The game burst into life after a goalless first half when Elie Youan headed us in front only for Callum Smith to hit back for the Championship visitors.
We were made to fight all the way by the Rovers with substitute Dylan Vente making an immediate impact by notching the winning goal less than a minute after stepping off the bench.
Both teams would finish the game with ten men after Liam Dick was shown a straight red card for a high challenge on Vente, whom we were unable to replace having used all of our substitutes.
After the midweek European heroics against Luzern in Switzerland, it was back to domestic business for the Hibees.
Lee Johnson made six changes for the last 16 Viaplay Cup clash.
Out went Lewis Miller, Will Fish, Lewis Stevenson, Dylan Levitt, Joe Newell and Vente. Their replacements were Jordan Obita, Chrisitian Doidge, Adam Le Fondre Jimmy Jeggo, Kanayo Megwa and Riley Harbottle. That latter duo making their competitive debuts for the Club.
Raith Rovers – backed by 1,600 travelling supporters – had a few Hibs connections in their side. Manager Ian Murray is, of course, a former Hibs captain, whilst the likes of Keith Watson, Kevin Dąbrowski, Sam Stanton and Jamie Gullan have all called Easter Road home at some stage in their careers.
We started brightly with Martin Boyle having an early opportunity fall his way when he was able to bring the ball down inside the Raith box only for Watson to slide in and block his powerful shot.
A few minutes later and Boyle was again involved, this time feeding the ball into the feet of Le Fondre, who spun on the edge of the box before his shot was blocked by the sliding frame of Euan Murray as the Rovers defence put their bodies on the line.
On 13 minutes we almost gifted the visitors an opening goal when Paul Hanlon was short with a pass back to David Marshall. Smith was quick to pounce but with only the goalkeeper to beat, he shot straight at Marshall and the chance was gone.
That would be it for clear goal scoring opportunities at either end in a disappointing first half.
Raith were growing in confidence, though, and looked dangerous in transition. The movement of Lewis Vaughan in particular caused us problems at the back, although the Rovers were also lacking a cutting edge in the final third.
We made a half-time change with Newell replacing Josh Campbell in midfield and we again started brightly with a ball over the top presenting a shooting chance for Le Fondre that Murray deflected wide.
Moments later Youan got the better of Liam Dick on the right and from his hanging cross Hanlon thought he had scored, only for Watson to clear the skipper’s header away from the line.
From the resultant corner kick Hanlon appeared to be bundled over by Scott Brown as he attempted to connect with Newell’s delivery yet referee Nick Walsh waved away our appeal and play raged on.
We were very nearly hit by a sucker punch on 53 minutes when Raith counter-attacked at pace and Vaughan ghosted in behind our defence to meet a Josh Mullin cross and his volley crashed back off the post.
Moments later Boyle was played through on goal, only for a wonderful save by Dąbrowski to deny him. Boyler had tried to slot the ball across the keeper into the far corner however his former team-mate managed to save with his feet despite diving the other way.
The deadlock was finally broken on 56 minutes when Youan rose above Stanton to head Newell’s corner kick delivery into the net from close range.
Our second half performance had merited a goal and we nearly notched a quick-fire second when Boyle ran onto a Doidge lay-off only for his shot to deflect just wide.
Against the run of play the Rovers levelled on 67 minutes when Smith took advantage of a fortuitous break off Stevenson and made no mistake from 10 yards, drilling low past Marshall to equalise.
Our response was to bring on Vente and he made an immediate impact by calmly slotting home a Youan cut back less than a minute after stepping off the substitutes’ bench.
After a first half lacking in goal scoring opportunities, the second half had certainly delivered entertainment for the 8,674 spectators inside Easter Road.
The Rovers tried their best in the closing stages to push for a leveller however they could only muster a blocked Jamie Gullan effort as we comfortably saw out the remaining time.
Both teams would finish the game with ten men after Dick was shown a straight red card for a high challenge on Vente. With the striker unable to continue, and having used all our substitutes, we were unable to gain a numerical advantage for the final few moments.
We merited our win after an impressive second half showing. The substitutions proved crucial with the introduction of Newell, in particular, providing the drive and composure we missed during the first half.
With progression in the Viaplay Cup now secure, we can look forward to a visit from Aston Villa in the UEFA Europa Conference League Play-Offs.
Hibernian: Marshall, Hanlon (Fish 78’), Youan, Boyle (Stevenson 59’), Jeggo, Le Fondre (Vente 68’), Obita, Doidge, Harbottle, Campbell (Newell 46’), Megwa (Miller 59’). Substitutes not used: Boruc, Henderson, Delferriere, Molotnikov.
Raith Rovers: Dabrowski, Dick, Miller, Watson, Murray, Vaughan (Gullan 75’), Smith, Mullin, Stanton (Mitchell 90’), Brown (Hamilton 75’), Byrne (Ross 64’). Substitutes not used: Thomson, McGill, Arnott, Masson.
Referee: Nick Walsh.
Attendance: 8,674.
