A magnificent first-half hat trick from ‘starman’ Martin Boyle secured yet another cup final for Hibs following a pulsating 95 minutes against Rangers at Hampden Park this afternoon.
Incredibly Rangers haven’t beaten Hibs at the national stadium since the 1979 Scottish Cup final replay and that record continued today.
Jack Ross sprang a surprise by selecting youngster Josh Campbell whilst Christian Doidge returned to the squad after a long injury lay off.
Things looked ominous after Paul Hanlon was booked within 30-seconds then Joe Newell suffered the same fate moments later.
But it was Hibs that took the lead in the 7th minute when Boyle got on the end of a Newell corner and fired the ball high into the net from close range.
Hibs doubled their advantage 13-minutes later when Kevin Nisbet split the Rangers defence and Boyle pounced to send an angled right foot drive past Allan McGregor.
With half-time approaching Boyle was brought down by Steven David inside the area and Kevin Clancy had no hesitation in pointing to the spot.
After picking himself up Boyle dispatched the resultant penalty straight down the middle to spark wild celebrations from the Hibs’ fans.
The joy was short lived though when Ryan Porteous mishit a clearance and Scott Arfield curled the ball past Matt Macey.
Rangers had the majority of the possession in the second half but the Hibs defence was outstanding to a man.
Lewis Stevenson replaced the injured John Doig, then Darren McGregor replaced the injured Porteous but whoever was wearing the green and white jerseys played their part.
Hibs fans held their breath when an overhit pass back by McGregor came back off the post but the longer the game went on the more it became apparent that Ross’s men would be back for the final against Celtic next month.
Hibs: Macey, McGinn, Porteous, Hanlon, Doig, Cadden, Doyle-Hayes, Newell, Boyle, Campbell Nisbet. Substitutes: Dabrowski, Wood, Stevenson, Gogic, Scott, Wright, Gullan, Allan, Doidge, McGregor
Rangers: McGregor, Tavernier, Goldson, Balogun, Barisic, Kamara, Davis, Arfield, Aribo, Kent, Morelos. Subs: McLaughlin, Bassey, Patterson, Lundstram, Kack, Bacuna, Hagi, Wright, Salaka
Referee Kevin Clancy
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.
