Super south dump sorry Hibs

Aug 31 2012 by Andrew Burns, Dumfries Standard Friday

QUEEN of the South’s League Cup goal hero Nicky Clark was born a Jambo.

The son of a Tynecastle legend, the Palmerston striker’s blood runs maroon.

And on Tuesday night he led the line as his adopted club dumped Hearts’ bitter rivals Hibs out of the cup.

Clark opened the scoring before substitute Gavin Reilly added a second to seal a memorable Scottish Communities League Cup victory.

The 21-year-old said: “It was a brilliant moment for me, especially against an SPL club.

“I’ve never scored against an SPL club before and it made it even better with my dad’s background and because it was Hibs.

“My dad was the manager at Hearts when I was born and it has always run in the family.”

On a night of shocks in the League Cup, Hibs rested four first-team stars and were stunned by a classy Queens performance.

Pat Fenlon’s men couldn’t contain the Doonhamers and shipped two goals in the first half through Clark and substitute Reilly.

Palmerston was rocking as the Scottish Second Division outfit ran out comfortable winners and Nicky, the son of Hearts favourite and current Palmerston number two Sandy, said the team was “buzzing” after the win.

He said: “We always felt we had a chance even if they hadn’t rested some of their players.

“I don’t know if they underestimated us but we took it as a positive for ourselves.

“We are on a good run we are still unbeaten and I hope that continues.

“The boys were magnificent out there.”

Queens boss Allan Johnston had challenged his team to rise to the occasion – and admits he was over the moon with their response.

Ex-Hearts star Johnston said: “We said to the boys you are playing against Premier League players and it is up to you to raise your standards and show if you are good enough to play at that level.

“It is good for their careers to do well against teams like that.”

He added: “It was a real team performance.

“The first half I thought we played some really good football.

“Maybe in the second half we never passed it as well but I thought we were the better team.

“We defended really well as a team.

“We were nice and compact, tried to pass the ball and we created a lot of chances.

“Our boys were brilliant and deserved this result.

“It wasn’t just about working hard and closing people down - they had the skill to match Hibs.”