Hibernian 4-2 St Mirren: Martin Boyle double seals Viaplay Cup semi-final with Aberdeen
- Published
Martin Boyle gave Hibs the lead in the 80th minute, then sealed victory in stoppage time
Four second-half goals - including a late Martin Boyle brace - helped Hibernian see off St Mirren in a six-goal thriller at Easter Road to set up a Viaplay Cup semi-final against Aberdeen.
Two goals in two minutes from Elie Youan and Dylan Vente turned things around after Scott Tanser's terrific half-volley just before the interval had the visitors on course for an 11th game unbeaten.
A compelling encounter twisted again when second-half substitute Keanu Baccus blasted St Mirren level with an excellent low drive. But then Boyle bounced into life.
First, he crashed in off the crossbar 10 minutes from time. Then, to seal the deal and consign St Mirren to only their second defeat of the season, he coolly found the back of the net late on.
The Australia international could have been heading home with the match ball, too. Minutes before he scored his second, he was sent clean through on goal, but delayed before shooting straight at Zach Hemming.
Both sides threw on second-half replacements as a frantic cup tie ebbed and flowed, with Baccus threatening to add a third for St Mirren.
However, Hibs held firm to maintain Nick Montgomery's unbeaten start after three matches in charge - and send him and his side to the national stadium in November.
"I told them to stay calm, keep playing and don't get sucked into thinking we need to change the game plan," he said. "We have the belief now.
"It doesn't matter who we play, it's a semi-final. It's a knockout and now we are one game away from a final, but in reality, it's not even in my mind at the moment. Full focus is Dundee at the weekend."
St Mirren had gone ahead two minutes before the interval when Ryan Strain's cross was headed backwards by Mikael Mandron and Tanser cracked home a sweetly timed strike from the edge of the box.
The equaliser came on 52 minutes when Boyle's corner was nodded on by Will Fish for Youan to touch in from close range.
Hibs moved in front for the first time when a Lewis Miller delivery picked out Vente and the striker was able to turn before firing beyond Hemming.
Baccus was given too much time to pick his spot to make it 2-2 with around 15 minutes remaining before Boyle stole the show.
Player of the match - Martin Boyle (Hibernian)
Two well-taken second-half goal from the vibrant winger sealed Hibs' spot in the semi-finals. He should have had a second-half hat-trick...
'Real' Hibs show up as St Mirren left scratching heads - analysis
Montgomery clearly gives one heck of a half-time team-talk. It was hard to decipher who the home side were in the first 45 minutes, but the real Hibs certainly turned up in the second half.
Pace, energy, movement and goals. The description of Boyle applies to the whole Hibs team, who got a well-deserved ovation at the end as the home fans looked forward to November's League Cup semi-final against Aberdeen.
St Mirren will be scratching their heads a little at this one, though. They were comfortably 1-0 up at half-time and, indeed, should have been two up but for Toyosi Olusanya's wasteful lob.
Stephen Robinson's side did well to rally at 2-2, but somehow yet again let the game slip away from them after that.
It is a painful way to end a fine unbeaten run. Hampden was there for them, only to be snatched away by Boyle's double.
What they said
Hibernian manager Nick Montgomery: "First half I thought we were the better team, we created a lot of half chances, just lacking that composure in the final third, but they're good on the counter-attack.
"We could have dealt with it better, but from that moment on, we controlled and dominated the game. They had two shots on target and both went in, so that's a good accuracy to have. But all in all, we more than deserved to win."
St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson: "It was as if we thought, 'that was really good, let's not do that again,' and we do something completely different at the start of the second half.
"We only have ourselves to blame. If you're scoring two goals away from home, you should be winning, but if you concede four, you won't be winning any games.
"We'll restart, we've been fantastic, the boys have been brilliant, I haven't been too hard on them."
What's next?
Hibs welcome Dundee on Saturday (15:00 BST) before the first Edinburgh derby of the team the following week. St Mirren travel to Kilmarnock (15:00), before Rangers visit Paisley.