Hibs not only surprise result as FC Luzern stage Djurgardens comeback - 'atmosphere difficult to handle'

While Hibs’ first leg defeat by Andorran outfit Inter Club d’Escaldes was viewed as a shock in the Europa Conference League second qualifying round, there was also a surprise result in the other match with direct interest to those of an Easter Road persuasion.

FC Luzern supporters cheer their team on during the 2-1 victory over Djurgarden IF in Sweden.

The winner of the tie between Djurgardens IF of Sweden and FC Luzern of Switzerland will face whoever comes through the Hibs-Inter Club d’Escaldes match. The first leg was also played on Thursday evening and Stockholm and after reaching the last 16 of the tournament in the 2022/23 edition of the tournament and being midway through their domestic season, Djurgardens were expected to pick up a positive result when welcome the Swiss to the Tele2 Arena.

However, FC Luzern are now firmly in the driving seat after an impressive 2-1 victory. The hosts took a sixth-minute lead through defender Jesper Lofgren, but the visitors responded just before the half-hour mark through Kemal Ademi. FC Luzern then went on to grab a winner eight minutes from the end thanks to midfielder Jakub Kadak, giving them the advantage ahead of the return match at the Swissporarena.

"We had a difficult first ten minutes,” said Luzern coach Mario Frick. “The atmosphere in the stadium was difficult to handle for our very young team. But after that, the reaction of the team was impressive. The second half was tough and we suffered. It is only half time and we need to keep cool. We don’t really want to talk about being the favourites.”