Manager Nick Montgomery hailed the performance of Martin Boyle after the player inspired Hibernian’s 3-1 Scottish Gas Scottish Cup win at Inverness as they booked their place in the quarter-finals.
The Australia international starred as he scored in between Myziane Maolida’s opener and Elian Youan’s late strike as the Premiership outfit blitzed Caley Thistle in the second half to book their place in the last eight.
Boyle returned this week after playing for Australia in the Asian Cup and Montgomery admitted he is a massive influence for Hibs when he is on the pitch.
The Hibs boss said: “He is massively important. I said since January that I lost boys to international duty – along with Josh Campbell to injury – and not having Lewis Miller and Rocky Bushiri, you need them fit and available.
“It is great to have him back and you can see the difference in the last two games. He has been a real threat.
“He is a character and when he is off the field, you miss big characters. (It’s) great to have him back.
“He is a talisman, always a threat, but he is unselfish, he scores goals and creates goals. We saw he loves playing for Hibs and being out there.”
Montgomery admitted it was never easy for a Premiership club to take on opposition from a lower league, but was delighted they put in a professional performance against the Championship side.
He added: “It is never an easy cup tie to come here and I was really pleased with the boys’ effort.
“There are five new players that I brought in during January and I’m still getting boys fit.
“What I have lacked all the season is the impact off the bench and to make changes at half-time is what I planned to do and play high-intensity football and make changes as and when we needed.”
Aaron Doran pulled one back in second-half stoppage-time for the hosts, who rarely threatened to pull off a shock during the match.
Inverness manager Duncan Ferguson believed his team gave Hibernian a good game and had chances to level, but had no complaints with the final score.
He said: “We created one or two chances in the second half and hit the crossbar – we had chances.
“We had plenty of possession and we pushed them hard, but we are up against a good team and in the second half we gave them a couple of easy goals and afterwards we struggled after that.
“It just didn’t happen for us but we pushed and we played and got on the ball.
“We were brave, but they were strong on the counter attack, any time that we tried to attack.
“They have a lot of pacey players and I was pleased with the performance, but the goals were unavoidable.
“But I can’t complain too much as Hibernian are a good team.”
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life after Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life without Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Pirlo sacked as Sampdoria head coach after dismal Serie B start
Andrea Pirlo has been sacked as Sampdoria's head coach after just over a season at the helm.
Pirlo, who managed Juventus for the 2020-21 campaign, has been relieved of his duties after an underwhelming start to their Serie B season.
After finishing seventh in Italy's second tier last term, the 45-year-old was given the green light to try and return to Serie A at the second time of asking.
However, an opening day draw with Frosinone was followed up with back-to-back defeats to Reggiana and Salernitana, leaving them second-bottom in the division.
During his time in charge, Pirlo won 18 of his 45 matches in charge (D10 L17), averaging 1.42 points per game, a total only bettered by his time with Juventus (2.15).
Sampdoria return to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris this weekend in search of their first three points of the season, welcoming Bari to Genoa on Saturday.
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