Advertisement

Celtic's Salah, the new Skacel & nifty Nisbet

Your view graphic
[BBC]

Three of the four Scottish Cup semi-final spots are decided, with Championship side Livingston hosting St Johnstone in the final quarter-final on Monday - live on BBC Scotland.

Heart of Midlothian beat fellow Premiership side Dundee 3-1 on Friday, thanks largely to a superb double from January signing Sander Kartum, while Aberdeen cruised past Championship visitors Queen's Park on Saturday with a 4-1 victory.

In an intriguing meeting between the two form teams in Scotland, holders Celtic proved too strong for Hibernian on Sunday, with goals from Daizen Maeda and Adam Idah ending the Easter Road side's 15-match unbeaten run and avenging last month's league defeat.

Here's a taste of what the fans of the Premiership clubs involved made of the cup action.

'Celtic's Salah' sees off 'brave' Hibs

Maeda's superb season continued at Parkhead, with one fan comparing him to a certain Liverpool star.

PJ: A professional performance from Celtic where the opposition had no chance.

Peter: Result is all that matters. Yes, we can play better, but who cares? The treble is still on. Enjoy these days, it has not always been like this. The last 25 years have been incredible domestically.

John: The victory was very comfortable. Hibs never gave up, but on the day, Celtic were just too good for them.

Chris: I think we did what we needed to do. We had good spells in the game, got the goals at the right time, defended well and controlled the game when we needed. To me, it was another example of maybe not firing on all cylinders but you get the result anyway - and against a much-improved Hibs side.

Brian: Maeda is just like a Celtic Mo Salah! He scores every other match: league, League Cup, Champions League, Scottish Cup. Unstoppable. Player of last month, year and Ballon d'Or!

Hibs took 7,000 fans to Glasgow, but some were underwhelmed by their set-up...

Peter: Disappointing result. I expected more of a hearty fight than this purely defensive performance. We offered nothing going forward. Too many players below par. David Gray should have made his subs earlier. Hibs fans were the best thing on a bad day at the office.

Kenny: A brave performance, but when we won the ball, we didn't keep it and that was the difference from the game at Easter Road. We didn't make many chances either and, of course, Celtic are very strong footballing side. We gave the ball away with some loose passing and you can't do that against Celtic.

Sandy: So unlucky with the early injury to Nicky Cadden, a hugely important player for Hibs. We held our own, though, and Jordan Smith proved why he was given the longer contract. He was superb. In the end, 2-0 was okay as we were running on empty, but we can definitely hold our heads high and focus on the league table now.

Scott: Celtic were sitting back latterly and playing on the counter, which in itself is a testament to how well Hibs played in the previous 80 minutes. Gray set Hibs up well and, if this tie had been in Edinburgh, there might well have been a different outcome. This team has plenty of guts and resilience for sure.

Neville: Very disappointed with our approach. Sitting back and absorbing attack after attack seldom wins games. Think we had one shot on target. Not the way I want my team to play in these tough matches. Have a go.

John: Celtic had to work hard for their goals, so respect to the defence and especially Smith. Unfortunately, a few players weren't at it but nonetheless gave everything. This hopefully is the start of good things at Easter Road.

Dons display sparks optimism

Aberdeen fans found plenty of positives after watching their side score four on their way into the semi-final draw.

Karl: I believe playing alongside a clever front partner in Oday Dabbagh has really benefitted Kevin Nisbet. He's able to find space more easily and his confidence is flowing. I would be delighted if we could do a deal with Milwall to keep him.

Gary: Apart from a dodgy five-minute spell, we absolutely dominated the game. If we have any sense, we sign Nisbet now. Delighted for Graeme Shinnie also, he deserves all the adulation. There has been a lot of criticism of the management team, but Jimmy Thelin is getting the team and style he wants.

David: Assured solid performance, no banana skin moments at all, roll on the semi-final.

Paul: Feeling more positive suddenly for the rest of the season. Every game is a cup final from now on. Leighton Clarkson and Ante Palaversa ran the game and loving Shinnie back at left-back with his infectious enthusiasm. Onwards and upwards.

Dick: An assured performance from Aberdeen. They have found a structure in the team where they can control matches with Clarkson bossing the show. Nisbet is now on fire and Shayden Morris is too hot to handle. The next target is to be sure of reaching the top six.

Ben: It's only Queen's Park, but there was so much to like about that performance. For once, our attack looked threatening and it looked like the scoreline could have been five or six to us. At times, you could really feel that we were going to score, especially after Nisbet's opener. He played amazing. Let's take this performance into the league.

'Skacel-esque' Kartum helps Hearts down 'baffling' Dundee

Hearts bounced back from their Edinburgh derby loss with an eye-catching win at Tynecastle.

Anon: A far better display from Hearts. Lewis Nielson had a man of the match display. Subs made a difference also in second half when Dundee came back into the game. Another nine league games played like that should see us into a top-four spot.

Jim: Impressive win. Kartum looks a real find - tall, athletic, fast, skilful and scores good goals. With Cammy Devlin back soon alongside him, we are building an exciting midfield and, with options up front, it could be an interesting end of the season. The defence stills needs work, but it will be interesting to see how we do against Celtic away in two weeks.

David: A fantastic cup tie, end-to-end stuff, two fantastic finishes from Kartum. Beni Baningime was magnificent - back to the player he was before the injury.

Peter: Those two marvellous goals from Kartum reminded me of Rudi Skacel. If Kartum proves to be of Skacel's ilk, we could be in for a very interesting time.

Dundee fans, meanwhile, were critical of manager Tony Docherty.

Alan: Docherty needs a reality check. Our defence has more holes than a sieve, our midfield is nowhere near physical enough to compete at this level, and going into a game like this with only two signed strikers (one injured) is an absolute disgrace. To survive a relegation dogfight you need grit and the ability to defend. We have neither.

Mark: Great following but let down as usual. Baffles me that the midfield sat too deep all game but not a soul in sight marking their player for the first and third goal on the edge of box. Tactics sit with Docherty, so his time is up.

Jim: Docherty keeps going on about second-half performances. We need them from the start - not half way through. Nine cup finals left in the league? We could be going down.

Boab: Devastated that we're out, but Docherty must now get the team up for the derby and the remaining league games. Yet again, a superb backing from our fantastic support.

Lammy: Midfield overran again. Defence left exposed. Forwards left with no service. Has been the same story all season.

Kevin: Have always been a staunch supporter of Docherty, but I'm afraid my patience has run out. Nothing has been done to arrest the constant leaking of goals. We're not going to get anywhere while conceding two-plus goals every week. Far too weak in midfield and he doesn't seem capable of making any changes to make us harder to beat.