BY ALAN TEMPLE – @CCP_Sport
Hibernian will be without Edinburgh derby heroes Paul Hanlon, Marvin Bartley and Jason Cummings when they face Inverness in the Scottish Cup quarter-final.
The trio were pivotal in Tuesday night’s fractious 1-0 triumph over Hearts, with Cummings bagging the winning goal after four minutes, Bartley claiming man of the match and Hanlon proving a rock in defence. However the win came at a cost for Alan Stubbs’ men.
Top scorer Cummings was sent off after 78 minutes, with referee John Beaton flashing a second yellow card at the striker for kicking the ball away. The Scotland under-21 star had been booked earlier for celebrating his strike in front of the away support.
Bartley, who was cautioned in the original tie between the capital clubs at Tynecastle, was shown his second yellow card of the tournament by Mr Beaton, which sees him pick up an automatic one-match ban.
Similarly, Hanlon crossed that disciplinary threshold by being booked during both ties against the Jambos.
The key absentees leave head coach Alan Stubbs with a selection headache through the spine of his side when Hibs host the Highlanders in the last eight on March 5.
Meanwhile, Hearts will also be without Blazej Augustyn and Miguel Pallardo – both out of contract in the summer – for their first Scottish Cup fixture of next season, should they remain at Tynecastle.
Like Cummings, Augustyn’s second yellow card for dissent sees him land a one-match ban, while Pallardo picked up his second caution of the competition for a cynical foul on John McGinn, having been booked in the previous round against Aberdeen.
