Motherwell 1-2 Hibernian: Maloney hails Melkersen's 'amazing' impact as striker nets double on first start

Hibernian boss Shaun Maloney praised Elias Melkersen's "amazing" impact after the teenage striker's double on his first start sunk 10-man Motherwell in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals.

Motherwell played 89 minutes with 10 men after Bevis Mugabi's red for a studs-up lunge on Josh Doig.

Hibs capitalised as Melkersen twice linked with Sylvester Jasper to net.

Joe Efford cut the deficit before the break, but Hibs reached the semi-finals for the third season running.

They join Hearts and Rangers in the last four, with the draw taking place on Monday after Dundee United host Celtic to complete the line-up.

After handing Melkersen, 19, his full debut, Maloney said of the Norwegian: "He has worked so hard in the last six weeks to get to a position where he can perform like that and it's just an amazing first start.

"He should be very proud of what he did, two brilliant goals. They were different types of goals as well and he had another chance in the first half.

"He has a great mentality. He understood the process coming in and he earned his start."

• Reaction & as it happened

The form card for both sides looked pretty dire going into this one. Hibs had failed to score in seven of their last 10 games while Motherwell have recorded just one win this year - against Aberdeen in the previous round.

However, Hibs fans were buoyed by the appearance of Melkersen. The former Bodo/Glimt striker had excited in brief cameos off the bench in previous weeks and was finally been given the nod for a first start. A big decision from Shaun Maloney that would ultimately prove fruitful.

Motherwell's task became a mountain to climb when Mugabi saw red after just 55 seconds. Willie Collum wasted no time in brandishing the card after the Uganda international defender was deemed to have gone over the top of the ball, crunching into Doig's shin.

The hosts could have been down to nine after just a few minutes later, had Collum not opted for a more lenient approach. This time Jordan Roberts was the offender, with Drey Wright sent sprawling. The winger only saw yellow.

Doig would not be able to continue following Mugabi's challenge and it allowed Maloney to change his tactics, bringing striker Chris Mueller on to try to make the most of the numerical advantage.

The battle of Fir Park raged on when Melkersen flew into Ricki Lamie in the air, catching the defender with an elbow to the face. The match was in danger of boiling over, without much football being played.

Thankfully, both sides remembered what they were there to do. Liam Kelly shoved a strong wrist at a Wright half-volley before Juhani Ojala saw a near-certain goal denied by the quick reflexes of Hibs goalkeeper Matt Macey.

The decision to start Melkersen was vindicated after 14 minutes. A bit of luck saw Jasper ghost past Nathan McGinley, but there was nothing fortunate about the cross - pinged straight onto the forehead of Melkersen, giving Hibs their first goal in four matches.

He repeated the trick just after the half hour. Jasper found his man again, this time with a raking long ball that split the home defence. Melkersen took a beautiful touch with his chest to control and stroked past the helpless Kelly to double Hibs' lead.

The boyish grin on his face betrayed his composure - it was a fine piece of skill from the teenager who looks likely to lead the Hibs' line for the foreseeable following the long-term injury to Kevin Nisbet.

Motherwell were able to get one back just before half-time, out of absolutely nothing. Hibs failed to clear sufficiently and Roberts hit a wayward shot into the box. It was probably going to fly out for a throw-in, had Efford not thrown his chest at the ball, which squirmed beyond Macey.

Melkersen should have restored Hibs' two-goal advantage just before the interval when substitute Mueller curled a sumptuous ball into the back post but the striker couldn't get his head to it to divert it goalward.

The second half was a much calmer affair, with Hibs unable to make it comfortable and Motherwell's efforts to threaten an equaliser coming to nothing.

Kaiyne Woolery came closest, firing a whistling drive past the post just a few minutes after coming on, but it would not be enough.

Man of the Match - Elias Melkersen

Linked up superbly with Sylvester Jasper and looks like the product Shaun Maloney promised when he signed

What they said

Motherwell manager Graham Alexander: "The performance was excellent. The players gave it everything, they were brilliant for each other. The supporters were with us the whole game through, even when things were conspiring against us. I'm devastated for the players because they deserved more today.

"It's a tough tackle [for the red card]. I thought the reaction of the opposition, manhandling the referee, didn't help the situation.

"I can't remember the tackle. I can remember their goalkeeper elbowing Ricki Lamie in the stomach. I remember their striker putting an arm in Lamie's face."

Hibs head coach Shaun Maloney: "It has to be [something to build on]. It's definitely not the time to stop and be happy. We have to keep pushing. Performances have been good for a few weeks now.

"Very happy with the players, amazing achievement that they've got to Hampden again. It's an extremely young team but we need to keep pushing. We've got to try and achieve top six but to get to a semi-final with this young team, it's very good but we want more."

What's next?

Motherwell head to Perth next Saturday to take on St Johnstone in the Premiership, while Hibs are way to Aberdeen (both 15:00 GMT).