Cove press Hibs in fight to the finish

1 0 (AFTER EXTRA TIME)

Aheroic effort from Cove Rangers was in vain after Hibernian grabbed an extra-time winner in their Scottish Cup fourth-round tie.

The League One leaders matched the Hibees with a superb collective display, with it taking a goal from substitute Kevin Nisbet with nine minutes of extratime remaining to ensure they progressed.

Far from being overawed against a team two leagues above them, Cove showed their credentials as a side destined for a bigger platform in the capital.

Cove were without injured duo Shay Logan and Iain Vigurs, with Jamie Masson and Connor Scully into the starting line-up. Kyle Gourlay stepped in for Stuart Mckenzie in goal and new signing Mark Reynolds was on the bench.

The visitors had been warned before the game, by their own manager, that while they had to play their own game they may face long periods without the ball.

That was the case in the opening forays but Cove were not bystanders. Mitch Megginson blocking an attempted clearance from goalkeeper Matt Macey was indication of that.

Paul Hartley initially moved from the three-atthe-back system which had served Cove so well in their 15-game unbeaten run, reverting to a back four.

That plan was abandoned with less than 15 minutes played, with Harry Milne moving in at centre-half and Scully now at wingback. The shape suited them better, getting Blair Yule more involved in the game and having Masson and Leighton Mcintosh closer to Megginson.

Hibernian were showing glimpses of what new manager Shaun Maloney wants them to be. Chris

Cadden and Josh Doig played high up the field and Ewan Henderson was picking up pockets of space.

The lack of fluidity was to be expected, given Maloney has not been in the door long. But there was still an impatience from the home crowd with each over-hit pass.

The grumbles and groans increased when the hosts failed to clear a Cove corner, with Morgyn Neill firing a snap-shot through a crowded penalty area that Macey clung on to.

Hartley’s side breathed a sigh of relief when the assistant’s flag went up, sparing Fraser Fyvie after he had lost possession outside the Cove box and Christian Doidge had put the ball in the net.

Doidge, who had earlier floated a header wide, connected with an acrobatic effort before the break, which went straight at Gourlay as Cove reached half-time level.

The longer the game remained scoreless, the more Cove’s confidence would grow. Each set-piece would nudge up the pressure slightly, each ball struck at a Hibernian player’s body prompting shouts for handball.

Suddenly it was greenand-white shirts making sprawling blocks in the penalty area. First Megginson and then Masson saw shots repelled by Hibernian defenders There was a sense Cove felt, against an off-colour Hibees, they had a chance of snatching an upset.

But there was also the inevitable drawback which would come into play. Cove are part-time, training two nights a week alongside full-time jobs and the fitness-levels are not going to be the same as a Premiership outfit.

Hibernian probed, desperate to finish the game before the 90.

The heart-breaker came in the 111th minute, with Doig’s cut-back met by Nisbet, who tucked his shot inside the near post.

PARTING SHOT: Hibernian’s Kevin Nisbet, right, scores in the 111th mintue to clinch a late victory for the home side.