The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Dominant Hibs send United packing
Championship side book last-four slot to leave Tangerines to face league survival battle
Dundee United crashed out of the League Cup last night after being totally dominated by Hibs at Easter Road.
The home team thoroughly deserved to win this quarter-final because, despite being from the Championship and the Tangerines from the Premiership, they grabbed hold of this game from the first whistle and never really let go.
The men from Leith opened the scoring on 20 minutes thanks to a shot on the spin from David Gray then doubled their lead on 61 minutes when Jason Cummings fired home a penalty that had been harshly awarded against the visitors after the ball struck John Rankin’s arm.
Lewis Stevenson’s deflected shot three minutes into stoppage time made it three but it could have been a lot worse for United.
Now they will have to concentrate on trying to climb off bottom spot in the Premiership.
The Tangerines were unchanged from the team that lined up for the 1-0 win over Ross County in the league on Saturday.
An interested spectator in the main stand was Japanese goalkeeper Eiji Kawashimi, who has agreed to join the Tannadice men but is waiting on a work permit.
Hibs made a couple of changes following Sunday’s defeat of Rangers, with defender Liam Fontaine and forward James Keatings coming in for Darren McGregor and Dylan McGeouch.
The home team were on the attack pretty sharpish and Cummings hooked a shot wide of the near post then Liam Henderson sent his drive beyond the far post – all within the first couple of minutes.
On five minutes, Cummings had another go, cutting in from the left and letting fly only for United goalie Michal Szromnik to save comfortably.
After James Keatings had a shot saved by Szromnik, Billy Mckay had the visitors’ first attack on eight minutes as he sent the ball wide of the post from inside the Hibs box.
Adam Taggart seemed to break clear for United on 15 minutes, running from inside his own as the Hibs players shouted for offside.
However, he was penalised for using his hand to control the ball and the chance was gone.
Szromnik was the Tangerines’ hero on 17 minutes as he dived to tip a Keatings shot past the post then he broke the Hibs man’s heart again two minutes later as pushed the ball over for a corner.
United couldn’t stem the green and white tide forever and the hosts took the lead on 20 minutes when Gray found enough room to spin and hook a shot home from just inside the box that was too well placed for Szromnik.
The Polish goalie was being kept far too busy from a United point of view and he was called on again – and he did well again – to hold an effort from Dominique Malonga on the half-hour.
United had a decent opportunity on 35 minutes when Scott Fraser cut inside from the left but the midfielder fired his shot way over the bar from a good position.
The visitors were a clear second-best, though, and must have been relieved to hear the half-time whistle.
The home side were straight on the attack after the interval and the United post was hit by a low drive from Keatings and the ball rebounded to safety.
The only consolation for the Tangerines was that they were only one down and they came their closest yet to scoring on 49 minutes when Ryan McGowan, up for a corner, chipped the ball towards the top corner of the net only for Stevenson to head off the line.
Cummings was rightly flagged for offside as he broke into the box on 54 minutes, then Szromnik pulled off another fine stop to keep out another Keatings’ shot.
On the hour, the visitors had a penalty awarded against them when a Cummings header hit United midfielder Rankin’s arm.
Referee Willie Collum ruled that it was handball but that seemed a harsh decision.
Cummings wasn’t bothered about that, though, and sent Szromnik the wrong way with a low shot to the keeper’s left to make it 2-0 to Alan Stubbs’s side.
Sub Simon Murray, who had come on for Aaron Kuhl, almost got one back for the Tangerines on 78 minutes but his
stabbed shot was saved by goalie Mark Oxley.
The Tangerines then had their best spell of the match as they at least kept the ball well but, with just five minutes to go, it should have been 3-0 Hibs as sub Farid El Alagui slipped as he prepared to tap the ball into the United net.
Hibs did get a third, though, deep into injury-time when Stevenson’s low strike took a deflection and sneaked inside Szromnik’s post. Attendance: 11,891.
Hibs: Oxley, Gray, Henderson, Hanlon, Fontaine, Malonga (El Alagui 86), Fyvie, Stevenson, McGinn (McGregor 67), Keatings (Boyle 83), Cummings. Subs not used: Reguero, Feruz, Carmichael, Eckersley.
Dundee United: Szromnik, Dillon, Souttar, Mckay, Rankin, McGowan, Durnan, Spittal, Fraser, Kuhl (Murray 70), Taggart. Subs not used: Zwick, Telfer, Connolly, Donaldson, Bodul, Robson.
Referee: Willie Collum.