Hibs coach Gareth Evans would love reunion with Hungarians

The former Easter Road striker, now one of boss John Hughes' coaches, was among the scorers as Alex Miller's side notched up a memorable 3-0 win in the drab town of Szekesfehervar, 30 miles from Budapest, almost 21 years ago, giving Hibs a 4-0 aggregate win in the UEFA Cup.

And now Evans has his fingers crossed history can repeat itself with Hibs due to face either Videoton or Mirabor from Slovenia in the third qualifying round of the Europa League in less than a fortnight's time. Hibs' eventual opponents won't be decided until Thursday when those teams meet for a second time, the tie finely poised following a 1-1 draw in Hungary 48 hours ago.

He said: "To be honest, the most important thing will be for us to make progress and whether it is Videoton or Maribor it is going to be tough.

"But seeing our name alongside that of Videoton brings back a lot of good memories, possibly because we won the tie so convincingly.

Videoton had been in the UEFA Cup final against Real Madrid only four years earlier and it was the first time Hibs had been in Europe for quite a while so I think a lot of people were writing us off. However, although we only won the first game at Easter Road thanks to a goal from Graham Mitchell, we knew we were a better side than them and we believed we could win again."

Even so, the Hibs coach admitted few could have envisaged such an emphatic victory, Keith Houchen opening the scoring before Evans added a second with John Collins thundering home a volley from 30 yards.

Evans said: "Although we believed we'd win, you don't get too many teams going away in Europe and scoring three goals. It was a fantastic result. It was Hibs first match in Europe for something like ten years at that time and, unfortunately, there haven't been too many big nights like that since.

"Hopefully, though, we can enjoy a repeat whether it is Videoton or Maribor, it's an exciting prospect either way."

And while Hibs suffered a 3-0 defeat by Heracles in the opening match of their ten-day tour of Holland, Evans insisted he wouldn't expect too many teams better than the side which finished sixth in the Eredivisie last season to be involved in the Europa League at this stage.

He said: "Heracles put in an excellent performance, one which should inspire us , encourage our kids, as well as our older players, to play like them. They were fantastic, the way the game should be played."

Hibs suffered a blow prior to last night's match with 20-year-old midfielder Sean Welsh suffering what is feared to be a serious knee injury, the latest blow for the youngster who, having captained the club's Under-19 side to a League and Cup double the season before last, missed out on lifting both trophies after breaking a foot. And earlier in his career Welsh had his right leg shattered. Boss Hughes said: "I feel for him, I really do. He's worked so hard throughout the summer to get himself ready to go. It wasn't even a tackle, he just twisted and his knee popped."

Welsh will remain, however, with the squad, Hughes reckoning that with club physio Colin McLelland on hand allied to the excellent medical facilities at Hibs' Arnhem HQ, the youngster will be well looked after.