Owen EldingImage source, SNS
Image caption,

Owen Elding scored the only goal of the game for Hibs

At a glance

  • Elding scores only goal of game for Hibs after seven minutes

  • Thistle have on-field penalty decision overturned by VAR

  • Jags finish stronger but Hibs hold out for win before trip to Gent in Conference League play-off

ByAmy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland at Easter Road

Owen Elding's first-half goal was enough for Hibernian to edge out Scottish Championship side Partick Thistle to reach the Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals.

The 20-year-old's simple back-post finish after seven minutes - as well as an overturned Thistle penalty decision - allowed David Gray’s somewhat flat side to progress and round off a positive eight-day period for the Easter Road side.

Having set up a Conference League play-off against Gent - who they will face in Belgium on Thursday - and after beating Rangers at Ibrox in their latest domestic league outing, Gray challenged his players to make a good week a great one.

Hibernian got off to the perfect start when Jack Iredale's pinpoint ball from the left found the waiting Elding to fire home.

Rather than kick on against their second-tier visitors, though, Hibs struggled to test Thistle for the remainder of the half, until Elding’s fierce strike was touched on to the crossbar by Jags shot-stopper Liam McFarlane.

The Irishman went close again after the break, latching on to Nathan Lowe's lovely pass, but a heavy touch when one-on-one with McFarlane allowed the goalkeeper to smother.

Such profligacy was nearly punished when referee Duncan Nicolson pointed to the spot, penalising captain Joe Newell for a handball in the area.

The Hibs skipper was stunned, as were supporters, but the hosts were soon relieved when the video assistant referee called the referee to the monitor to reverse his decision.

That was a warning shot Hibs did not exactly take heed of, though, as Thistle continued pushing for an equaliser. Raphael Sallinger was kept on his toes, pulling off an impressive low save to deny Oisin Smyth before Ben Stanway sent his header wide.

Analysis: Energetic Elding pivotal for lacklustre Hibs

These are early days in the 20-year-old's Hibs career, but Elding already looks to have superb future prospects.

At the heart of anything in an attacking sense for the hosts, Elding was a handful Thistle just couldn't get a grasp of.

His bursts of pace and power will be strengthened even further if he just fine-tunes his precision in front of goal. One goal could have been three.

It certainly would have made for a less nervy end at Easter Road. Though they largely had the best of the chances, Thistle's volume of attempts on goal in the latter stages had supporters screaming.

It's been a big week or so for Gray's men, and an equally important one is looming.

Gent might have been on their minds, but the head coach was clear this competition was crucial.

When they do head for Belgium, they will need to be a whole lot better than they were against a gutsy Thistle side.

This result goes down as yet another near-miss for Mark Wilson's Thistle against a top-flight team.

They will once again be left thinking 'what if?' - perhaps with a gripe at VAR - but they ought to take great confidence from their performance as they return to their pursuit of Premiership promotion.

What they said

Hibernian head coach David Gray: "I've just massively praised the players because of everything that went into this week. Winning at Ibrox, travelling to Macedonia and getting through that tie, the quick turnaround and getting through the cup, it was always going to be a really difficult game.

"We're in the next round of the cup, we're competing at every level and we want this to continue for as long as we can."

Partick Thistle head coach Mark Wilson: "We started the game poorly, too many unforced errors and against Premiership sides you get punished when you start like that.

"I thought we were brilliant in the second half, played on the front foot, maybe not as many clear-cut chances as we'd like. I'm super pleased with the boys and how they performed."

What’s next?

Hibernian head to Belgium to take on Gent in the first leg of their Conference League play-off on Thursday (19:30 BST).

Partick Thistle are also on their travels, up to Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Friday, with that Championship game live on BBC Scotland (19:30).

Player of the match

Number: 7 O. Elding
Average rating 8.26
Number: 7 O. Elding
Average Rating: 8.26
Number: 1 R. Sallinger
Average Rating: 7.51
Number: 3 A. Mayor
Average Rating: 7.31
Number: 6 J. Kerr
Average Rating: 7.08
Number: 5 W. O'Hora
Average Rating: 7.00
Number: 27 K. Megwa
Average Rating: 7.00
Number: 8 J. Mulligan
Average Rating: 6.86
Number: 9 N. Lowe
Average Rating: 6.64
Number: 17 J. McGrath
Average Rating: 6.54
Number: 15 J. Iredale
Average Rating: 6.51
Number: 11 J. Newell
Average Rating: 6.46
Number: 10 M. Boyle
Average Rating: 6.19
Number: 32 J. Campbell
Average Rating: 6.04
Number: 22 A. Šuto
Average Rating: 5.96
Number: 25 F. Passlack
Average Rating: 5.86
Number: 14 M. Chaiwa
Average Rating: 5.85

After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.