LENNON’S HIBS GROW UP QUICK TO DEFY BATTLING LIONS
Relief for Lennon as Hibs act their age
IT would be quite wrong to describe Hibs’ passage into the Betfred Cup semi-finals as child’s play. But, just three days after Neil Lennon accused his side of playing like Under-8s, his players showed the required maturity when it mattered most to avoid a shock at the hands of second-tier Livingston.
In seeing out this entertaining five-goal thriller, thanks to a late Anthony Stokes penalty, the Easter Road side cemented their status as cup specialists.
Next month, the men from Leith will take part in their fifth semi-final in the past six major cup competitions. The exception to that fine run was an early exit to Championship side Queen of the South in the League Cup last season.
The build-up to this quarter-final tie had been dominated by a debate over the merits, or otherwise, of publicly criticising players — with Lennon also describing his side’s defending in a 2-2 draw with Motherwell on Saturday as ‘pathetic’ and ‘embarrassing’.
Two of the Hibs back five — goalkeeper Ofir Marciano and defender Steven Whittaker — paid the price and dropped to the bench. So did Brandon Barker and Simon Murray. In came Ross Laidlaw, Lewis Stevenson, Danny Swanson and Vykintas Slivka.
Lennon did not get the reaction he was looking for, initially at least.
Hibs started promisingly enough, with Stokes and Martin Boyle both drawing smart saves from Livingston keeper Neil Alexander.
But Easter Road was stunned into silence when Livingston took the lead on 10 minutes.
Rafa De Vita floated in a free-kick and Alan Lithgow headed into the net for a surprise lead that sent the small band of Lions supporters wild.
There was a further setback for Lennon when he lost captain David Gray to injury, his place going to Whittaker.
But the recently recalled Scotland defender made an immediate impact, playing a key role in hauling Hibs level.
Whittaker powered down the right before picking out Swanson, lurking at the edge of the box.
And Swanson showed his class by chipping the ball effortlessly into the postage-stamp corner.
It was the boyhood Hibs fan’s first goal for the club and it was one to savour.
An even better strike was just around the corner, though.
After Efe Ambrose had headed into no man’s land — schoolboy defending, you could say — Scott Pittman fed De Vita on the edge of the box.
The midfielder turned and cracked a glorious volley past Laidlaw, in off the underside of the bar.
But Hibs showed great spirit to level again almost immediately. A terrific short-corner routine culminated in John McGinn playing the ball to Stokes, who flicked it into the path of Boyle.
The wide midfielder used his electric pace to find space in a crowded penalty box before shooting low across Alexander and into the bottom corner.
A breathtaking first half ended with Livvy’s goal hero De Vita limping off injured and being replaced by Jackson Longridge.
Livingston had not lost an away match in 2017 and it was easy to see why as they continued to match Hibs after the break.
Boyle came the closest to putting the Easter Road side in front for the first time, but he blazed over the bar from 18 yards after a fine run.
Livingston substitute Danny Mullen then caused alarm in the home ranks, but his 25 yarder was narrowly over the bar.
Hibs were now dominating and Whittaker came close with a curling drive after a fine move involving substitute Dylan McGeouch, McGinn and Stokes.
It seemed only a matter of time before Lennon’s men found the winning goal they deserved.
With eight minutes left, Nikolay Todorov — on loan from Hearts — tripped Paul Hanlon in the box and referee Bobby Madden had no hesitation in pointing to the spot.
Stokes kept his cool to drill the ball low and hard into the bottom left-hand corner to ease the nerves and secure a safe passage through what had been choppy waters.
Lennon was delighted with his side’s response and remains on track to address one major blot on his impressive CV.
The League Cup was the first trophy Lennon won as a Celtic player, but it remains the only one he has not lifted as a manager.
The Northern Irishman reached the final twice with Celtic, losing to Rangers in 2011 and Kilmarnock a year later, and suffered surprise losses to St Mirren and Morton with the Parkhead club.
Tomorrow night, he will find out who stands in his way of taking Hibs into their first final since winning the Scottish Cup in 2016.