Hibernian 4 Brechin City 0

Last updated : 05 February 2005 By Footymad Previewer

Hibs cruised into the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup by seeing off Second Division Brechin at Easter Road.

First half goals from Sam Morrow and Garry O'Connor eased their passage, and further goals from O'Connor and Gary Caldwell after the break put Brechin to the sword.

Hibs showed their intentions from the start as they won a corner after only 40 seconds and O'Connor came close with a near-post header.

Derek Riordan and Caldwell also had decent efforts on target before Brechin could muster a response.

Paul Ritchie's long-range free-kick had to be watched closely by Simon Brown, but the Hibernian goalkeeper made a comfortable enough save.

Hibs stepped up the pace after this warning, and Guillaume Beuzelin struck the post with a volley after a misplaced clearance out of defence.

The breakthrough came after 24 minutes when Gary Smith picked out Morrow with a measured 50-yard pass, and the striker cut inside Paul Deas before slamming the ball high into the net past Craig Nelson.

Any hopes Brechin had of finding a way back into the tie were effectively over after 32 minutes when Hibs doubled their advantage.

Steven Whittaker sent Riordan clear on the left, and his low cross was met first time by O'Connor to leave Craig Nelson with no chance.

O'Connor scored his second and Hibs' third after 57 minutes when he was put through by Dean Shiels with Brechin claiming for offside. The striker kept calm to slot the ball past Nelson.

The Brechin goalkeeper was at fault at Hibs' fourth in the 63rd minute when he allowed a Caldwell header to loop over him.