Hibernian Survives Partick Thistle Challenge in Cup Match
Owen Elding’s early strike was enough to haul Hibernian into the Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals, but they were made to sweat every inch of the way by a bold, stubborn Partick Thistle side in a tight 1-0 win.
Elding at the back post, again
Hibs arrived off the back of a midweek trip to North Macedonia, where they saw off Shkendija to reach the Conference League play-offs. If there were any fears of heavy legs, they vanished almost immediately.
David Gray freshened his team with Kanayo Megwa, Jack Iredale, Joe Newell and Jamie McGrath, and the hosts tore into Thistle from the first whistle. Within five minutes, they should have been in front. McGrath slid a clever pass through the middle, Elding burst clear, but Liam McFarlane spread himself and blocked with his legs.
That was the warning. Thistle didn’t heed it.
On 12 minutes, Iredale surged to the byline on the left and whipped a vicious ball across the six-yard box. It skidded past everyone in red and yellow and Elding, alive at the back post, rammed home his third goal of the season. Simple finish. Ruthless movement.
Hibs looked ready to cruise. For a while, the game felt like it might be over before it really began.
Missed chances, rising tension
The second goal never came. That was the problem.
After the opener, Hibs lost some of their sharpness in the final third. Thistle, organised and disciplined, dropped into shape and refused to be carved open again easily. They didn’t carry much threat themselves, but they did enough to keep the tie twitching.
Oisin Smyth had a deflected effort wide as the visitors tried to edge their way into the contest. Most of the real danger, though, still came at McFarlane’s goal.
The on-loan Hearts goalkeeper produced a stunning stop to deny Elding a second, reacting brilliantly to tip a close-range effort on to the bar. Moments later, he was down sharply with his feet to thwart Nathan Lowe. Hibs were on top, but McFarlane was keeping Thistle alive.
The pattern continued after the break. Hibs pushed for daylight, and Mayor saw a strike turned behind by the Thistle keeper. The pressure was there. The finish was not.
Just before the hour, Elding again found himself with the chance to kill the tie. Lowe picked him out with a raking pass, slicing open the Thistle back line. Elding’s first touch let him down, McFarlane pounced at his feet, and when the loose ball broke to McGrath, his attempted chip dropped on to the roof of the net.
The game stayed open. Too open for Hibs’ liking.
VAR twist and Thistle’s late surge
Then came the moment that almost flipped the night on its head.
On 65 minutes, referee Duncan Nicolson pointed to the spot after Sebastian Drozd’s effort struck Newell in the box. Thistle players roared for handball, and for a few seconds it looked like their route back into the tie.
VAR intervened. Nicolson went to the monitor, watched the replay, and overturned his own decision, ruling the contact accidental. Hibs exhaled. Thistle fumed, then went after them even harder.
The final stages belonged to Kris Doolan’s side. They pushed Hibs back, forced errors, and turned the closing minutes into a test of nerve.
Cale Loughrey stepped up with a fierce free-kick that Rafa Sallinger had to beat away. The Austrian keeper then reacted smartly at his near post to smother another effort from Smyth.
The chances kept coming. Ben Stanway glanced a header wide when he should at least have hit the target. Ben Dempsey drove in at the near post, only for Sallinger to turn it behind.
Hibs clung on, their early fluency replaced by grit and relief as the final whistle cut through the tension. Elding’s tap-in, so routine at the time, had survived a barrage.
They are in the last eight. The question now is whether this was just a cup scare, or a warning that sharper finishing will be non-negotiable when the stakes rise again.
