Grant Stott: Alan Gow looks like another great piece of business

Alan Gow arrived at the club after a day – and evening – of much rumour and whispering. The fans forums were buzzing as speculation grew as to where he was going but, as we now know, Hibs came in and his decision was made.

Another spectacular bit of business by Hibs. When Yogi arrived in the summer, he said he would be dipping into the transfer market where he could, take players and sprinkle a bit of gold dust on them and see if they could come up with the goods. Step forward Messrs Miller, Stokes, Smith and now Gow. These are players who have all played in the SPL and made a name for themselves, dipped into the game down south and, for whatever reason, things never worked out. Yogi has picked them up and, as we all saw on Saturday, their performances now speak for themselves.

Montrose came to Easter Road intent on giving it a go and that is exactly what they did but there was never any real doubt about the end result. Ladbrokes tempted me once again with a wee special of odds of 5/1 for Hibs scoring within five minutes of the game. Thanks to Colin Nish I was quids in – in just four minutes!

It turned out to be a comfortable win in the end, but there is no question that the score was kept respectable due to the efforts of one man: Andy McNeil.

One of the guys sitting near me in the stand said it was Andy's best game at Easter Road. A bit harsh perhaps, but there's no question he was on top form. Andy was part of our League Cup-winning team and was harshly dealt with when his time came to an end, so you can't really blame him if he came with a point to prove.

I interviewed Chris Hogg after the game and he was full of praise for his former team-mate. He described some of his saves as absolutely first class and, without wanting to show any disrespect to Montrose, he felt he really should be on a much bigger platform than playing for the Gable Endies. And going by the performance he put in on Saturday, it will only be a matter of time before McNeil is back playing at his appropriate level.

The game itself was very much a one-sided affair and Montrose did well going in at half-time being just 2-0 down. Big Nish was on a hat-trick going into the second half and no question he had two gilt-edged chances to take home the match ball but didn't take them. Riordan's third was an absolute peach and Benji's head and Gowser finished things off.

Montrose didn't just come and make up the numbers, though. They got a goal and celebrated it as if it was the last-minute winner. Given how comfortably far ahead Hibs were at this stage, even the Hibs fans didn't mind the scenes and even went so far as to boo the ref for booking goalscorer Hegarty for celebrating.

Their support throughout the game was very entertaining, even taking a pop at their own poor record this season with one rendition of "worst team in Scotland, we're just the worst team in Scotland" and earlier in the game when Hibs were pressing for the third goal our fans were treated to "SPL, you're having a laugh."

It wasn't the trickiest encounter for a referee, but I can only assume that when this one went to refereeing school, he was off the day they explained about playing advantage. I lost count of how many times Hibs were fouled but continued to break into a good opportunity, but he'd blow the whistle again to stop play.

Many of us were keen to get our first look at Gow and he didn't disappoint when he came on. He's a big lad who is good at keeping the ball at his feet as he showed when he almost walked the ball into the net through the Montrose defence. He's a top player who can offer something different to the side. Can't wait to see more of him as the season continues.

It's nice to get a comfortable win in the Cup but let's not kid ourselves here. We've had a pretty decent couple of ties in it so far and you won't catch me complaining too much if this run continues when the next ties come out later this week. Anyone for a nice wee home tie against Ross County? Let's just wait and see, shall we?

Glory, Glory!