HERO MURPHY PUTTING PEDAL TO THE MEDALS
ONA weekend when certain other likely con tenders were sent tumbling out of the competition, do Hibs deserve plaudits for stubborn stickability?
Let’s be generous about it. And suggest that the substantial reward of a place in the Betfred Cup quarter-finals probably makes up for any lack of style about their brutal and, frankly, boring 1-0 win over Dundee at Easter Road.
They now stand just 90 minutes away, potentially, from a return to Hampden. A place where they have a bit of history. Not all of it pleasant. Beaten by city rivals Hearts in last season’s much-delayed Scottish Cup semi-final just a few weeks ago, Jack Ross’ men are clearly itching to eclipse that particularly painful memory at the national stadium.
For some of the players involved in Saturday’s grim exercise in attrition, meanwhile, there are personal reasons to crave a trip to Mount Florida.
Goalscorer Jamie Murphy (below), the on-loan Rangers attacker enjoying something of a renaissance at the age of 31, said: ‘I’ve been to a Scottish Cup final, a couple of League Cup semi-finals. It would be a great thing to add to for me. You want to win cups and medals.
‘Every year, when the season starts, if you’re not trying to win the cups, then what’s the point of being in the competitions? It’s obviously in our sights. And the good thing about the League Cup is that, after the group stage, you only need to win two games and you’re back at Hampden.
‘That’s obviously a big thing. So the aim is to win in the next round and get back to Hampden.’
Murphy’s goal, a really fine finish after Christian Doidge and Kevin Nisbet had managed to smuggle the ball into his path down the inside-left channel just before half-time, was just about the only incident of note on a cold afternoon in Edinburgh.
Dundee thought the goal should have been disallowed for offside, their mood hardly improved when Alex Jakubiak found the net early in the second half, only to have the assistant’s flag rule his effort out.
The visitors exceeded their nominated role of plucky Championship underdogs.
Head coach James McPake insisted he was genuinely proud of his players. That made a welcome change after their previous two performances, a 4-1 loss to Hibs in the group stage of this competition — and a 2-0 defeat away to Ayr United in the league. For Jakubiak, who looks an exciting option at the top end of the park, the message was clear. ‘We’ve now set ourselves a benchmark,’ said the 24-year- old. ‘ We have set the standard now and we need to maintain i t. And that will bring us results going forward.’
HIBERNIAN (4-4-2):
Marciano 6; P McGinn 6, McGregor 6, Porteous 6, Mackie 6; Boyle 6, Mallan 5 (Hallberg 50), Newell 6, Murphy 7 (Wright 79); Nisbet 5 (Gullan 71), Doidge 6. Subs not used: Barnes, Gray, Gogic, S McGinn, Doig, Bradley. Booked: None. DUNDEE (4-3-2-1): J Hamilton 6; Elliott 6, Ashcroft 6, Fontaine 6, Marshall 6; McGowan 6, Byrne 6, Adam 5; Anderson 5 (McDaid 61), Jakubiak 6; Afolabi 5 (Sow 65). Subs not used: Ferrie, Kerr, McGhee, Forster, Robertson, N Hamilton, Murray. Booked: Ashcroft, Byrne. Man of the match: Jamie Murphy. Referee: Willie Collum.