Shaun Maloney praised his Hibernian side for the way they came through a testing Scottish Cup tie at Arbroath.
The Easter Road side – without a win in their last six cinch Premiership games – were widely expected to struggle against the Championship leaders but prevailed 3-1 at Gayfield.
Maloney was pleased with how positively they responded to the concession of a sixth-minute goal from Craig Wighton to book their place in the quarter-final draw.
“I thought the performance was very good, especially after the early setback,” the manager said. “It was a big test. The conditions weren’t easy. But the mentality was very good from the players. They fought, but they also played, so I’m really pleased.
“I think what they showed today was a real desire not to be beat. When you have a big setback after six minutes against a team from a division below, they showed a really strong mentality to come back.
“It wasn’t just fight though. The players showed some quality as well with the way we passed through them at times.”
Maloney acknowledged that many people expected his side to be the victims of an upset in a match played in relentless rainfall and he hopes the victory can spark an upturn in form.
“Arbroath are top of the league below,” he said. “You have to be very wary of these games and there’s a reason it’s on TV. I understand that dynamic.
“With the goal going in so early, the momentum they had made it a very difficult game. I’m just really pleased for the players with what they showed today.
“What really pleased me was the fight they showed, similar to what we had in the derby, and even the quality we had. Hopefully there is momentum now.”
Maloney was delighted to see Kevin Nisbet score after five games without a goal, as he added to Demetri Mitchell’s equaliser before Chris Mueller sealed victory.
“I try and keep Kevin’s confidence as high as possible because even when he’s not scored, his performances have been very good for me,” said Maloney.
“When Kevin starts to take these chances he is going to be a very good player because the positions he gets into and the other parts of his game are very good. Hopefully that’s the first of many for him.”
Arbroath assistant manager Ian Campbell admitted Hibs deserved to win.
“I thought Hibs played well – they were better than us,” he said. “But that being said, our players did what they usually do – they were first-class. We got off to a good start, but the equaliser was a poor goal for us to lose, it’s not like us.
“In the second half, I thought we were on top. We had gilt-edged chances and we would have had a good chance of winning the game if they hadn’t scored a brilliant goal.
“But I liked Hibs, I liked them a lot – they’ve got a lot of pace, a lot of penetration. They were better than us.”
