Cup loss can spur Lichties to glory

Arbroath’s Scottish Cup campaign is over for another year after going down valiantly to Hibs in the fifth round.

If a cup upset was on the cards, the Lichties certainly played into that narrative early on.

A goal on six minutes from former Hearts striker Craig Wighton silenced the noisy away support.

But at the end of an action-packed opening 20 minutes, Hibs were level.

Arbroath continued to ask questions of their visitors but the Edinburgh side were just too strong for the Championship leaders in the end.

Courier Sport looks at three talking points from Sunday’s game.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN?

Getting their goal so early on, many would have feared it was perhaps too early, with a further 84 minutes to hold on to their lead.

But Arbroath had plenty of chances to increase their lead and had no desire to sit back at all, continuing to take the game to their opponents.

The Championship side know themselves that they should have added to their one goal.

There was the crazy (not) offside incident where everyone stopped playing and it was too late for Jack Hamilton to bury the chance by the time he realised.

The Lichties also had three glorious opportunities to make it 2, 3 or even 4-1 just after half-time with Wighton, Scott Stewart and Jack Hamilton seeing their attempts thwarted by Matt Macey.

Hibs did look a bit rocky at times at the back, but their added bit of quality bailed them out.

If Arbroath continue to play the way they did on Sunday, they should have no problem seeing out the league.

A BLESSING IN DISGUISE?

An extended Scottish Cup run to accompany their Championship heroics would obviously have been an incredible addition to an already incredible season for Arbroath fans.

But, despite how it might have felt at full-time, being knocked out of the Scottish Cup is probably for the best for the Lichties.

With a game during the week, the Arbroath players looked tired midway through the second half.

Not forgetting these are part-time players, all with their own varied day jobs to work outwith Gayfield.

If Arbroath were to have caused an upset by getting past Hibs, that would have added an extra game to their schedule, moving another league game to midweek.

It would also have given their title rivals a chance to catch up on their points tally, as Kilmarnock did by reducing the gap to two points at the weekend.

And a midweek game for players who have worked all day isn’t going to be ideal as they look to keep their place at the top.

Although a cup competition could have been a nice distraction, it’s not one that Arbroath needed right now.

HIBS TAUGHT ARBROATH A VALUABLE LESSON

If Arbroath are to win the Championship or secure play-off promotion, Hibs showed them the level they need to be at in the top flight.

Hibs have been off the boil recently without a win in seven games – but they still looked a good team.

As the Lichties began to tire, the visitors were relentless in their attack.

Arbroath are striving for the Premiership, Hibs may have taught them a valuable footballing lesson in how to survive it – should they get there.

GREAT EFFORT: Manager Dick Campbell watches on as his Arbroath players make life hard for Hibs at Gayfield.