll be at our game tomorrow as well to support me.”
He saw Hearts picked apart by a slick Sturm side, the Austrians showing exactly the kind of composure and ruthlessness Hibs now need. Sallinger, though, insists his admiration for his partner’s employers doesn’t extend to any sympathy for Hearts.
“Sturm are a very good team,” he said. “Of course there were a few conversations when we knew they were playing Hearts, but only about small details, nothing special. I’m happy for them that they went through.”
Now the focus snaps back to Easter Road.
Hibs trail 2-0 from a dismal first leg against Malisheva, the Kosovan underdogs who stunned them in their Europa Conference League qualifier. The deficit is awkward rather than impossible, but another Scottish scalp in Europe would sting badly, especially after what Sallinger witnessed at Tynecastle.
He doesn’t pretend the damage from that first game has gone away.
“We as a group spoke about a lot of things which went wrong in that game. There are clearly things we can improve on, but we’ve worked very well this week,” he said.
The mood has shifted from frustration to defiance. Training has been sharp. The inquest has been held. Now comes the response.
“These are the moments where you can see what character is in this team and we will show that character tomorrow,” Sallinger insisted.
The opponent’s name, he says, is irrelevant. The stakes are not.
“It doesn’t matter which side we’re playing against. The main target is getting through to the third round of the Conference League.
“We have to make sure we win tomorrow. We don’t want to look back too much on the last game. All we can do is look forward and try to change things around.”
Hearts have already become this week’s warning. Hibs cannot afford to become the sequel.
