Boyle too hot for United as Hibs steam into cup final
Jack Ross will lead his side back to the national stadium in 13 days’ time to contest the 136th Scottish Cup Final feeling lucky at last.
Beaten in this competition’s delayed semi against Hearts last October and turned over by St Johnstone in the League Cup’s penultimate stage in January, Hibs came good here at the third time of asking.
And if the goals, from Kevin Nisbet and Christian Doidge, were the two bits of high quality in an otherwise bitty affair, supporters won’t care less.
The clinical finishing will fill them with confidence they will have a decent chance of repeating the triumph of 2016, regardless which of the two Saints they face in the final.
For the first time in 15 years neither Rangers nor Celtic were in the competition’s last four. There was a very familiar feeling, though, to the line-ups with both managers opting against throwing in a wild card.
Hibs boss Jack Ross probably came closest by opting to stick with his “cup” goalkeeper Matt Macey.
Otherwise the starts for Melker Hallberg, in place of the suspended Alex Gogic, and Kevin Nisbet, fit again after recovering from an ankle knock, were predictable.
Ross’s opposite number, Micky Mellon, kept it even simpler by sending out an unchanged side once again.
United owed their place in the semis to sparkling 3-0 canter over Aberdeen at Pittodrie in the quarter-finals.
And here too they looked like a team on a mission as they snapped into their tackles early on and pushed forward at every opportunity.
An excellent break saw Lawrence Shankland surge forward and get Ian Harkes in behind the Hibs backline.
The American deserved credit for his movement but he allowed the ball to escape him, and with it the chance.
He made a better effort of it with a header a few minutes later on but sent it too high.
At the other end, Deniz Mehmet was relieved to see a smart shot on the turn from Nisbet drift wide after being left flat-footed.
It was to be only a temporary let-off, as the Hibs striker had him picking the ball out of his net before the half was over.
Liam Smith failed to get any distance on his attempt to clear his lines with a header and Jackson Irvine took the ball down on his chest and rolled it across the front of the Tangerines’ box to Nisbet. Eighteen yards out and with time to assess his options, the latter expertly passed the ball into the corner of the net.
The goal was a moment of real quality, from Irvine and Nisbet both, and it was what the game needed– composure in the final third.
However, if you could see Hibs players puffing out their chests on taking the lead there was also a palpable reaction for United to dig in once more.
A free kick conceded through a professional foul by Ryan Porteous gave Nicky Clark a chance to try his luck from a decent shooting distance soon after the teams returned after the break but his aim was off.
It was his last effort, with United boss Mellon sacrificing him for Adrian Sporle in a bid to shake things up little.
But while it was followed by a change in the scoreline, it was not the one he wanted, with Hibs extending their advantage with a terrific goal.
Martin Boyle surged up the centre of the pitch at pace and, with Tangerines defenders struggling to catch up, exchanged a 1-2 with Nisbet, the latter providing the prefect weight of return pass.
From there, the winger rolled a pass through for Christian Doidge, who television evidence showed looked to have started in an offside position, to run on and slot the ball beyond Mehmet.
United redoubled their efforts in a desperate effort to get themselves back into the tie.
Shankland’s dangerous near post effort was foiled by a diving save from Macey, and Jamie Robson had his coaches throwing their arms up in the air in despair when he flashed his right-foot shot just wide.