Hibernian hit five past Inverness to reach Scottish Cup semi-finals

Posted Saturday, February 29, 2020 by PA

Hibernian ran riot to sweep aside Inverness 5-2 and reach the semi-finals of the William Hill Scottish Cup.

Adam Jackson took his tally to three goals in his last four games to break the deadlock before Scott Allan and Greg Docherty put the Hibees in control.

Inverness threatened to spark a frantic finale when a deflected Carl Tremarco effort cut the arrears but their hopes of a stirring comeback were thwarted when ex-Hearts defender Brad McKay was dismissed.

Stephane Omeonga and Jamie Gullan both opened their accounts for the club to add gloss to the scoreline and even a late consolation from Nikolay Todorov did nothing to take the shine off a comprehensive triumph as the capital club booked their place at Hampden.

Referee Nick Walsh got the ball rolling on a breathless night by awarding Hibs a penalty when Kevin McHattie was adjudged to have dragged Marc McNulty to the turf in the box.

The on-loan Reading striker, who missed a spot-kick against Livi, clearly wanted to take it himself – only for skipper Paul Hanlon to grab the ball from him. And, with McNulty clearly irked, Hanlon’s tame effort was saved by Mark Ridgers.

Tom Walsh burst through weak challenges from Hanlon and Lewis Stevenson and rattled the base of the post with a ferocious low drive.

Hibs took full advantage of that reprieve when Christian Doidge rose highest to flick a Paul McGinn delivery into the path of Jackson, who produced a fine instinctive volley beyond Ridgers from close range.

The hosts doubled their advantage as the hour mark approached. A slick counter-attack saw Martin Boyle find McNulty, allowing the striker to slip a perfect pass across the face of goal for Allan to slam into the roof of the net.

Docherty got in on the act when he met a cutback from the excellent McGinn and fired home his third goal since joining on loan from Rangers.

Inverness stalwart Tremarco briefly afforded John Robertson’s men some hope when his deflected effort from a tight angle somehow squirmed past Ofir Marciano.

But that glimmer of hope faded when McKay hacked down Doidge with an ugly challenge from behind, prompting referee Walsh to give the defender his marching order.

With their opponents down to 10 men, substitute Omeonga smashed a sensational drive into the top corner before Gullan completed the scoring with his first ever senior strike for Hibs.

A late goal by Todorov provided little solace for Inverness, albeit the goal was enjoyed by the boisterous band of travelling supporters in the south stand.