Hibs 'got what they deserved' after poor performance

And the Easter Road outfit had Mark Brown to thank for a second chance to overcome the part-time Second Division side, the goalkeeper producing what his manager described as a "terrific save" to prevent Ayr substitute Andy Rodgers scoring a last-minute winner.

Although that was practically all Brown had to do throughout the match, Calderwood's side hardly troubled David Crawford at the other end, the Ayr goalkeeper twice denying Hibs top scorer Derek Riordan to ensure the fourth round tie ended goalless.

After watching his players give their SPL rivals a scare, the United boss promised a nervous Hibs they won't relish playing at Somerset Park on a wet and windy night when, he believes, Ayr can complete the upset they threatened in Edinburgh.

Calderwood conceded Hibs, with just two wins in 12 matches since he took over from John Hughes, will need to produce a much-improved display if they are to have any hope of ending their 109-year wait for the Cup.

Admitting he was thankful for a second bite at the cherry, Calderwood said: "I think we got what our performance deserved. We did not play with enough vigour or quality to conjure up the first goal. Ayr deserve tremendous credit for their organisation.

"But that does not take away from the really disappointing performance we produced." Calderwood admitted to being frustrated at his team's inability to exert any great pressure on the Ayr goal while insisting they needed to show more steel to win what he described as the "combat challenges".

He said: "It became a bit fragmented, there was no fluency about our game. The players themselves know that's a poor result for Hibs. We did not deserve to win."

Amid the disappointment – the fans marking their disapproval yet again with a chorus of boos on the final whistle – Calderwood insisted Merouane Zemmama's first start in almost ten months and another 74 minutes of first-team action for fellow long-term injury victim Darryl Duffy were the positives he could take, adding: "That will help us further down the line."

Calderwood expects skipper Ian Murray, Riordan and Francis Dickoh to be fit to face Celtic on Saturday.