I’m having déjà vu moment here. I’m pretty sure Hibs have drawn 2 – 2 away to a Robbie Neilson side before and that after that game, Neilson announced his side would win in the replay. We’ll see, Robbie we’ll see.

As to today’s game I have to say that for the most part we were the better side and only have ourselves to blame for having to do it all again. United, I believe, had two shots on target and scored from them both whilst we had lots of decent chances to put the game to bed. Granted, a few of our chances were thwarted by good goalkeeping but on other occasions it was down to poor final efforts or bad decision making.

There was a starting place in midfield for Steven Whittaker which I confess came as a surprise to me whilst Jack Ross had Doidge up top with Kamberi in a forward position on the left. Hibs were soon in to their stride and only a few minutes had passed before a clever strike from Kamberi looked netbound only for Connolly to clear off the line. Pleasingly, Hibs were on the front foot and were pretty much dominating when the opening goal came on the eighth minute mark. Boyle skipped away from a marker and played a lovely reverse pass towards the waiting Doidge who allowed the ball to run beyond him before guiding a right foot shot into the bottom corner.

Soon after, Boyle raced free and had two United defenders converging on him as he played a perfectly weighted pass to Hallberg, the midfield man having bust a gut to get forward. Unfortunately Hallberg’s effort was poor and Siegrist saved easily. The visitors came close again when a low cross into the box by Kamberi was deflected off a defender and looked as though it might sneak in at the near post before Siegrist stuck out a foot to deflect the ball wide.

The hosts hadn’t really threatened a great deal, winning a few corners that came to nothing but with the half time whistle approaching fast, Naismith went down injured and there was a break in play which may have affected the Hibs defenders’ focus. Porteous was caught square on to his man and when the ball was passed beyond him, Shankland got a lucky break as the ball bobbled beyond the outstretched leg of Lewis Stevenson allowing the striker to fire the home. It was a blow because the hosts had offered very little but still managed to go in level.

With David Gray on in place of Naismith, Hibs started the second half in the best way possible with an early second goal. Hanlon won the ball in his own box and fired a pass to Kamberi on the left. Flo went on a rampaging run deep into United territory before picking out Scott Allan who in turn played the ball in to the unmarked Boyle who sent a low raker into the corner of the net from around 25 yards. I heard Robbie Neilson say after the game that his side had conceded two soft goals due to daft errors and whilst I agree that many goals are lost that way, this one wasn’t. It came due to intelligent play at pace and had nothing to do with poor defending.

Very soon thereafter Ryan Porteous picked up an injury and had to be replaced; McGregor joining the fray. I’m worried for Ryan that it is a recurrence of the knee problem that kept him out for so long. Hibs had now replaced two of the back four and the familiar quartet of Gray, McGregor, Hanlon and Stevenson was back in play.

The hosts were just about doing enough to stay in the game but their keeper was a busy man, saving from a Doidge header and a Kamberi thunderbolt before Scott Allan should have done much better with a left foot effort he scooped high and wide.

A one goal lead is always precarious and so it proved to be when substitute Appere skipped away from a couple of challenges before sending a swerving and low shot into the far corner off a post. It was a soft goal to concede and it could be argued the defenders should have closed the lad down but I have to say that I felt Rocky should have saved it as he was slow in going down. Minutes later, Appere tried the same shot again but this time it flew wide.

With time ticking down, Hibs to their credit pressed for a winner and a couple of half chances fell to Boyle and Allan. I thought we’d clinched it when a lovely deep cross from Boyle found Doidge who chested the ball down but hesitated in taking the shot on, allowing Siegrist to come out and block at the expense of a corner. One final chance fell to the head of Doidge but Siegrist saved easily and both sets of players now have a replay to look forward to.

The players

Marciano – I have to say that his distribution from hand is much improved but I can’t get rid of the feeling that he should have saved that second goal. Maybe I’m doing him an injustice but I’ve not seen it again yet.

Naismith – Didn’t have a lot of defending to do in the first half and got forward well enough when the opportunity arose. At first I thought his injury was his hamstring but he played out the half so that may be a wrong assumption on my part.

Porteous – Cards on the table here, I’m not sure Ryan should have been put straight back in after his suspension. I wouldn’t want him to think he’s an automatic choice despite getting red cards. As to today, he performed well enough and even found time to charge forward with the ball at his feet a couple of times.

Hanlon – I thought Paul was top notch today. Defended well, read the game well and more often than not picked out a team mate with a forward pass.

Stevenson – The wee man at his best I felt. Unlucky to get booked and if there’s a player at ER with a bigger heart I’ve not seen him play yet.

Boyle – A goal and an assist adds up to a good days work and I understand he got man of the match on the BBC player rater thingy but as good as he was he’s just missed out on my award.

Whittaker – A surprise inclusion but for me the midfield looked a lot stronger and less exposed than it has done in weeks. Whitty was in the thick of it from first to last and although I’m pretty sure folk will disagree I choose him as my man of the match.

Hallberg – Melker should have scored from the Boyle set up but that apart I felt he formed a good shield with Whittaker. His stamina is impressive and his work rate equally so.

Allan – I am a huge fan of Scotty but I felt he was poor today, losing possession and wayward with his passing. Good set up for Boyle’s goal but we need and expect much more from him.

Kamberi – It probably wasn’t obvious if you watched the game on TV but his movement off the ball at times was highly impressive. Flo was unlucky a couple of times and his late thunderbolt would have beaten most keepers.

Doidge – The big man took his goal cleanly and well, working the line to good effect and I’d wager the United central defenders will sleep well tonight.

Gray – David looked ring rusty at times but it was great to see him back in action and the 45 minutes he got will stand him in good stead.

McGregor – Excellent from Daz who never looks flustered and apparently never gives the ball away!

Jack Ross – I heard his post match interview and pretty much agreed with all he said. What did worry me was that he seemed to indicate the injuries to Naismith and Porteous were “not good.”

The fans – A fabulous turnout and a good backing for the team but boy, what a death trap that stand is.

The referee – Another appalling performance and it’s no surprise that both sets of fans were booing him. He should change his name to Kevin Clowncy – childish of me I know but dot net would bar me if I said what I’d really like to call him.