Cammy Devlin has pledged to put Rosenborg under a Tynecastle stress test in a bid to ensure Europa Conference League progress.
The Hearts midfielder also wants to recreate last season’s European Gorgie cauldron against FC Zurich but he’s determined to script a happier ending. A 2-1 deficit from last Thursday in Norway leaves no margin for error as the Edinburgh side look to rescue the tie and book a play-off spot against either Croatian club Hajduk Split or PAOK Salonika of Greece. But Devlin believes last August’s 1-0 loss to Zurich, after going down 2-1 in the first leg, can be a lesson on how to take the game to Rosenborg by piling on the pressure and asking them to cope in the same manner they launched into the Swiss before the plan went out of the window with Jorge Grant’s second-half red card.
He said: “I was actually thinking about that Zurich game last night because it was a similar feeling, coming home a goal behind from the first leg. I think that first half was probably the best we have played as a team since I’ve been at the club. We put them under so much pressure but if you don’t score you don’t win games and then the red card changed everything.
“We need a win to go through. I honestly can’t wait and I know the boys are super excited as well. We want to have control of the ball but we are not silly enough to think we’ll have possession for 90 minutes. When they have it, can we nick it back and go forward as quickly as we can like they did to us last week?”
Experiencing Conference League group stage football last season has made a lasting impression on the Australian. Florence, Istanbul and Riga provided memorable staging posts for the travelling Hearts supporters. Devlin said: “I don’t want this match to
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Jorge Grant