This is how it feels (Queen of the South 05 04 21)

It had seemed a long wait to see Hibs in Scottish Cup action, given they were involved in the final tie of the round but finally the day arrived, and Jack Ross made just one change to his starting eleven in replacing a travel weary Ofir Marciano with Matt Macey. The conditions were pretty awful and the playing surface not much better and that contributed to a relatively poor first half showing from the men from Leith but a goal close to the interval set Hibs up nicely for a much better second half.

Playing into the face of a strong wind, Hibs struggled to put their passing game together as Queens made the stronger start to the game. An early scare came in the shape of poor marking at the back post for a corner but thankfully the usually deadly Stephen Dobbie blasted wildly over the bar from close range. At the other end, a Newell effort was blocked and then that man Dobbie popped up again at the other end but sent a headed effort over the bar.

A fine move saw Nisbet push the ball into the path of the inrushing Martin Boyle and the Hibs man struck a fierce shot which looked as though it might end up in the net but struck the bottom of keeper Ferguson which took all the pace out of the effort and the ball was cleared. The hosts were enjoying the bulk of possession without really troubling Macey and his opposite number Ferguson was relieved to see a snap shot from Nisbet fly wide of his right hand post. Dobbie and Shields looked lively, but the final ball rarely reached them as Hibs defended stoutly and the pace of Boyle was always a threat to their rearguard.

Christian Doidge was causing problems for their central defenders and a header from the Hibs man came close to breaking the deadlock. Snow began to fall, just to add to the rotten conditions but with half time looming the number 9 put Hibs ahead when the hosts failed to deal with a Boyle corner and Doidge poked the ball home from close range. Right on the whistle, McCabe struck a fantastic free kick which hit the angle of outside of the post and bar although I’m fairly certain Macey had it covered.

Hibs were like a team transformed in the second half and with the weather conditions improving, they began to impose themselves on the game. Swarming forward they had the hosts pinned back and long range efforts from both Nisbet and Boyle cleared the bar and then Doig put a sumptuous cross into the six yard box but there were no takers. Hibs continued to push but couldn’t find a second goal with both Doig and Nisbet off target around the hour mark. I began to worry that we’d get frustrated and soon added to my worry that the hosts might just survive the onslaught and put us under pressure.

In a fine move, Dobbie sent Shields racing in on goal with Hanlon in pursuit. The striker got a fine shot away but a marvellous save by Macey kept his side in the lead. Soon after, Dobbie went down in the box under challenge from Newell. Dobbie thought it was a penalty, I didn’t and thankfully Willie Collum agreed. Having secured possession of the ball, Newell burst forward some sixty or seventy yards before sending a slide rule pass into the path of Doidge who raced free to beat Ferguson from around ten yards. I confess I worried that Doidge might squander the opportunity because he had a lot of time to think about what kind of effort on goal, he’d make but it was a case of ‘ye of little faith’ as far as I was concerned.

Three minutes later, Nisbet sent Boyle through and travelling at full speed the Hibs man was first to the ball and fired a lovely shot over the diving keeper to make it 3-0. To their credit the hosts kept going and a shot from Jones was saved low to his left by Macey. In the minutes around the 75 mark, Jack Ross made two changes in replacing Irvine and Boyle with Magennis and Cadden. It made sense because to all intents and purposes the tie was won and it was good to give some other players some minutes of action and Magennis soon had a left footed effort saved by Ferguson.

With ten minutes left the hosts pulled a goal back when Jones sent the impressive Maxwell through on goal. The on loan Rangers player nutmegged Hanlon before poking the ball past the approaching Macey. In the not so distant past, I might have been fretted Hibs would press the panic button, but I needn’t have worried because we finished the game very much on the front foot.

A difficult venue, in shocking conditions and on an iffy playing surface has been negotiated safely and Hibs will now face a trip to Stair Park to take on Stranraer in the next round. Ahead of that, we have a trip to Ibrox and if Hibs can play like they did for most of the second half we might just get a decent outcome.

The players

Macey – Matt wasn’t exactly overworked but he did make a crucial save when Hibs were only 1-0 ahead. He seems comfortable with the ball at his feet and willing to come off his line when needs be.

McGinn – Paul was caught out a couple of times in the first half but to be fair to him, a hurried pass from Newell when he wasn’t even facing the ball was hardly his fault.

Porteous – Ryan was solid throughout and his use of the ball was good too. He resisted the urge to send a sixty yard effort forward into no man’s land as well, which he’s been guilty of a bit lately.

Hanlon – Nutmegged for their goal but even the best players in the world get nutmegged sometimes! He defended well, which is his main job after all.

Boyle – Flitted in and out for the first forty minutes but was a thorn in the flesh of his opponents thereafter. His corner at the first goal was good, given the strong wind and he took his goal extremely calmly to kill the tie off.

Gogic – I read some pre match thoughts that we didn’t need Gogic tonight, but I think his performance proved otherwise. I thought he was the principal reason the Queens front men received such poor service from their midfield.

Newell – Played very deep in the first half and like Gogic was involved mostly defensively but he came into his own in the second and was involved in the majority of our better moves.

Irvine – I think Jackson struggled more than most with the playing surface, but he put in a decent shift and, pleasingly, he got into their penalty area a fair few times.

Doig – Most of our first half play came down our right and so Josh was relatively quiet, but he got going in the second and continues to impress both on and off the ball.

Nisbet – I thought Kevin wasn’t wearing his shooting boots tonight as he missed a few decent chances to score but he worked really hard and his through ball for the third goal was a peach.

Doidge – At both ends of the park he continues to be a valuable asset and getting two goals tonight will boost his confidence no end. Like summariser James McFadden I am picking Doidge as my man of the match.

Magennis – Good to see him back on the pitch and the minutes he had will help get him up to speed for the run in to the end of the season.

Cadden – Not involved that much but did what he had to do in seeing out the game.

Wright – I actually wish JR had given him longer on the pitch. 3-0 up and no fans to groan he might just have taken the opportunity to show there’s a player in there.

Jack Ross - Looked livid at times in the first half but was rightfully all smiles at the end.

Referee – Willie Collum got most things right, including refusing the penalty.