Hearts delivered a masterclass in finishing in their 3-0 win against Hibernian at Easter Road to claim their spot in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup.
Robbie Neilson's side were content to sit in and soak up pressure from their hosts in huge spells in the game, but showed they have what it takes to pounce when it matters, scoring three times with their only real opportunities of the game. With 10 minutes on the clock, Josh Ginnelly grabbed his fourth goal in his last nine matches with a powerful finish from inside the area after Hibs struggled to deal with an in swinging free kick from Robert Snodgrass.
Hibs huffed and puffed for a leveller, but the visitors were rarely seriously threatened defensively, and in the second half showed their ruthless ability in front of goal once again when Lawrence Shankland played a smart one-two with Stephen Humphrys, before expertly volleying in a half-volley to make it 2-0.
READ MORE: Three things we learned as Hearts show ruthless streak in Edinburgh derby victory against Hibs
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The Jambos number nine was then shown his marching orders in the closing minutes, but the Jambos continued to press home their advantage, and in stoppage time defender Toby Sibbick capped off an excellent individual display by racing clear to dink the ball past David Marshall to the sheer delight of the travelling Hearts support behind the goal.
The Jambos have appeared in four of the last five Scottish Cup finals, and will be desperate to go one better this season to get their hands on the trophy for the first time since 2012.
Zander Clark - 7
Pulled off a decent save from Aiden McGeady in the first half but wasn't called into action much after that, despite Hibs dominance of possession. That's a fourth clean sheet in five matches for the stopper since he took the place of the injured Craig Gordon between the sticks.
James Hill - 7
Was guilty of losing the ball early in the game, but handled veteran winger McGeady extremely well on route to helping his team secure another clean sheet. The youngster is improving game by game following his loan move Bournemouth earlier this month.
Kye Rowles - 7
Another solid display from the Australian international, who didn't give Hibs goal machine Kevin Nisbet even a whiff of goal.
Toby Sibbick - 8
Rock solid on the left hand side of the back three and rounded off his performance with a delightful finish to make it 3-0 after racing forward in stoppage time.
Michael Smith - 6
Caught out of position a couple of times which let McGeady pick up the ball in dangerous areas, but showed plenty of industry and running despite his advancing years.
Alex Cochrane - 6
A decent display from the Englishman, although Elie Youan did cause him some problems in the first half.
Cammy Devlin - 6
The midfielder is typically all action and combative, but had one of his more quiet afternoon's by his standards
Robert Snodgrass - 6
Like his midfield partner Devlin, the former Scotland international wasn't too involved in the game, but his whipped in free kick did lead to Ginnelly's opener.
Josh Ginnelly - 8
Scored the important opening goal against the running of play, lashing home from inside the area after Hibs failed to deal with Snodgrass' set piece delivery. The winger's four goals this season mean he just needs one more to equal his tally for the whole of the previous campaign.
Barrie Mckay - 6
The 28-year old has been a brilliant addition at Tynecastle, but wasn't quite at his creative best on this occasion.
Lawrence Shankland - 8
Despite being kept quiet for the majority of the game, the striker grabbed his 20th goal of the season with a well-taken half volley on 72 minutes with his first real chance of the game.
Was sent off for a second yellow card late on, and replays suggest it may have been a bit harsh on the striker.
Subs:
Stephen Kingsley - 6
Came on after the hour mark after missing the last four matches with an injury. Will have a job on his hands displacing Sibbick in the Hearts back three, so will jostle with Cochrane for the left wing back spot.
Stephen Humphrys - 7
Put himself about after replacing Ginnelly, and registered an assist after setting up Shankland's goal with a deft lay off.
Jorge Grant - 6
A decent showing off the bench from the former Nottingham Forest man.
Nathaniel Atkinson - 5
Came on for the last nine minutes to help see out the result.
Alan Forrest - 1
Played the last four minutes.
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