I feared Raith was run
John McGlynn praised his Raith Rovers players for refusing to crumble after Hibs threatened to run riot at Easter Road.
The Hibees were 3- 0 up with 32 minutes left but the Fifers rallied and pulled a goal back through Euan Murray, who almost grabbed a second to set up a grandstand finish.
Stark’s Park gaf fer McGlynn said: “We had to stay in the game so I’m proud of the players that at 3- 0 we didn’t lose by four or five.
“It’s a kind of gamble between having a go as it’s a cup tie and avoiding a battering.
“Thankfully they didn’t crumble and stuck together, got a goal back and nearly got another.
“We had to try to unsettle Hibs and get the fans to turn on them but that didn’t really materialise. Euan Murray had a decent chance at the start of the second half and if he’d struck it low and hard it would’ve been game on.
“The nerves in the stand might have transmitted onto the pitch which it did when we got the goal back and then had a header narrowly past.
“If that had gone in it would have been very interesting with 10 minutes to go.
“But did the best team win? Of course they did.
“We needed Hibs to have an off day but they played very well.”
McGlynn admits the gulf in class showed some of his young players what they have to do if they are to make it to the top flight.
He added: “Maybe for some of the younger players who aspire to play in the top flight it was a bit of a wake-up call.
“Marc McNulty went for £1million in the summer – that’s £1m more than the players we usually come up against in League One.”