HIBERNIAN are in a good place just now. Just three days after fashioning a fine victory over Rangers that keeps alive their chances of winning the Championship, they followed it with this comprehensive thrashing of Dundee United that was so one-sided that referee Willie Collum could have stopped it early on humanitarian grounds. Their reward is a place in Monday’s League Cup semi-final draw where one of Celtic, Ross County or St Johnstone await them. Having beaten Aberdeen in the previous round, that berth is more than merited.
This was a night of atonement for one Hibs player in particular. A year previously Alan Stubbs’ side had exited the same competition at the same round against the same opposition at the same venue. The decisive penalty in the shoot-out that night was missed by David Gray who, by a neat quirk of fate, got Hibs’ opening goal this time around. A Jason Cummings penalty gave Hibs a second meaning a belated rally from United – from which substitute Simon Murray should have offered his team a glimmer of hope – ultimately counted for nothing. A deflected shot from Lewis Stevenson added a third for Hibs with the last kick of the game.
“That’s certainly up there with some best performances that we have put in here,” said Stubbs. “Our energy levels after Sunday’s game was incredible at times. Could we have won by more? I’m not greedy. I’ll take a performance like that and the goals we scored any day.”
Hibs pressed United relentlessly for the entirety of the first half and most of the second. All routes were taken through the United half and most ended with a shot on Michal Szromnik’s goal. Had the finishing been sharper, or the Pole not been on his game, then it could have easily have been effectively all over by half-time. Instead, Hibs by then stood just one goal to the good. It was a nice finish, mind, from Gray, who fastened on to a John McGinn corner to thud a right-foot shot into the corner of the net after 19 minutes.
Scott Fraser had a shot that zipped over the crossbar for United but, that aside, the rest of the first-half action unfolded in front of an increasingly fretful travelling support. Dominique Malonga, that enigma wrapped in a riddle, was at the centre of most of it. Passes to James Keatings and Cummings led to shots blocked for corners, while the French-Congolese had a couple of efforts of his own also saved. Keatings had another chance tipped over and McGinn almost scored direct from a corner. It was a walloping in all but the scoreline.
United had an opportunity early in the second half – Ryan McGowan’s lofted attempt was scooped off the line– but it offered only false hope. Hibs continued to dominate them. Keatings pranged a drive against a post, then had another shot saved.
It would always take a second goal before any lingering Hibs jitters would be completely settled and it arrived after an hour and from a familiar source. United felt Collum had been harsh to penalise John Rankin after Cummings’ header struck his arm from close range but the striker did not hesitate to grab the ball and stroke the penalty home. Hibs threatened to score more and finally did in the final minute via Stevenson. It was a good night all round for Hibs although the mood was rather less sunny in the United camp after another poor display.
“We were off it, nowhere near good enough,” sighed manager Mixu Paataleinen. “Hibs were up for it, their movement was better than ours. We were not up for it tonight.”
Hibernian: Oxley; Gray, Fontaine, Hanlon, Stevenson; Fyvie, Henderson, McGinn (McGregor 67); Keatings (Boyle 82), Cummings, Malonga (El Alagui 85)
Scorers: Gray 19, Cummings pen 60, Stevenson 90
Booked: Fyvie 55, Henderson 66
Dundee Utd: Szromnik; Souttar, McGowan, Durnan, Dillon; Spittal, Kuhl (Murray 70) Rankin, Fraser; Taggart, McKay
Booked: Durnan 46
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