Hibs will play either Aberdeen or Motherwell at Easter Road in the William Hill Scottish Cup on the weekend of 2/3 February 2013.
Pat Fenlon’s men earned their place in the 5th round with a famous victory over holders Hearts, in front of 17,052 fans on Sunday, ending a run of twelve derbies without a win.
The only goal of the hard fought encounter came in the 82nd minute when a Paul Cairney pass found David Wotherspoon unmarked on the right wing. The Under 21 international beat Hearts fullback Kevin McHattie before his shot deflected off Hearts captain Marius Zaliukas past Jamie Macdonald into the net, sparking wild celebrations from the Hibs supporters.
The goal was particularly special for Wotherspoon who was left out of the squad for the cup final in May, and after the game he said: “I’ll be honest; I was devastated to be left out of such a historic game. It was a disappointing day for everybody at Hibs, including the fans. I remember sitting watching it, not even on the bench but in my suit in the stand. It wasn’t a great feeling, so I said to myself I had to get my head up and get on with things and try to make sure it never happened again. I actually thought about that when my goal went in.
Initially the goal was credited to Zaliukas, but the SFA have now relented and awarded the goal to Wotherspoon.
“I heard Sky Sports are saying it was an own goal and I thought they might, but I am definitely claiming it. It was a shot and if you look at the replay I thought I caught it pretty well. It went in; it was my shot, so I am taking it. It was just tremendous to see it go in. I don’t remember a lot about the ball flight, and then I didn’t know what to do myself; it was just such a great feeling. To score so late in the game as well was just great.
“It has just topped things off unbelievably for me. It was the first time I have won a derby in 10 attempts, so now hopefully we have turned the corner at this club. People have spoken about it being revenge for the cup final but there is still a long way to go for that, but this is one back on them and I am sure there will be plenty more to come.”
“I had never beaten Hearts so this is a great feeling. It’s been a long time coming for everyone, as you saw from the reaction on the pitch and on the side. I even saw the gaffer on TV celebrating when my goal went in and he was brilliant.
“After the game, the boys who weren’t involved, like the captain James McPake, were superb. I was pleased for him because I know he was desperate to be out there. Leigh Griffiths was also bitterly disappointed to get injured but you could see his reaction after the game. He is that sort of boy. He would never want to leave the pitch against Hearts but unfortunately he had to. He stayed out there to the end.
“The atmosphere from start to finish was brilliant. The fans singing Sunshine on Leith sends shivers down your neck and back. Once we scored I was quite confident because they didn’t really trouble us in any way. They put a few dangerous crosses in during the first half but in the second half they didn’t really threaten. The defence was solid at the back and everybody was working for everybody else. It was great and I just hope we can continue this now.”
The full draw is as follows:
Raith Rovers v Celtic or Arbroath
St Mirren v Cowdenbeath or St Johnstone
Dunfermline v Dumbarton or Hamilton
Hibs v Aberdeen or Motherwell
Falkirk v Forfar Athletic
Dundee United v Rangers
Dundee v Turriff United or Morton
Kilmarnock v Ross County or Inverness Caledonian Thistle
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
