Cowdenbeath 2 - 3 Hibs: Fenlon records first win as Easter Road side show resolve to hold on

NARROW escapes are more exhilarating than easy wins. They teach you more about your character, and can prepare you to go on to tougher challenges.

It remains to be seen how big a boost Hibernian get from this particular close squeak, but one thing is certain. Had the result gone the other way, they might have taken months to recover. And, with a crunch league match against Dunfermline coming up on Saturday, they do not have months.

It was just as well for Pat Fenlon, then, that his defence held firm in the closing moments of this rumbustious Scottish Cup match to deny Cowdenbeath a replay. One minor defensive lapse, or one extra piece of quality by the Second Division leaders, was all it would have taken, but Hibs held on.

And holding on was the main thing. They displayed many of the shortcomings which had seen them fail to record a victory in their previous ten matches, but they had just enough mental strength to prevail.

For Fenlon, this was a first win since being appointed Hibs manager, and it came just in time. The Irishman has shown he has a shrewd grasp of the problems at his new club, but he needs to start finding solutions if they are to climb out of relegation trouble.

He has signed Eoin Doyle to add to his firepower up front, and on his first start for Hibs the striker looked a worthwhile acquisition, putting his team in the lead with a well-taken goal. But the defence again looked shaky, and the midfield were as fragile as ever, particularly at a stage of the game when they could have taken control.

It all began in the worst possible way for Hibs, as they lost the opening goal with just 19 seconds on the clock. Paul Hanlon’s loose pass out of defence was seized on by Colin Cameron, and the Cowdenbeath player/manager was allowed the time to play the ball up to Greig Stewart on the edge of the box. Stewart all too easily went round Sean O’Hanlon, then shot low past a helpless Mark Brown.

It was a delirious start for the home team and their support, but Hibs were able to respond quickly enough to dispel any feeling of dread.

There seemed no danger for Cowdenbeath when Cameron lost possession in midfield, but Leigh Griffiths spotted his chance, and unleashed a shot from more than 30 yards which crashed in off the underside of the bar.

When Doyle made it 2-1, slotting in the rebound off his own shot after Thomas Flynn had saved, that looked like being the signal for Hibs to take control. And the Edinburgh team’s dominance became all the more apparent about ten minutes into the second half when David Wotherspoon headed home from a Danny Galbraith cross, after the home defence had been unable to clear a corner by the winger. But from then on, just when they could have been forgiven for running out of steam and self-belief, Cowdenbeath roared back into the game. Jon Robertson again exposed O’Hanlon’s shortcomings, lifting the ball over the centre-half and netting from ten yards or so, and that set up a closing 20 minutes in which Cowdenbeath threw everything into their search for an equaliser.

It did not come, with Robertson missing one good chance from open play then sending a 90th-minute free kick over the bar. But Hibs knew they had been in a real scrap, and Cameron rightly suggested that the SPL team had been a touch fortunate to take their place in the fifth round.

“I think Pat will be a relieved man,” Cameron said. “I’m disappointed that we’re not still in the hat – I felt we could have nicked a draw at the end. But I’m proud of my players’ performances.

“At 2-1 down at half-time I said to them ‘Just believe’, but we switched off at the third goal with a short corner. Again, though, the players never let their heads down. Robbo got us right back into it with the second goal and we had opportunities to get an equaliser. We just fell a wee bit short in the end.”

Fenlon, understandably, sought to emphasise the positive aspects of his team’s display. “We played some good stuff at times,” he said. “The last 15 or 20 minutes we were under a bit of pressure, but if you look at the first 20 minutes of the second half, we played quite well.

“First half we should have scored a few more goals. We conceded a very early goal, which knocked us back a bit.

“But the players showed great character and got on the front foot. I thought we played well after that and should have scored a few more goals before half-time, made it a bit more comfortable.”

Fenlon was seen talking to a policeman at the end of the game but declined to say what the subject had been. The bulk of the home support had backed their team fairly throughout, but one or two in the main stand had spent much of the afternoon abusing the Irishman. Having played for Linfield, Fenlon said, he was used to dealing with insults.

The injuries which ruled four key players out of the game were of more interest to the manager. Graham Stack and Ian Murray will still be unavailable for the trip to East End Park, but Garry O’Connor has made significant improvement from his toe injury and could be back. Isaiah Osbourne will resume training this week, but Saturday’s game could come too early for him.