A DRAMATIC penalty shoot-out victory over Kilmarnock secured a Betfred Cup semi-final against Celtic for Hibernian and eased the pressure on their manager Paul Heckingbottom after three consecutive defeats and an Edinburgh derby collapse at the same time.
Heckingbottom’s side, who went into the cup tie on the back of a 2-1 loss at home to Hearts, had their hosts’ profligate finishing to thank for keeping them level in a match which Angelo Alessio’s team could and probably should have just edged.
Yet, the Easter Road head coach, whose side will face the holders at Hampden in November, will be unconcerned about how the win was achieved given the poor run of form the capital club had been on and the threat his job was under.
READ MORE: Kilmarnock boss Angelo Alessio claims Tom James took an illegal penalty in Hibs' shoot-out triumph
Chris Maxwell was the hero for Hibs after a tense encounter had finished goalless after 120 minutes. The goalkeeper denied Niko Hamalainen brilliantly to ensure the visitors went through. Oli Shaw had earlier seen his spot kick saved by Laurentiu Branescu only for Stephen O’Donnell to pull his wide.
Heckingbottom had vowed to wield the axe on his underperforming players as fans called for him to be sacked on Sunday evening and he was true to his word. Out went Scott Allan, Florian Kamberi and Jason Naismith, in came Tom James, Glenn Middleton and Christian Doidge.
Alessio's men started brightly with Stephen O’Donnell, the Scotland right back, forcing a save from Maxwell with a shot from a tight angle in just the second minute. But it was be the only goalmouth incident in a desperately disappointing first-half. Both teams cancelled each other out in the middle of the park and there were no scoring chances created.
Stevie Mallan, who had netted from 25 yards out in the derby match, tried his luck from long-range after being teed up by Doidge. But his ambitious effort sailed high and wide. Branescu, the on-loan Juventus keeper, didn’t have a save of note to make in the first 45 minutes.
Kilmarnock had two penalty claims before half-time, both when Harvey St Clair went to ground in the Hibernian area, but Willie Collum, the match official, was uninterested. He wasn’t the only one. It was truly dreadful fare.
READ MORE: Under-fire Paul Heckingbottom praises character of his Hibernian team after penalty shoot-out win
St Clair, the 20-year-old forward who has moved to his adopted homeland for the season from Serie B club Venezia, went agonisingly close to break to deadlock seven minutes into the second-half. His cross caused Maxwell and his team mates some anxious moments before it was cleared upfield and the danger averted.
Alessio put on Millar for St Clair. Heckingbottom brought on Oli Shaw for Daryl Horgan and Allan for Middleton – to cries of “there’s only one Scotty Allan” from the travelling support - with 20 minutes remaining. Shaw headed a James cross over and Doidge tested Branescu at a Mallan corner.
Kilmarnock should have taken the lead in the 79th minute. Alan Power supplied Eamonn Brophy in the Hibs half with Maxwell miles off his goal line. The striker took the right decision and attempted to chip it into the inviting empty net. But his effort was poor, the score remained 0-0 and the match went into extra-time.
Dom Thomas, who came on for Mohamed El Makrini in the 94th minute, beat Maxwell with a shot after making a powerful run to the edge of the Hibs box, but it struck the left post.
Ryan Porteous was shown a straight red card with two minutes of extra-time remaining for taking out Millar as he skipped past him on the left wing. Tempers flared as both sets of players came together in the aftermath of the shocking challenge.
O’Donnell should have won the game for his side from the resultant free-kick. He got on the end of Rory McKenzie’s delivery at the far post and just needed to get his header on target to clinch it. He nodded wide. But worse was to follow for him and his team.
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