HIBS PLAY GLEE 5-2
Cup joy as boss shrugs off more spot-kick woe
JACK ROSS says he’s relaxed about Marc McNulty and Paul Hanlon’s spot-kick spat but admits he maybe shouldn’t be.
The Hibs striker picked the ball up after being hauled down by Kevin McHattie in the first half at 0-0, only for the skipper to grab the ball off McNulty and shove him out the road.
Mark Ridgers then saved the defender’s spot-kick.
Hibs have now missed three penalties in their last four games but it didn’t prove costly here as they romped home.
Ross said: “I’ve always been relaxed about it as a manager. Maybe I shouldn’t be because we’ve missed three.
“You have to feel good about it on the park at the time.
“The three who’ve taken them
have felt good. Paul is technically very good, better than most in the squad when striking the ball.
“I don’t hold with this idea that a defender shouldn’t take a penalty. We’re just going through one of these periods. Hopefully we score one soon.
“I genuinely didn’t see them arguing about it. It was still going on at half-time but I don’t mind that. We’ve got players who are hungry for success and there’s a lot of that in the group just now.
“We’re creating a lot. The variety of scorers helps, the quality of the goals was good.”
Adam Jackson spared Hanlon’s blushes – as he did for McNulty following his miss against Ross County – making no mistake with a close-range finish.
Scott Allan capped a fine flowing move with the second shortly before the hour. And Greg Docherty added some gloss with the third, rendering Carl Tremarco’s strike meaningless.
Things only got worse from then on for Caley Thistle. Brad McKay saw red, Stephane Omeonga and Jamie Gullan netted their first Hibs goals to rub salt in the wound before Nikolay Todorov’s scrambled late strike.
Hibs made just one change to
the team held by Livingston last weekend, Steven Whittaker replacing Vykintas Slivka in the engine room.
Inverness rang the changes. Lewis Toshney, Jamie Vincent, Miles Storie and Roddy MacGregor dropped out. In came Kevin McHattie, Charlie Trafford, Tom Walsh and James Keatings.
Jordan White should have done much better with a free header six yards out but the Inverness striker sent a tame header straight into the arms of Ofir Marciano.
Only a brilliant last-ditch block at the other end from McKay prevented Christian Doidge turning home at the front post from McNulty’s cross.
Hibs thought they would get the chance to take the lead from the spot after McNulty’s through
ball sent Boyle racing in on goal. The Aussie went round Mark Ridgers before hitting the deck but ref Nick Walsh flashed a yellow at Boyle for diving.
Their next penalty shout was given after Kevin McHattie grabbed McNulty by the shoulder.
McNulty picked up the ball only for Hanlon to grab it off the striker and stepped up. But the defender’s effort was saved by Ridgers who got up quickly to palm Hanlon’s rebound over.
They almost paid dearly for that debacle when Walsh sent a shot across Marciano that came back off the inside of the post.
Such fine margins were brought into sharp focus when Hibs went up the pitch and scored, Jackson producing an instinctive flicked finish from Doidge’s knock-on. Yet another penalty shout after the break was turned down after Tremarco hit the deck. In response, a sweeping counter saw Boyle burst through the middle before playing in McNulty. Rather than going for goal himself, the striker rolled the ball to the back post for Allan, who fired high into the roof of the net.
The frustration was starting to show from Caley Thistle boss John Robertson, who was cautioned for his complaints.
Hibs’ third came when Docherty smashed the ball low into the far corner from Paul McGinn’s clever cutback. The Championship side restored a bit of pride with Tremarco’s deflected effort. But it was an unhappy return to Easter Road for former Hearts defender McKay as he got a straight red for raking his studs down Doidge’s calf. Omeonga turned on the style for the fourth, side-footing a first time shot into the top corner from 20 yards before Gullan’s fifth and Todorov’s token effort completed the scoring.