Hibernian waiting on fitness of Kevin Nisbet and Chris Cadden ahead of cup final

Posted Wednesday, December 15, 2021 by PA

Hibernian are hopeful over the cup final prospects of Kevin Nisbet and Chris Cadden after both went off injured in a 1-0 victory over Dundee.

The pair were substituted after treatment five days before their team play Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup.

Caretaker manager David Gray said: “It is too soon to tell. I am hoping it is more fatigue than anything else. They have both put in a shift recently in a very congested fixture list.

“The good news is they walked off the pitch which is always pleasing.”

Gray was no clearer on whether he will be in charge at Hampden. Hibs stated earlier on Tuesday that their recruitment process was coming to a conclusion and Belgium coach Shaun Maloney soon emerged as the clear favourite to take over.

“I’m no further forward with that. The job description was to prepare the team for tonight,” the former Hibs captain said ahead of talks with chief executive Ben Kensell.

Hibs prevailed thanks to a spectacular 34th-minute own goal from Paul McMullan, who sent a diving header into the top corner.

It was only a third win in 11 cinch Premiership matches but it left Hibs two points off fourth spot.

“It is great, the feelgood factor of winning games, that’s why we do it, and attention now turns towards Sunday,” Gray said.

“The message is just to look forward to it. You never know when you might next get the opportunity to play in a cup final, or you might never play in a cup final.

“We can go into the game with a bit of confidence and look forward to the occasion.”

Dundee manager James McPake bemoaned their luck.

“The goal is very unfortunate,” he said. “Paul McMullan is very honest, he runs the full length of the pitch, he does the right thing, he has got to throw his body at it.

“On another day, that header gets cleared, it goes anywhere. Unfortunately for us it goes straight into the back of the net.

“The only other two chances of any real significance were Danny Mullen’s, which Danny is gutted with.

“He has been excellent recently and he is devastated because he believes he should have scored. We were the better team at that point in the game. We certainly should have come away with a point at the least.”