Kilmarnock manager, Bobby Williamson, made a plea a couple of weeks ago that no Scottish Cup tie should go to a replay. His plea was answered in the dying seconds of this match, though not quite in the manner that he would have liked, when Tom McManus rose high above his marker to nod Hibernian into the semi-final.

I would describe this Hibs performance as one of true character. We have had lots of plaudits this year for being a stylish and entertaining team and although there was some of that, my overriding memory of this game will be of how Hibs dug deep in difficult circumstances. Typifying the spirit of the team at Rugby Park was Mixu Paatelainen, thrown in at left wing back and making a more than decent job of it. Incredible to watch.

I thought Hibs were the only team that deserved to win this match. Sure, it was tight and the possession was shared but we were more incisive, held a territorial advantage for long periods, created slightly better chances in a game of few, and just looked like we wanted it more. The best Kilmarnock could have got out of this encounter was a 0-0 draw. I can't remember Nick Colgan making a save.

And yet we did not have our problems to seek. Matthias Jack did not make the squad and his place in the holding role went to Grant Brebner. Then, after about twenty minutes, Sauzee limped off to be replaced by Ian Murray with a consequent reshuffle of the back three into the same formation that played against Motherwell. The patching up then had to go further after about half an hour when Laursen too limped off. Everyone assumed that Lyndon Andrews would come on as the Hibs bench desperately tried to get another sub ready. Then, when Mixu Paatelainen ran on and immediately talked with Zitelli, I thought that the Frenchman would drop back into Laursen's role. But astonishingly Mixu stayed put and showed a versatility that I could not have foreseen, skipping up and down the left wing with some aplomb and looking like he was enjoying himself into the bargain.

Hibs were at their best in the opening exchanges and looked set to sweep Kilmarnock away before half time with Latapy at his sharpest and involved in a lot of the good moves. The best chance of the match fell to John O'Neil with only a few minutes played. A great ball from Latapy found him bursting into the box and when his right foot shot was blocked, the ball sat up for a left foot effort. O'Neil caught it sweetly but it agonisingly cleared the bar.

After all the reorganisation that was forced on us, Killie started to get back into the game, with the match about even going in at half time. This pattern was to continue in the second half with the teams now more evenly contesting but producing little in the way of goal mouth action.

Alex McLeish took one final roll of the dice, taking off Zitelli and bringing on McManus with about half an hour to go. And just when it seemed that the teams had faught each other to a standstill and the replay was inevitable, Hibs mounted one more challenge. Latapy was brought down in the wide left area and the little Hibs playmaker took the freekick himself with injury time counting down. His ball to the back post was met by McManus, sailing way off the ground, who planted his header past Marshall and in the back of the net. The goal was met by a sea of noise from the Hibs end which was packed out. Kilmarnock had no time to recover from the blow and the final whistle blew shortly after the restart.

Some other observations. I thought Grant Brebner had his best game in a long time and you could see the confidence coming back the longer the match went on. Likewise I thought Ian Murray had another good game in the back three and showed that he can really play this position. I felt Libbra showed some good pace, skill, aerial and battling qualities in the first half but he looked dead on his feet in the second - understandable for a player who has played little this season. The surprise for me though , was that McLeish chose to take Zitelli off and leave Libbra on. And then there was Mixu - superb, and worth the admission money alone.

The Hibs away support were immense and I swear I could feel the stand moving under my feet during the celebrations for the goal. If only we could bottle some of that for the ER league games against the lesser teams when sometimes the atmosphere is really lacking.

And so we come to referee, McCurry. I admit that, like most of the Hibs support, I was incensed by some of his decisions at the time. I felt that he was taking a perverse pleasure in giving us nothing, the more we got on his back. In the cold light of day, was he really that awful. He was certainly poor and I think Killie were adept at conning him - let's just leave it at that.

Man of the match. It really wouldn't be fair to choose. Hibs had fourteen heroes on the park and my heart was swollen with pride at the end. A great day to be a Hibee and the Scottish Cup dream lives on.

Hibs Team 3-5-2

Colgan
Fenwick, Sauzee (Murray), G. Smith
Lovell, Brebner, Latapy, O'Neil, Laursen (Paatelainen)
Libbra, Zitelli (McManus)

Subs not used : Franks, Andrews