THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER

Ross reaches a final at the third attempt as front trio help secure Hibs’ return to Hampden

THIRD time lucky for Jack Ross and it was all down to his front three.

Beaten twice in semi-finals at an empty Hampden already this term, the Hibs manager would have felt a certain pressure to deliver.

Ross’s team toiled through last season’s held-over Scottish Cup semi against Hearts on Halloween and a 3-0 thumping by St Johnstone in the Betfred in January posed questions of their big-game mettle.

This, though, was a comfortable success and not even the illegitimacy of Christian Doidge’s second goal, scored from an offside position, could taint the merits of the win.

The difference in the teams was quite literally striking. A classy finish from Kevin Nisbet got Hibs in front and, with Martin Boyle posing a persistent ball-carrying threat off the right, United had their hands full containing a three-pronged attack.

Micky Mellon also named a threeman attack, but while Lawrence Shankland again showed up as Dundee United’s best player, too much of his best work was done a long way from goal and there wasn’t enough from Nicky Clark or Marc McNulty to supplement his efforts.

This was a third game unchanged for the Tayside team, Mellon banking on his starting XI to deliver in the style of its quarter-final demolition of Aberdeen a fortnight ago rather than the more recent league loss to Ross County.

Nisbet’s return from injury and the suspension of Alex Gogic forced Ross’s hand and he also brought in designated cup keeper Matt Macey.

Macey has been largely impressive when selected this season, and not just on account of his 6ft 7in frame. The award of a new two-year contract in the build-up could only have bolstered his confidence yet he did not have to work especially hard for his clean sheet.

Prolific during last season’s Championship-winning campaign for Dundee United, Shankland has been less lethal this term, but that’s is largely no fault of his own.

His relatively modest tally of eight goals offers no indication that he is his team’s most creative player.

Although deployed as the central attacker, it was the Scotland international’s ability to drop deep and link that got United into the box for two notable first-half chances for midfield runner Ian Harkes.

On the first occasion, his threaded pass skidded off the turf just a little too quickly for the American, while his next clever ball, out right, was delivered a little too heavily by Liam

Smith. Harkes’ header from the cross was both high and wide.

Hibs snatched at their first couple of openings, both Josh Doig and Melker Hallberg electing to shoot when a more patient approach may have yielded greater dividends.

Yet there was tension in United’s play too, evident in the rash Calum Butcher challenge on Boyle that earned the game’s first caution and then in Smith’s failure to properly deal with a Hibs diagonal.

The full-back was caught square under the dropping ball and rather than play the safety-first option of heading out for a throw, he merely sent the ball back into the air.

Jackson Irvine sensed an opportunity and backed his physicality against the defender as he killed it on his chest and responded to a shout from Nisbet, as he arrived on the edge of the area.

The forward’s touch was calm and the finish even more so as he ignored the encroaching defenders to roll the finish to Deniz Mehmet’s right.

Shankland’s guile was again evident as he provided the flick-on that saw McNulty force Ryan Porteous into a booking as he burned up ground.

Yet for all Mellon’s repeated war cry of ‘get to the ball!’, getting the ball to Shankland might have been a more productive plan of attack.

Instead it was the Hibs attack who showed how a fully functioning front three should operate.

United can, quite justifiably, feel aggrieved that the goal was allowed to stand as Doidge was half a yard offside when the ball was released.

Yet the fluency with which Nisbet and Boyle moved the ball through to the central striker was worthy of applause for artistic merit, if not the extra-goal advantage.

Suddenly, and belatedly, United carried a threat.

A first proper sight of goal saw Shankland force Macey into a diving save to his left and then McNulty unleashed a venomous 20-yarder than almost uprooted a stanchion.

Closer still came Jamie Robson with a cushioned volley from Smith’s cross. Had the ball arrived on his favoured left foot, it might have crept inside the post rather than sneaking wide.

As United pushed, Hibs carried menace on the counter, not least through Boyle, who forced Ryan Edwards and Robson into bookable offences at the end of darting runs.

On both occasions, the defenders were smart enough to time their offences just outside of the penalty area but, in the case of the Edwards foul, referee Bobby Madden might have held on to see how the advantage worked out rather than immediately halt play.

Ross threw on Jamie Murphy for a tired Nisbet and the substitute played his part, setting up Doidge for a shot blocked by Edwards, then forcing Mehmet into a fingertip save and Butcher a last-ditch tackle.

Shankland tried twice more deep in stoppage-time but his first ricocheted into Macey’s arms and the second hooked effort flew over the crossbar.