Recalling the John O'Neil double that helped nervy Hibs end 22-year wait for Scottish Cup final appearance

It may not have been a classic, but then the 2001 Scottish Cup semi-final against Livingston was a tense affair for Hibs.

It had been 22 years since the Easter Road side had featured in a final, and all the pressure was on them to end that run against lower-league opposition.

While Alex McLeish’s men were well on their way to securing a third place finish in the Premier Division, their opponents were still pushing for promotion to the top flight under Jim Leishman.

With a strong backbone featuring Franck Sauzee at sweeper, Russell Latapy pulling the strings in midfield and David Zitelli leading the attack, Hibs had plenty of reasons to be confident, but the weight of expectation took its toll.

Nerves had kicked in well before the match – weeks before in fact – with Hibs managing just one win in seven matches prior to the semi-final. They faced claims that their bubble was bursting.

That contributed to the anxiety among the Hibs support, who accounted for four-fifths of the 24,658 attendance in a half-full Hampden.

Their minds were quickly put at ease when John O’Neil flashed a shot beyond Livi goalkeeper Ian McCaldon with just 80 seconds on the clock.

It was the perfect start, but Hibs failed to build on it and tension grew as they battled to overcome both Livingston’s resistance and their own self-belief.

Looking back now, Hibs were rarely in danger. In fact, goalkeeper Nick Colgan made it through the 90 minutes without making a save.

But the 70-minute wait for the second goal felt like an eternity to the fans who were living in fear of another semi-final disappointment.

They were helped by Livi goalkeeper McCaldon, who got into a mix-up with Marvin Andrews after racing wildly out of his box, and was expertly punished by Zitelli with a cleverly hooked finish sending the ball rolling into the gaping net.

Six minutes later Hibs were home and dry as O’Neil struck his second and his team’s third with a powerful 22 yard drive.

Reflecting on the win, McLeish said: “We started brilliantly, but instead of going for the killer second goal we became a bit cagey. It is always dodgy when you are only one in front, but at 2-0 we began to express ourselves for the first time in the game.

“It was other people who talked about our bubble bursting but these players have done brilliantly through the season and now they are in a cup final where they deserve to be.”

Hibs’ hopes of ending their 99-year wait for the trophy were dashed when their return to Hampden a month later resulted in a 3-0 defeat to Martin O’Neill’s treble-winning Celtic.