Monday 17th August, 2026 at 11:15am
Partick Thistle’s Premier Sports Cup dreams were put on hold for another year as they bowed out at the Last 16 stage following a 1-0 defeat to Hibernian at Easter Road on Sunday.
It was a first trip to Leith for the Firhill faithful in eight years, with over 2,000 Jags fans making the trip to the capital, singing loudly throughout the game.
There was one change to the side which had dismantled Livingston nine days prior, with Alex Samuel making way for Tony Watt and his many years of experience against Premiership opposition.
Hibs immediately set out their stall, having the lion’s share of the ball. The first real chance of the game fell to the Hibees on four minutes when Owen Elding was played through on goal. Jags ‘keeper Liam McFarlane was up to the task though, coming out on top in the one-on-one, blocking Elding’s shot with his legs.
Elding would not be denied though, getting on the scoresheet on 11 minutes. Jack Iredale got himself into a good position on the left flank, driving a low ball across the face of goal to the back post where an onrushing Elding was waiting to hit home from close range and give Hibs the lead.
Thistle didn’t let the heads drop, slowing the pace down and shutting Hibs out over the next period of play. In fact, the next proper chance didn’t come for another nine minutes, and this time it went the way of the Jags as a foul on Fitzpatrick gave Thistle a good opportunity to deliver from the left flank.
The free kick had Hibs keeper Rafael Sallinger flapping at it, as it found its way to Seb Drozd who shuffled it back to Oisin Smyth. The ex-St. Mirren man set himself before shooting, however, his effort was blocked before Ts’oanelo Lets’osa headed behind for a goal kick.
Hibs’ intensity had dropped considerably since the opener, with Thistle finding their way into the game thanks to some sloppy passing. Seb Drozd was giving a great account of himself, at the heart of all of Thistle’s good play.
First up, Drozd controlled a high ball well on the edge of the Hibs box, only to be flagged offside. Sixty seconds later, he carved an opening and had a go from distance which sailed high and wide of the target.
Mark Wilson’s men were lucky not to concede minutes before half-time when a cannon strike from Elding clattered off the underside of the bar via a Liam McFarlane glove and the on-loan Hearts ‘keeper was called into action again a few moments later when Nathan Lowe got in behind Cale Loughrey. The Englishman shot across goal but was denied by McFarlane’s sharp stop down to his left.
Half-time – Hibernian 1 Partick Thistle 0
The opening ten minutes of the second half saw little in the way of incident, as Thistle continued to keep the Hibees at bay.
Former Jag Kanayo Megwa caused panic with a lovely pass on the turn into the Thistle box on the 57-minute mark however. His ball found Elding, who saw his effort blocked, with Adam Mayor’s follow-up hitting the side netting.
Mark Wilson rang the changes on the hour. Alex Samuel, Ben Stanway and Ethan ingram all came on at the expense of Watt, Crawford and O’Reilly, with the substitutions having an almost instantaneous effect.
On 63 minutes, the away stand erupted in cheers after an effort from Drozd was intercepted by the hand of Joe Newell, with referee Duncan Nicolson blowing the whistle and pointing to the spot. The red and yellow army’s joy was short lived though, with a VAR check prompting Nicolson to go to the monitor, where he would reverse his decision.
Ben Dempsey joined the fold shortly after the overturned penalty, replacing Lets’osa to make his debut for the club. Cammy Logan then followed him onto the pitch not long after, with Ben McPherson making way.
The last twenty minutes saw Thistle turn up the heat in hope of finding a leveller. Stanway had a good effort, forcing Sallinger into an clever save at his near post. Thistle went close again 60 seconds later, with a well-played indirect free kick finding its way to Cale Loughrey, who forced Sallinger into a save at full stretch to keep it out.
On 80 minutes, Fitzpatrick launched a free kick into Drozd at the back post who could only stab the ball into the goalkeeper’s gloves on the volley. Soon after, Smyth was a shade away from making the breakthrough, hitting a curling first-time effort from 20 yards out, only for Sallinger to again block the shot.
With two minutes of regulation time left, substitute Logan drove his way down the wing and crossed the ball in for Ben Stanway in the centre of the park 10 yards out, but he couldn’t guide his header on target as it skipped wide of the upright.
The last big chance of the game arrived a couple of minutes into stoppage time when Paddy Reading received the ball on the left and drove a low delivery towards the near post. Debutant Dempsey got his foot on it but became the latest Jag to be denied by the steadfast Sallinger in the Hibs goal.
The home side managed the remainder of the match excellently and booked their spot in the quarter-finals as the Jags’ Premier Sports Cup journey came to an end.
Full Time – Hibernian 1 Partick Thistle 0
Thistle will now turn their attentions back to the league, with a trip to the Highlands next up. They face Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Friday night, with the BBC Scotland cameras rolling for a 7:30pm kick-off.
Teams
Hibernian: Raphael Sallinger; Jack Iredale (Felix Passlack, 61’), Jason Kerr, Warren O’Hora; Adam Mayor, Joe Newell (Miguel Chaiwa, 73’), Josh Mulligan, Kanayo Megwa, Jamie McGrath (Ante Šuto, 61’); Owen Elding (Josh Campbell, 73’), Nathan Lowe (Martin Boyle, 61’).
Unused Substitutes: Jordan Smith; Thibault Klidjé, Nicky Cadden, Azeem Abdulai.
Partick Thistle: Liam McFarlane; Ben McPherson (Cammy Logan, 72’), Cale Loughrey, Dan O’Reilly (Ethan Ingram, 59’), Paddy Reading; Robbie Crawford (Ben Stanway, 59’), Ts’oanelo Lets’osa (Ben Dempsey, 69’), Oisin Smyth; Aidan Fitzpatrick, Seb Drozd, Tony Watt (Alex Samuel, 59’).
Unused Substitutes: Lewis Budinauckas: Matthew Falconer, Josh Miller, Thomas Horn.
Referee: Duncan Nicolson
Attendance: 10,608
