Hibs will face Falkirk in the semi-final of this year’s William Hill Scottish Cup after a comfortable 4-0 win over Berwick Rangers at Easter Road this afternoon.
Head Coach Alan Stubbs made two changes to the starting XI that beat Alloa Athletic last weekend, bringing back Liam Fontaine to replace the cup-tied Keith Watson and Jason Cummings in place of Franck Dja Djedje,
Borderer Liam Craig who used to watch Berwick Rangers as a youngster had to settle for a place on the bench alongside Danny Handling and Jordon Forster, both of whom played for the ‘English’ side on loan earlier in their careers.
David Gray captained the side in place of Craig.
Berwick who are managed by ex-Hearts’ midfielder Colin Cameron, fielded Lee Currie and David Gold who were previously on Hibs’ books as youngsters.
Hibs started brightly and Dominique Malonga almost opened the scoring in the fourth minute but his strike was deflected wide.
The Edinburgh side then dominated possession and eventually took the lead in the 25th minute when Fontaine found Lewis Stevenson on the left wing. Hibs’ longest serving player then sent a magnificent through ball into the path of Cummings who calmly slid the ball past William Bald into the net.
Two minutes later Stevenson took possession of the ball on the wing before cutting inside. After beating two Berwick defenders he played a superb one-two with Malonga before smashing a shot into the corner of the net to double Hibs advantage.
Just after the break, a Gray header from Scott Allan’s corner struck the post as Hibs looked to wrap things up.
In the 62nd minute Sam Stanton replaced Allan and Stubbs’ decision was vindicated two minutes later when Stevenson found Dylan McGeouch on the left wing. The on-loan Celtic star calmly slipped the ball to Malonga whose shot was saved by Bald but he could only divert the ball into the path of Stanton who side footed it into the empty net.
With eight minutes remaining, Hibs added a fourth. Cummings did well to find Sam Stanton on the edge of the box and the youngster slid the ball into the path of substitute Craig whose shot looked to be heading for the top corner before Bald produced a wonder save to divert the ball over the bar. Referee Bobby Madden initially awarded a goal kick but changed his mind after consulting his assistant.
Stanton sent the resultant corner into the six yard box and Fontaine headed the ball into the net to complete the scoring.
The draw was made after the Dundee United v Celtic game at Tannadice which ended in a 1-1 draw. The winners of that game will face either Inverness Caledonian Thistle or Raith Rovers whose game was postponed yesterday and will take place on Tuesday.
Hibs v Falkirk is a repeat of the 2013 semi-final which ended in a 4-3 win for Hibs who fought back from being 3-0 down at half time.
Hibs: Oxley, Gray, Hanlon, Fontaine, Stevenson, Robertson, Allan, Fyvie, McGeouch, Malonga, Cummings. Subs Cerny, Forster, Craig, Stanton, Handling, Martin, Djedje
Berwick Ragers : Bald, Jacobs, Drummond, Notman, Young, Fairbairn, Gray, Currie, Russell, Gold, Willis. Subs Andrews, Lavery, Dargo, Maxwell, Miller, Bauld, Henderson.
Referee Bobby Madden
Attendance 11,251
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.
