Managerless, but Hibs were too classy for Raith
A bomb scare in the stands shocked fans at Easter Road.
But there were no surprises on the pitch as Hibs dumped Raith Rovers out of the Scottish Cup. Goals from Daryl Horgan, Vykintas Slivka and Marc Mcnulty saw the Hibees progress to Monday’s quarter-final draw despite Euan Murray’s second-half consolation strike.
And, in the aftermath, attention turned to Hibs’ managerial situation.
Caretaker boss Eddie May revealed he was told post-match that he will NOT be in charge of the Easter Road club when they face Hamilton Accies on Saturday.
A new Hibees gaffer is expected to be unveiled early next week, with Michael Appleton – the former Portsmouth, Blackburn Rovers and Oxford boss – the front-runner to succeed Neil Lennon. Thanks to a thoroughly professional performance from May’s men, he will inherit a side who are just one game away from a Hampden semi-final.
And it never looked like any other outcome was possible once things got under way.
League One promotion challengers Rovers, with nearly 2,000 travelling fans, arrived at Easter Road high on hope.
But, by the time the “suspicious package” that threatened to delay kick-off after being found in the South Stand was dismissed as nothing to worry about, reality had bitten for Raith’s fans.
The truth is, Hibs took control from the first kick – and never looked like ceding it.
They were 2-0 up and cruising by HIBS:
(4-4-2) Marciano 6; Gray 7; Mcgregor 6; Hanlon 7; Stevenson 6; Horgan 7 (Omeonga 66, 5); Slivka 7; Milligan 6 (Whittaker 79, 4); Mallan 6; Kamberi 5; Mcnulty 8 (Shaw 86, 3). Subs – Dabrowski (GK); Nelom; Bigirimana; Mackie. RAITH ROVERS:
(4-5-1) Thomson 6; Murray 7; Davidson 6; Benedictus 6; Crane 6; Flanagan 7; Barjonas 5 (Matthews 80, 4); Gillespie 5; Wedderburn 6; Dingwall 6; Nesbit 5 (Duggan 68, 4). Subs – Lyness (GK); Buchanan; Mckay; Watson; Smith.
the interval. With a touch more quality in the final third they would have been completely out of sight.
That said, there was no lack of stardust on Horgan’s 22nd-minute opener.
There was pace on the right flank from the Irishman, there was deftness of touch, there was an ankle-breaking cut inside on to his left, and there was a rifled shot from the edge of the box that flew into the roof of Robbie Thomson’s net.
In short, it summed up his attributes perfectly.
It had been coming too, with Florian Kamberi firing over early on, before Stevie Mallan saw a sharp turn and shot dip just past the far post.
There had been effort from Rovers – in spades, in fact.
The travelling fans even dared to dream of an equaliser during a fiveminute, post-opener flurry from their side.
But, when Nathan Flanagan found himself played in behind the Hibs defence, Paul Hanlon sprinted back to block.
When Nat Wedderburn shaped a wicked cross to the back post, Lewis Stevenson was there to nick the ball off Flanagan’s foot with a brave stooping header.
And when Tony Dingwall launched himself into a spectacular flying header, Ofir Marciano’s goal wasn’t troubled.
Hibs, briefly reeling, soon settled and doubled their lead when Slivka hammered a Mcnulty knock-down under Thomson from 12 yards. And by the time Mcnulty added a third, the home side were simply going through the motions.
It was no disgrace for Rovers – nobody amongst the Kirkcaldy side slacked off or let their head drop.
It was simply that Hibs – as expected, given the two-division gulf between the teams – were better from front to back.
Rovers pulled one back with 15 minutes remaining when Euan Murray headed Flanagan’s corner home at the near post.
But Hibs could have added a fourth through Kamberi late on. Mcnulty linked brilliantly, showed his pace running in behind, made one and netted the third himself.