Hibernian Advances in Premier Sports Cup After Narrow Win Over Partick Thistle

Owen Elding’s early strike was enough to drag Hibernian into the last eight of the Premier Sports Cup – but they were made to sweat every second of a fraught finish against a stubborn Partick Thistle.

The forward grabbed his third goal of the season with a simple back-post finish, yet there was nothing straightforward about the 1-0 win that followed. Hibs missed chances, lost control, and ended up clinging on as Thistle threw everything at them and even briefly thought they had a penalty.

Fast start, ruthless finish

If there was any concern that Hibs’ midweek trip to North Macedonia might dull their edge, it vanished almost immediately. David Gray freshened his side with Kanayo Megwa, Jack Iredale, Joe Newell and Jamie McGrath, and the hosts tore into Thistle from the first whistle.

Inside five minutes, they should have been ahead. McGrath slid a clever through ball into Elding’s path, the striker bursting clear, only for Liam McFarlane to stand tall and block with his legs.

That was the warning. The goal arrived seven minutes later.

Iredale surged to the byline on the left and whipped a vicious ball across the six-yard box. It flashed past the Thistle defence and Elding, alive at the back post, crashed it into the net. Simple finish, sharp movement, and Hibs looked ready to cruise.

They didn’t.

Hibs stall, Thistle hang in

The early tempo hinted at a comfortable night for the Premiership side. Instead, the game tightened. Hibs struggled to turn dominance into a second goal, and that kept Thistle interested.

Kris Doolan’s team were organised, awkward, and determined not to fold. They made it hard for Hibs to play through them, even if they rarely threatened at the other end. Oisin Smyth did offer a reminder of their intent, his effort deflecting wide as Thistle searched for a way back.

Most of the danger, though, came at McFarlane’s goal. The on-loan Hearts goalkeeper produced a superb reflex stop to tip Elding’s close-range effort on to the bar, then reacted sharply again to deny Nathan Lowe with his feet. Hibs should have been out of sight by half-time. They weren’t, and the tension grew.

Missed chances and a VAR twist

Hibs came out after the break still on the front foot. Mayor drove in a shot that McFarlane pushed behind, another save to underline a standout display.

The pressure should have told on 58 minutes. Lowe picked out Elding with a raking pass that sliced open the Thistle back line. One good touch and it was a certain goal. Instead, the striker’s control let him down, the ball got away from him, and McFarlane dived bravely at his feet to smother. The loose ball broke to McGrath, who tried an audacious chip, only to see it drop on top of the net.

Those misses came back into focus when the game’s biggest flashpoint arrived.

On 65 minutes, referee Duncan Nicolson pointed to the spot after Sebastian Drozd’s effort struck Newell inside the box. Thistle celebrated, Hibs protested, and VAR stepped in. After reviewing the incident, Nicolson reversed his decision, ruling the handball accidental. The penalty was gone. So, briefly, was Thistle’s momentum.

Only briefly.

Thistle throw everything at it

The reprieve failed to settle Hibs. Thistle sensed vulnerability and began to force the issue, pushing bodies forward and testing Rafa Sallinger whenever they could.

Cale Loughrey stepped up with a fierce free-kick that Sallinger had to beat away. The Austrian goalkeeper then reacted well at his near post to keep out Smyth, who had darted in to meet a low ball.

The chances kept coming. Ben Stanway found space and glanced a header wide when he should at least have hit the target. Ben Dempsey then drove in at the near post, only for Sallinger to get down and turn it behind.

By the end, Hibs were no longer thinking about adding to their lead. They were fighting to preserve it.

The final whistle brought relief more than celebration for the home side, but the job was done. Elding’s early tap-in stands as the difference, McFarlane’s heroics and Thistle’s late surge reduced to footnotes in a cup tie that could easily have taken a very different turn.

Hibs are in the quarter-finals. The question now is whether they can turn these narrow escapes into something more convincing when the stakes rise again.