STAIR WAY TO HEAVEN
Ross hails ‘terrific’ trio Doidge, Nisbet and Boyle as Leith men stay on track
JACK ROSS admits it’s a joy to have such a deadly front three at his disposal after Christian Doidge, Kevin Nisbet and Martin Boyle fired Hibs into the last eight of the Scottish Cup.
Welshman Doidge broke the deadlock against Stranraer before the break with his 11th goal of the campaign.
Recent Scotland debutant Nisbet netted his 16th with a deflected strike then Australia star Boyle took his tally to 14 with a double in the closing stages.
The trio have spearheaded Hibs’ challenge for third place in the Premiership and are now right in the hunt for silverware after demolishing their League Two hosts to set up a quarter-final clash at home to Motherwell.
Ross said: “We were good. The expectation was on us to win the game and the pitch wasn’t easy to play on but we created a lot.
“Perhaps we could have scored a few more goals but I was very pleased. The front three have been like that all season.
“When you look at the number of goals the three of them have contributed, they’re all into double figures which is terrific.
“You could argue we need goals from other areas of the pitch but when you have three front players who are producing that, there aren’t many teams across the country who can say that.
“It’s great for us and they are all in good form at this stage of the season. We do a lot of work with them and they all have a good understanding too.
“They’re good players individually, there is never a sense of them being selfish and they have provided a lot of assists to each other.”
Hibs, aiming to reach a fourth consecutive national semifinal, started with Matt Macey in goal as Ross continued with his policy of playing the former Arsenal keeper in the Scottish Cup, with No.1 Ofir Marciano on the bench.
Kyle Magennis made his first start since December on the left of midfield but otherwise it was a familiar line-up. The hosts had 37-year-old hitman Darryl Duffy – who had a spell with Hibs a decade ago – in their attack.
With a few dozen supporters of both clubs watching over walls and through fences, Hibs signalled their intent in the fourth minute when leftback Josh Doig fired a low shot across the face of goal. Seven minutes later Nisbet headed a Boyle cross over from close range before the Australia attacker saw a firm shot from 20 yards saved by Greg Fleming. Boyle was Hibs’ main threat throughout and after a brilliant burst down the right in the 24th minute, he fizzed a superb low cross across goal. Nisbet, just a few yards out, somehow knocked it wide of Fleming’s right-hand post. Stranraer’s James Hilton then did well to get back and stop Boyle getting a free shot on goal after the winger ran on to a through ball from Jackson Irvine.
The Hibees were cranking up the pressure as the first half wore on with Joe Newell and Nisbet both trying their luck from the edge of the box.
In the 38th minute, they looked certain to take the lead when Paul McGinn arrived in the box to fire in a shot from 10 yards after Doig’s cross-field pass had been cushioned into his path by Boyle.
But Stranraer keeper Fleming
performed heroics to somehow push the ball up and over.
The opener came from the resulting corner, Doidge showing his striker’s instinct to turn and rasp home a clinical half-volley from seven yards after Paul Hanlon and Ryan Porteous helped keep Boyle’s delivery in the danger area.
Porteous almost netted a second just before the break but his powerful header from Newell’s delivery was brilliantly tipped behind by Fleming.
After Doidge and Magennis both threatened early in the second half, Stranraer brought on ex-Hearts midfielder Jamie Hamill in the 52nd minute and it helped spark their best spell of a largely one-sided encounter.
Three minutes after his arrival on the pitch, Hamill’s free-kick from 25 yards deflected off Hibs’ wall and almost caught out Macey as it looped up and wide of the keeper’s right-hand post.
A minute later, Stranraer almost levelled when Tommy Orr’s goalbound strike from eight yards out was inadvertently blocked by his own team-mate Duffy.
It was to prove a pivotal moment as the Premiership side doubled their lead in the 64th minute when Nisbet’s powerful 25-yard free-kick took a significant deflection and wrong-footed Fleming on its way into the net.
The third came in the 71st minute with the entire front three involved. Doidge crossed from the left, Nisbet glanced a header off the post and Boyle, arriving from the right, lashed an emphatic half volley beyond the helpless Fleming from eight yards.
Boyle sealed it with six minutes left when he slammed home a penalty after Porteous had been fouled by Scott Robertson.