ANY PORT IN A STORMER
Hibs hero Ryan settles thriller with super-cool pen
Ryan Porteous sent Hibs back to Hampden with a shoot- out winner after an epic Scottish Cup quarter-final tie.
The defender sealed their place in the semis as Jack Ross’ side eventually disposed of Motherwell on penalties.
The Steelmen had staged a staggering f ightback from 2- 0 down to send the match to extra-time.
But after Mark O’Hara and Stevie Lawless missed from the spot, Porteous held his nerve to send them through.
Hibs should have had the game tied up, having led with just 10 minutes left thanks to goals from Christian Doidge and Jackson Irvine.
But Graham Alexander’s men came storming back through Ricki Lamie and Tony Watt to set up a thrilling finish.
Hibs midfielder Alex Gogic was sent off in the final minute of extra-time before the drama of the penalties.
Porteous was the hero as the Edinburgh club clinched a memorable win.
They will now go back to Hampden for a third straight time in cup competitions.
This was always going to be a tight game, especially early on, as Motherwell matched up to Hibs with their shape. The home
AET: HIBS WIN 4-2 ON PENALTIES side were favourites going into it but Alexander had a game plan to frustrate and it worked in the first half.
They went like for like with a 3-5-2 set-up, with little personal battles all over the pitch, most notably Nathan McGinley’s joust with danger man Martin Boyle on Hibs’ right.
The Australian international has been a talisman for Ross in recent weeks and he was their biggest threat again here.
Without carving out clear-cut chances, the Hibees ace must have fizzed at least four terrific balls across Motherwell’s six -yard box but with no takers.
That must have irked the manager, who would have expected twin strikers Kevin Nisbet and Doidge to be gobbling up that service.
Scotland new boy Nisbet carved out a chance for himself outside the box when he got away from Well defenders.
But under pressure he flashed a shot just past Liam Kelly’s right-hand post.
All the best football was being played by Hibs, who were working the ball really well up to the final third.
That’s when Well put a squeeze on, making it really diff icult for them to create gilt- edged opportunities.
The flip side of that was that Alexander’s men weren’t good enough in possession. There were far too many high balls up to front men Devante Cole and Chris Long, who were being starved of decent service.
Wing-backs McGinley and Stephen O’Donnell could also barely get over the halfway line because they were too busy tracking Boyle and Josh Doig.
Yet Motherwell had the best chance of the first 45 after a rare exchange of passes between Long and Allan Campbell.
The midfielder found himself a bit of space, sorted his feet out and lashed in a drive that stung the palms of Hibs keeper Matt Macey.
That was a warning to the Easter Road side that for all the territory and possession they had, they’d failed to work Kelly.
Towards the break, they were
getting anxious with Gogic picking up a yellow card for a late challenge on Robbie Crawford.
It was important Hibs didn’t get caught in a dog fight and kept pushing Motherwell back.
To their credit they did as the visitors dropped too deep seven minutes into the second half and paid the price.
Paul McGinn fired in a brilliant cross from the right and Doidge rose above his marker to power home a bul let header for 1- 0.
It was a classic Doidge goal but the del iver y f rom
McGinn made it. Now Well had to show something going forward to get back into the match before Hibs went two up.
Doidge had a chance to grab his second when Irvine knocked the ball into his path at the back post but this time the striker stabbed it over.
When Alexander’s side actually got the bal l down and played, they progressed up the pitch.
They did it to g reat ef fect when they got Cole one-on-one with Macey. The on- loan Arsenal keeper won the duel with a brilliant point
blank save to deny the striker. With 20 minutes left, Well had to change their shape and go for it so Watt replaced stopper Tyler Magloire as they went 4-3-3.
At that stage they didn’t look as if they had the belief to turn the game around and their fate looked to have been sealed when Irvine got Hibs’ second.
The ball broke to Boyle at the back post and he cut it back to Nisbet whose shot was prodded home by the Aussie.
That should have been game over. It was impossible to see how Motherwell would get back in it.
But they got a late lifeline when Lamie’s volley from a corner looped into the net and gave them something to fight for.
Incredibly, on 89 minutes, sub Watt got on the end of an O’Donnell cross to send a Doidge
like header thundering past Macey to set up extra time.
The manner in which Well reacted after going 2- 0 behind certainly made you wonder why they hadn’t started the match with the same attacking intent.
Now they looked most likely to go on and win it.
Extra-time was cagey and the best chance fell to Boyle near the end after a mix-up between Lamie and McGinley but Kelly saved with his legs.
Gogic was sent off in the dying seconds for getting involved in handbags with Declan Gallagher.
In the end it was decided from the spot.
Even after Nisbet missed for Hibs when he could have sealed it, Porteous won it with their fifth, decisive kick to set up that return trip to Hampden.