Hibs and Inverness dish out compliments after cup stalemate

Alan Stubbs thought Hibernian just shaded the tie, while John Hughes reckoned that if anyone was going to triumph after Inverness Caley Thistle equalised it was going to be his team. This quarter-final was that kind of game and maybe the happiest man at Easter Road was James Keatings, who finally ended his 'absolutely horrendous' goal drought.

Inverness CT manager John Hughes (left) pulls down the shorts of Andrea Mbuyi-Mutombo at full-time. Picture: SNS

“Looking at the whole game we’d maybe just done enough but it wouldn’t be any more,” said Stubbs, who now takes his team to the south of Spain to prepare for Sunday’s League Cup final with Ross County.

“Mark Oxley’s not really had a save to make. We had a couple of decent chances in the first half and were better in the second and controlled the game. But I give Yogi and his team credit: they kept going. They’re a big, strong side and there wasn’t an awful lot between us.”

Hughes was in a complimentary mood too. “Hibs scored a lovely goal and we had to dig deep. We were playing against a team you thought might have been vulnerable after their last three results but they showed great resilience. We found it difficult to get going and you could see their spirit.

“But we were strong, too. We showed character and spirit and it was a good cup-tie. Yeah, there were times when football broke out but guys got stuck in and you’re allowed to do that. You can go toe-to-toe, mano-mano.

“We both played some nice stuff and the game had everything you’d ask.”

Hughes admitted he was “grateful” his substitutions paid off for the equaliser. “[Andrea Mbuyi] Mutombo and [Lewis] Horner came on and linked up. That galvanised us, we got stronger and I thought there was only going to be one winner.”

Keatings had gone 16 games without a goal before yesterday. “This has been the longest and most frustrating time in my career so it was great to get the monkey off my back,” he said.

“The longest before without scoring was six games and I thought this run was never going to end. I should have scored against Hearts [in the previous round] and because of the chance I missed I didn’t sleep that night.”

Mutombo revealed he wasn’t 100 per cent fit but had been desperate to play when he 
saw how much his team-mates wanted to keep hold of the cup.

As he made his entrance Hughes handed him a note. “It was my messages for tonight,” Yogi laughed. “Two bags of potatoes and a half-loaf.”