A capital response to triple whammy

Murray takes positives after Raith refuse to let the heads go down at 3-0

HIBERNIAN 3 RAITH ROVERS 1

Goalscorer Euan Murray says Raith Rovers can take positives back into their league campaign after a 3-1 defeat by Premiership Hibs in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup.

Rovers were three goals down inside an hour at Easter Road but a battling finish from the Kirkcaldy side saw Murray head home a consolation goal with 12 minutes remaining.

The defender now hopes the team can kick on when League One business resumes in a must-win match at home to leaders Arbroath on Saturday.

“The second-half performance showed there’s spirit and character in the team,” he said.

“We gave it everything and when it goes to 3-1, I’ve got another header that just goes past the post and if that goes in it would have been a nervy last few minutes for them.

“We knew it would be very hard for us. They’ve got a million-pound striker up front in McNulty and the boy Slivka was at Juventus.

“But I still think we gave a good account of ourselves and there’s lessons we can learn and take into the league, where we should be doing better.

“There’s a massive game against Arbroath and the most important thing from now until the end of the season is to claw back as many points as possible and get ourselves back in the title race. If we can’t do that then we need to go up through the play-offs.”

The result means Hibs’ new manager will have a quarter-final to look forward to.

Marc McNulty scored his first goal since joining the club on loan from Reading, adding to sublime strikes from Daryl Horgan and Vykintas Slivka to see off the League One outfit.

The result ensured a winning finale in what is likely to be Eddie May’s final match as caretaker boss at Easter Road, with a successor to Neil Lennon expected to be appointed soon.

Former Blackburn and Oxford manager Michael Appleton is thought to be closing in on the post after two rounds of talks with the Hibs hierarchy.

Rovers arrived in Edinburgh dreaming of replicating the stunning victory on their previous visit to Easter Road on Scottish Cup duty when they dumped Terry Butcher’s men out 3-2 in February 2014. Grant Murray, now on the Hibs coaching staff, was the Rovers manager that day.

And Raith striker Tony Dingwall clearly fancied masterminding another upset, stinging the palms of Ofir Marciano with a sharp drive from distance in the opening exchanges.

However, it did not take long for Hibs to wrestle control of the contest from their League One visitors, with Stevie Mallan posting a signal of intent with a dipping effort from 25 yards that fizzed narrowly wide.

That would prove a temporary reprieve for the visitors as Hibs claimed the lead after 22 minutes.

Horgan latched on to a neat pass from Slivka before manufacturing space on the edge of the box with some slick footwork and curling a sumptuous leftfooted drive beyond Robbie Thomson.

Dingwall, a consistent threat at the other end, headed a Nathan Flanagan

It was a big step up for us and we just didn’t get to grips with it early enough. JOHN MCGLYNN

delivery narrowly wide as Rovers sought an immediate response in front of a boisterous travelling support from Kirkcaldy.

But Hibs effectively booked their place in the draw for the quarter-final prior to the break when McNulty showed magnificent strength to collect a Lewis Stevenson cross in the box, hold off several challenges and feed the ball to Slivka, who slammed home.

The League One side again tried to fight back with Murray blasting over the bar from a good position inside the box shortly after the break.

Hibs’ McNulty deservedly got his name on the scoresheet in the second period when he raced on to a dinkedthrough ball from Horgan and lashed a clinical low shot through the legs of Thomson.

To their credit, John McGlynn’s men refused to give up the ghost and Raith claimed a late consolation when Murray headed home a Flanagan corner.

But in the end Hibs held on comfortably to progress to the quarter-finals.

McGlynn was pleased that his team refused to cave in at 3-0 down.

“It was a big step up for us and we just didn’t get to grips with it early enough,” he said.

“I’m reasonably proud of the way we played in the second half and that we didn’t go on to get embarrassed.

“They stuck together, showed good spirit, kept going, got a goal back and grew into the game.

“It’s a learning curve for players in our team who aspire to play in the top league.”

McGlynn also paid tribute to the 1,700 Rovers fans who made the trip to Easter Road.

“It’s amazing and I can’t thank the fans enough,” he said.

“We put everything into the preparation and tried our best to win the game.

“Although it’s a defeat I hope the fans enjoyed the day.”

A grudging head coach by his own admission, May will now return to his role as head of academy coaching at Hibs, but was delighted to leave the incoming boss within touching distance of Hampden.

He said: “I’ve enjoyed it (time in charge) but I have a role at the club. I was never brought here to be the Hibs manager.

“I am here to develop players to a good standard and I am delighted to go back to that.

“However, it has been a great honour for the four games I have been in charge.

“But we have a quarter-final to look forward to now. Hibs have a great tradition in terms of trying to win the cup and I hope they can go and reach another semi-final and final.”