Cocky Cummings backs up his scoring prediction to complete redemption
JASON CUMMINGS has never had any problem talking the talk. Hibs will be grateful he also walked the walk against Morton. Relegated to the bench following an underwhelming display in the 2-1 defeat to Dumbarton last weekend, the brash young striker left his fellow subs in no doubt regarding his intentions on Saturday. ‘I was sitting on the bench saying to the boys: “I’m going to score when I come on here”,’ he smiled. He was as good as his word, lashing an instinctive low shot past Derek Gaston just 20 seconds after replacing Marvin Bartley. It proved to be the decisive strike in a stuffy contest, and a knowing glance at the bench following his celebrations said it all. ‘When I told them I’d score, the boys were probably thinking: “Aye, typical Jason”,’ said Cummings. ‘So, when I scored after 20 seconds I looked over to say: “Told you so!”. It was a brilliant ball in from Dave [Gray] — he’s set me up a million times like that, just cutting it across goal perfectly.’ Hibs, who handed Liam Henderson his debut as a late sub after he went in the opposite direction to new Celtic signing Scott Allan, should have won more convincingly. Dominique Malonga skewed a shot wide from six yards after latching on to a Martin Boyle knock-down, while Liam Fontaine and Gray saw point-blank headers fail to find the net. A superb drive from John McGinn, making his first start in Hibs colours, was tipped over the bar by Morton goalkeeper Derek Gaston. After coming to the rescue, Cummings said: ‘I was never going to sulk after being dropped to the bench. All I wanted was to come on and make an impact and, hopefully, get on the scoresheet. It’s hot competition and I know I wasn’t at my best against Dumbarton.’ Morton’s best chance came just before half-time, Mark Oxley smothering a low Stefan McCluskey drive after the winger was sent clear by Peter MacDonald. Boss Jim Duffy can be heartened by a stubborn defensive display. Luca Gasparotto, making his debut following a loan switch from Rangers, was particularly solid at the heart of defence as he seeks to catch the eye of Mark Warburton. ‘He wants me to get some more experience and prove I can play at this level,’ said the Canadian. ‘Hopefully, in the next few months I can do that and get into the Rangers first team. The manager is going to keep an eye on me, so it’s important I perform well. ‘Barrie McKay was out the picture last season at Rangers but played well for Raith and now he’s starting games, so I hope I can do something similar.’
ALAN DOUGLAS