In a pretty uninspiring Scottish Cup draw for the last 32, this game didn’t have much ‘tie of the round’ competition.
The 15 games that preceded Dundee United v Hibs didn’t do much to alter that perception.
Thankfully, a tie that had the intrigue of runaway Championship leaders against a top six Premiership side lived up to its billing.
And, from United’s point of view, it was evidence that they will be at home in next season’s top flight.
Hibs scored fine goals through Christian Doidge and Martin Boyle – on both occasions to put them in front.
But the Tangerines matched those two with the quality of the finishes from Lawrence Shankland and Louis Appere.
A replay will be needed to see who progresses into the fifth round and seeing these two sides face each other again will be no chore.
There were five changes in the United starting line-up from the one which beat Partick Thistle, with Calum Butcher, Paul McMullan, Jamie Robson, Ian Harkes and Peter Pawlett all returning. For Pawlett, it was his first start since the end of October.
The early signs for an entertaining match were encouraging.
There was no need for shadow-boxing for teams in different leagues, with both of them keen to land a telling first blow.
Hibs, in particular, looked a real threat and United had Mark Connolly to thank for preventing an opening goal just three minutes in.
Florian Kamberi beat Benjamin Siegrist with a low shot but Connolly was in the right place on the goal-line to boot it clear.
The centre-back couldn’t save the day five minutes later, though.
Scott Allan picked out Boyle with a diagonal ball from left to right and the former Dundee man deceived three United defenders with a deft outside of the boot pass to Doidge.
From there the Welshman was lethal with his angled finish that gave Siegrist no chance.
Hibs may have been the team inactive during a winter break and United the one with competitive rhythm but it wasn’t showing.
The pace and sharpness of mind was being shown by the men in green and white, not tangerine and black.
Even when United were able to earn themselves a 16th minute corner, it nearly turned into a goal at their own end when Hibs broke swiftly on them and had a three on two. Boyle picked the option to his right – Melker Hallberg. The Swede’s shot came from a similar part of the box as Doidge’s but this time is was closer to Siegrist and gave him a comfortable save.
A mid-half lull was no bad thing for the hosts as the game turned into a more even contest and an arm-wrestle between the boxes.
Hibs did manage to work Siegrist again on 36 minutes when a Kamberi shot took a deflection off Liam Smith but the keeper kept it out at his near post with his right foot.
United’s improvement and perseverance got its reward in the third and final minute of first half stoppage time.
Ian Harkes put Shankland through and, as so often happens for the Championship’s star striker, his composure under pressure was the key to getting the time needed to guide a finish past Ofir Marciano. Of his 26 goals in the season, this was one of the best.
The home fans had the half-time break to savour their team getting back on level terms but after less than two minutes of second half football it was the travelling support celebrating again.
Boyle’s brilliance created their first for a team-mate but this goal was self-made.
Allan laid the ball off for him 25 yards from goal and the forward’s low strike arrowed beyond Siegrist’s dive and into the bottom corner.
On 56 minutes Kamberi let fly from even further out. Siegrist’s save sent the ball back into the danger area and it looked as if it might fall nicely for Boyle but he couldn’t get his feet sorted out in time to react.
Allan was the next to try his luck from outside the box but the ex-United midfielder was off balance when he shot with his left foot and it sailed into the stand.
Robbie Neilson made his first change on 63 minutes – Appere for Pawlett.
It wasn’t quite an instant impact from the sub but it was an impact all the same when he produced an equaliser out of nothing just 11 minutes after coming on.
Appere got the better of Steven Whitaker on the left touchline then left David Gray in his wake before steering a low, curled effort into the far corner.
It was another goal of the highest quality.
From that point United looked the likelier team to grab a winner. Appere tried another shot from where the equaliser came but it didn’t have the same accuracy on this occasion.
In injury time Siegrist did a fine job of blocking a Doidge effort from close range.
Attendance – 9,400.
