BOSS FULL OF PRAISE FOR CUP SPECIALISTS
NEIL LENNON last night hailed the character of his much-criticised players after Hibs secured a fifth major semi-final in six attempts. The Easter Road club twice came from behind to finally see off plucky Championship side Livingston in a five-goal thriller. At the weekend, Lennon accused his side of playing like Under-8s against Motherwell, but, here, he was delighted in how they reacted to adversity. ‘There is no criticism of the players this time,’ said the Hibs boss. ‘I thought we were excellent and could have scored three in the opening 10 minutes. ‘The second Livingston goal by Rafa De Vita was a great one, but the first from Alan Lithgow was poor from us as we had worked on setpieces this week. ‘But we dealt with the setbacks and the character of my team shone through. I am a very happy man. I thought we had good control for large parts of the game. ‘We scored two beautiful goals from Danny Swanson and Martin Boyle. ‘I am proud of the fact that this is the fifth major domestic cup semi-final that we have reached in the last six.’ Already missing injured defenders Liam Fontaine and Darren McGregor, there was fresh woe for Hibs when captain David Gray limped off with a a hamstring injury. Lennon quipped: ‘I might have to give Johan Mjallby (Lennon’s former Celtic team-mate) a ring and see if his knees have healed yet!’ Meanwhile, angry Livvy boss David Hopkin was left ‘baffled’ by the performance of referee Bobby Madden. ‘We gave away a sloppy first goal to Danny Swanson, but the second one by Martin Boyle was embarrassing to say the least,’ said Hopkin. ‘It was not a free-kick, then it was not a corner, and they got their second goal straight from those decisions. ‘Some of Bobby’s decisions baffled me. I’ve watched the penalty back and I didn’t think it was a penalty. ‘The linesman doesn’t give it. Paul Hanlon was clever. He’s used his body, but there were 10 seconds before Bobby gave it. ‘I didn’t speak to Bobby afterwards. You have to be careful what you say. ‘Take nothing away from Hibs. They are a great side. But that penalty decision has cost us the chance to reach a semi-final.’