Hibs 5 Montrose 1

Hibs 5 Montrose 1

Scorers: HIBS: Nish (2), Riordan, Benjelloun, Gow MONTROSE: Hegarty

ANDY McNEIL kept Hibs from repeating their 9-0 scoreline the last time Montrose played at Easter Road, but admitted there was a gulf in quality between the teams.

The former Hibs keeper made a string of top-class saves as his old mates battered him from every angle and showed no mercy in their attempt to finally land the Scottish Cup.

John Hughes' side had no fewer than 26 attempts on goal - 16 on target - and could have won by a much bigger margin.

However, McNeil - who won a League Cup medal at Easter Road - stopped short of saying this could be the year Hibs finally end their 108-year separation from the trophy.

He said: "Hibs are a lot better than us and they showed their class,

"Today and from the bits and pieces I've seen on TV, this is a much better Hibs team than the one I played in, even the one that won the League Cup.

"Just look at the players they brought off the bench - Merouane Zemmama, Benji and Alan Gow - it's frightening to be honest.

"They were great today and it was difficult for us.

"We gave a decent account but there's a massive difference between the two teams.

"I'm not going to start jinxing them by saying this is going to be Hibs' year, but if they get a good run and avoid the Old Firm before the Final, then anything's possible."

Colin Nish scored twice and Hibs added further goals through Derek Riordan, Adessalam Benjelloun and Gow, on his debut, with Chris Hegarty netting for the visitors.

All that came after an early scare for the home side, when Steven Nicholas turned the ball across goal after Ian Murray had tried to shepherd the ball out of play but skipper Hugh Davidson missed his kick from 15 yards.

To their credit, it was warning that Hibs heeded and McNeil had to spread himself to keep out a Liam Miller shot as the hosts piled on the pressure.

It took them less than five minutes to find the net, McNeil getting down well to block Riordan's shot but Nish was on hand to ram home the rebound.

It was obvious even at this early stage that McNeil was going to face his busiest game of the season. He did well to turn a Riordan shot over his crossbar as Hibs sought to put the tie to bed early.

Cross

McNeil then reacted well to tip a looping header from Nish over his crossbar after a measured cross from Kevin McBride.

Nish then doubled Hibs' tally in the 25th minute when he slotted in a cross from Rankin to leave Montrose with a mountain to climb.

Hibs had it all under control. McNeil performed more heroics to keep out a free-kick from Riordan which was bound for the right-hand corner of his net. The keeper produced an even better save five minutes from the break as Riordan curled one towards his top corner, but he managed to touch it past his post.

Even though they were clearly up against it, Montrose did not lay down in the second half and Hugh Davidson was not far away when the ball broke to him at the edge of the area, but his effort was just a foot too high.

Nish lashed one over the top when he should have done better but Montrose continued to send players forward in numbers and Steven Nicholas was blocked twice in quick succession.

Nish should have had his hat-trick midway through the half after McNeil saved well from Merouane Zemmama and the ball was played to the striker at the far post, but the Montrose keeper leapt across goal to push out his six-yard shot.

But the third goal arrived moments later. Riordan - who also netted in that 9-0 win in a League Cup tie in September 2003 - sending an unstoppable shot beyond McNeil from all of 25 yards.

Amazingly, Montrose hit straight back - Hegarty beating Graeme Smith with a low shot from distance, although he was promptly booked for his goal celebration with the visiting fans.

However, Hibs finished with a flourish.

Benjelloun headed in a cross from fellow substitute Zemmama after 78 minutes and then Gow completed the scoring, showing clever footwork before slipping the ball in at the far corner.

Hibs manager John Hughes, below, was really happy with the win.

He beamed: "It was a very professional performance. We went about our business in a good manner and we could have scored more, but that might have been harsh on Montrose.

"The goals were shared about, which I'm delighted about, and we have real competition for places here now."

Montrose boss Steven Tweed, also a former Hibs player, added: "We came here to have a go. We knew that if we sat in and defended, it would only be a matter of time before they broke us down.

"So we thought we would take the pressure off our defence and that's what we tried. At 2-0 we were still in the game, but then Derek Riordan had that wonderful strike."

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