Dundee United 1-3 Hibernian: Visitors breeze into League Cup semi-final
- Published
Joe Newell gave Hibernian an early lead
Hibernian will face Rangers in their fifth consecutive cup semi-final after they breezed past Dundee United in the League Cup last eight at Tannadice.
Jack Ross' side romped into a three-goal interval lead after goals by Joe Newell and Scott Allan were followed by a Martin Boyle penalty, awarded after a foul by Mark Reynolds.
United responded after the break, with Peter Pawlett pulling one back before being denied a second by a questionable offside decision, but Hibs held on to claim their place in the last four.
Thomas Courts' side were left to rue the decisions from Willie Collum to award a penalty on the stroke of half-time, and to rule out Pawlett's effort.
And further blows to United will be Charlie Mulgrew and Marc McNulty both limping off with injuries.
Hibernian will take on Rangers in the last four on the weekend of 20/21 November.
Hibs have reached the semi-finals of the last four cup competitions, yet Ross was stressing the need to go that final step and lift silverware and they took a first step inside the opening minutes at Tannadice.
Newell found a gap in the defence, collected Allan's through ball, and rifled the ball past Trevor Carson, who started in place of Benjamin Siegrist.
Hibs' fine start continued with Kyle Magennis looping shot pushed over the bar by Carson. And, with defender Mulgrew limping off before the 15 minute mark, United's cup dream was turning into a nightmare.
Yet, they rallied and had chances to equalise. Pawlett shot over from inside the box and Ryan Edwards headed wide. But in a nightmare 10-minute spell they were cut apart by the men from Leith.
Allan's first effort was blocked, and Kevin Nisbet failed to finish the rebound, but as the ball made its way back to Allan he swivelled his body and lashed a superb finish into the net.
United were reeling, but there was anger minutes later when Reynolds appeared to get his toe to the ball inside his own box but was penalised for tripping Paul McGinn. Carson guessed right at the spot kick but Boyle had too much power on his effort.
That appeared to finish the game as a contest. However, United reignited the tie after the break. Kieran Freeman picked out Pawlett, who collected and stabbed home on the hour mark to offer some hope.
Then Matt Macey had to push away Dylan Levitt's inviting ball into the middle for a corner, with Nicky Clark inches away from diverting it away from his grasp.
Then Pawlett burst through the midfield and lobbed a cross over Macey and into the net, but the assistant referee's flag ruled him out. TV replays appeared to suggest the attacker was onside.
But as United pushed they inevitably left gaps at the back. Allan and Kyle Magennis shot wide and Nisbet was inches away from nudging in Newell's low ball across goal.
United continued to push forward but their efforts were in vain and it will be Hibs who return to Hampden.
Man of the match - Scott Allan
The midfielder scored one, assisted one, and was involved in everything in his 65 minutes on the pitch as he made his first start for Hibs since July
What did we learn?
The half-time scoreline perhaps flattered the visitors a little with United creating chances, but they were caught napping at the start and Hibs opened them up all too easily whenever they ventured forward.
The two big refereeing decisions went against United - the penalty award and Pawlett's effort being ruled out. They might also claim that Allan could have received a second yellow card for barging over Freeman when already booked.
Hibs' impressive start to the season continues despite the weekend slip which denied them top spot in the Premiership. What will please Ross was that he was able to bring in Allan and Lewis Stevenson for rare starts and still his team looked sharp.
What did they say?
Dundee United manager Thomas Courts: "Bitterly disappointed. For us the performance levels, outside the first 15 minutes, I thought the boys were outstanding.
"We controlled large parts of the game, but a couple of key decisions went against us."
Hibernian head coach Jack Ross: "It was a really strong performance. We were ruthless in the first half, we carried that attacking intent like we have all this season. When you give yourself that creative platform you expect to win the game.
"We encourage players to play forward all the time and he [Scott Allan] is the one to brave enough to do it all the time. And we want Joe Newell to do the same so I'm pleased to see him get forward and get on the scoresheet."
What's next?
United travel to Celtic in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday (15:00 BST), while Hibs bid to continue their unbeaten domestic start at home to St Johnstone (15:00).
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