LEWIS Stevenson believes Hibernian can draw on the lessons learned from their narrow defeat against Brondby two years ago when Asteras Tripolis visit Easter Road this week.

The Edinburgh outfit secured a memorable 1-0 win in Copenhagen, courtesy of a David Gray goal, wiping out a first-leg deficit before crashing out after a nerve-shredding penalty shoot-out.

The damage had actually been done seven days earlier when a woeful error by young Finnish goalkeeper Otso Virtanen – who would never play for the club again – allowed the Danes to leave Edinburgh with a 1-0 win.

Nevertheless, their away win was a result that buoyed and emboldened Hibs and Stevenson has no doubt the squad is now far better equipped to mount a charge for the Europa League group phase.

The litmus test of that will come against a very handy Greek side, who reached that stage of the competition in 2014 and 2015, at what promises to be a raucous Easter Road.

“Brondby were a good team and Asteras Tripolis will be the same,” said Stevenson. “I think we will be the underdogs but we have the same nucleus of the squad from the Brondby game and can take a lot from that experience. It’s going to be tough but we have played a bit of European football now and want to take every edge we can get, especially from the fans.

“I remember Easter Road was rocking against Brondby, but we lost an early goal which killed the mood a bit, so ideally we want to avoid that.

“This level is always a challenge because it’s not just players you’ve never come across before, but their style of play will be different; their movement too, they will pass the ball differently so it’s something you have to get to grips with quickly.

“However, the Greek season has yet to start so hopefully that can be a slight boost for us after a couple of games against Runavik. You try to get every advantage you can.”

Indeed, a positive result in Leith could be imperative given the suffocating heat Hibs will encounter at the modest Theodoros Kolokotronis Stadium in the south of Greece in the return leg.

Stevenson smiled: “I had a look on Thursday and it was 35 degrees in Athens. We’ll be playing not too far away from there, so it’s a factor you consider. Hopefully, the heatwave we’ve had in Scotland will stand us in good stead.”

Hibs teed up the tie against Asteras Tripolis by safely navigating their way beyond Runavik, with their staggering 6-4 win in the Faroe Islands on Thursday sealing a 12-5 victory on aggregate. Stevenson described the experience as “strange”, which is something of an understatement.

Leading 6-1 from the first leg, Hibs sleepwalked into a 2-0 deficit within the opening five minutes before fighting back to claim a breathless triumph. It was not just the dumbfounding action on the pitch that was surreal. The encounter at the sparsely populated, cliff-top outpost in Toftir was often shrouded in fog, making visibility almost impossible at times, while the whipping gale was incessant.

Stevenson, however, is not one for excuses and knows a major improvement will be required from a sloppy showing.

“It was a strange place and night in general,” he said. “We did everything right in terms of our professional approach to the game, but didn’t get the start we expected. To be fair, we didn’t crumble and fought back. But we should have played better and we know if we perform like that against Asteras then we are going to have a couple of tough games to say the least.

“We now have a week leading into the Asteras game and I am sure we will get information on the players we’ll be up against. We’ll be well drilled and hopefully put on a better performance than in Toftir.”

Almost forgotten amid the chaos of the 10-goal thriller – and stand-out showings by the likes of John McGinn, Stevie Mallan and Klaemint Olsen – was the fact Stevenson scored his maiden European goal for Hibs. It was a beauty, too, as he met a short corner from Mallan before fizzing a crisp drive into the top corner from the edge of the box.

“It was a good finish,” he said. “A couple of weeks ago I had a chance to shoot against Blackburn and the gaffer gave me a rollicking for not taking it on, so I decided if I got a chance I’d take it. It’s my first goal in Europe and something I can look back on when I hang up my boots.

“I’ve scored nine goals overall now. My lack of goals used to be a joke, but I think it’s a respectable tally. Maybe I’m getting more adventurous as I get older.”