Hibs' 106-year-old Scottish Cup bid dies in ten minutes

Rangers 1 - 0 Hibs

AGAIN the ever-lasting dream of Scottish Cup glory has been brought to a premature end, Hibs fans today left to ponder whether their latest exit hinged on those ten agonising minutes when Ian Murray was missing.

The victim of an accidental aerial clash with Rangers skipper Barry Ferguson, the midfield star was dispatched to the dressing room for treatment, returning with his broken nose stitched to discover his team-mates had fallen behind to what proved to be the winning goal from Chris Burke.

Would Murray's presence have made any difference? Today, of course, that's a matter only for conjecture, Hibs boss Mixu Paatelainen clearly deciding the gamble on playing with ten men rather than making an early substitution was worth taking.

Until Murray's temporary departure the 26-year-old, deployed alongside Brian Kerr in front of the back four in a clear bid to frustrate Rangers, the Ibrox side, while holding the upper-hand, had toiled to pose a real threat to goalkeeper Yves Ma-Kalambay other than a long-range effort from Steven Whittaker which the Belgian under-21 internationalist turned round the post.

Even playing a man short, however, Paatelainen would have been bitterly disappointed at the nature of Burke's goal, Algerian internationalist Abdel Zarabi failing to cut out Steve Davis' pass before allowing the winger to cut inside him to unleash an unstoppable shot.

Paatelainen said: "I am disappointed we lost but also about the timing of the goal as Ian was inside getting his nose fixed. It was broken but also cut and it took such a long time because the bleeding would not stop and it cost us the game."

Murray returned to find his side under the cosh as Rangers sought a second goal which, to all intents and purposes, would have ended the tie, Ma-Kalambay producing a terrific double save to block Lee McCulloch's point-blank shot with his legs before pulling himself off the ground to push Steven Naismith's header onto the woodwork.

Ma-Kalambay, who looked less than 100 per cent fit following his recent groin injury, ensured Hibs would take some hope into the second period, standing tall to deny Naismith after the Scotland under-21 striker had been left free as Rangers caught Hibs on the break.

Hibs, however, were unable to do themselves justice, resorting to shots from distance as they failed to work themselves into areas to test Rangers goalkeeper Neil Alexander who was making his first start for the Ibrox club following Allan McGregor's red card at Easter Road.

With striker Colin Nish ineligible having played for Kilmarnock earlier in the competition, Paatelainen pulled a surprise by handing Alan O'Brien his start in two months, obviously believing the Republic of Ireland winger's pace could prove crucial.

However, O'Brien, who has been largely anonymous since moving from Newcastle United in the summer, was again a peripheral figure although he was allowed to complete the 90 minutes as Paatelainen opted to replace Dean Shiels with Filipe Morais on the opposite flank.

It was to little avail as Alexander continued to be untroubled, Hibs' desperation for a goal leaving them vulnerable to the counter attack

Ma-Kalambay again proved to be the hero as Rangers swept from their own penalty box only for Kevin Thomson's shot to be blocked by the big goalkeeper's legs.

Skipper Rob Jones said: "We had a lot of shots from 20 or 25 yards that didn't trouble the keeper. We have to test the keeper a little more. We are disappointed overall because we felt we could have sneaked something.

"We had a few decent chances, but the more we attacked, the more space was created behind us."

But, as the match which had promised much but delivered little threatened to fizzle out, it exploded in controversy as Rangers striker Nacho Novo, who had replaced Naismith only 12 minutes earlier, launched himself into a two-footed tackle on Hibs Thierry Gathuessi. It was a reckless challenge, the little Spaniard's feet clearly off the ground and one which could easily have resulted in serious injury to the Frenchman who, to his credit, made little of the incident as he bounced straight back to his feet.

Referee Craig Thomson was in no doubt, immediately producing the red card, the only decision available to him according to Jones who said: "Thierry got up almost straight away, but he (Novo] was off the ground and it was two-footed.

"The referee didn't have any other choice but to send him off. Thierry might say different, but it wasn't a malicious challenge for me."

Nevertheless, the aftermath provoked an astonishing reaction from Rangers boss Walter Smith who, pointing an accusing finger, delivered a ferocious rant at the Hibs dug-out.

The result was a return to the stand for Smith who later insisted he had no problems with the red card, accepting it was the correct decision albeit one which rules Novo out of Sunday's CIS Insurance Cup final against Dundee United.

Instead, he turned his fury on Hibs' backroom staff, accusing them of having tried to get his players booked or sent off all afternoon. He said: "I felt more than anything else, the reaction of the Hibs bench was poor. It was a forward's tackle but I have no argument with the ordering off, I thought the referee made the right decision although I think the tackle looked worse than it was."

Smith may wish to retract that opinion as repeated viewings of the incident made the lunge by Novo, perhaps frustrated at being denied a couple of decent penalty claims, look exactly what it was, reckless and dangerous and one which could easily have resulted in serious injury. Paatelainen was unaware of Smith's accusation when he faced the press, having preceded the Rangers boss, but, like everyone else, he was in full agreement with Thomson's decision.

His rush to the touchline, he insisted, was nothing more than an attempt to ensure Gathuessi didn't react to Novo's tackle. He said: "I wanted to make sure Thierry was calm, perhaps Walter saw the situation a bit differently.

"It was a dangerous tackle and I felt the referee dealt with it in the right manner. A two-footed lunge like that is very dangerous and careless."

Like Hibs, therefore, Rangers were forced to play out ten minutes or so a man short but with that goal advantage and their visitors disappointingly unable to show the sort of craft and guile required, the Glasgow club eased their way into a quarter-final with Partick Thistle.

Paatelainen said: "Our passing and finishing in the final third and in shooting positions was not good enough. We were trying to score and shoot too much rather than being relaxed in those situations."