Hibs won a hard-fought battle with Celtic on penalties, securing their spot at Hampden in the SYFA cup final.

The hosts were the first to threaten when Fraser Murray managed to bring out a powerful strike from the edge of the box which headed towards the bottom left corner, but the right hand from Ross Doohan was enough to deny an early lead in the second minute. Murray was unlucky once again not to put the team from the capital in front in the 3^rd minute after Celtic captain Robbie Deas heroically threw himself in front of the wingers shot from close range.

Celtic got their first chance in the fourth minute when Michael Johnston showed his trickery down the right wing and sent a bullet of a cross in, which was unlucky not to be met by a teammate. Johnston was at it again in the 8^th minute, this time from a free kick which went narrowly over the bar.

The end-to-end action continued at Easter road when Ryan Shanley made room for himself in the box but saw his finish sail over the bar in the 18^th minute. The next chance for the hosts came in the 23rd minute when Adam Watson smartly found F. Murray at the edge of the box, who couldn't be anymore unlucky when his strike was deflected over Doohan and clipping the underside of the bar.

Celtic’s youngest ever scorer, Jack Aitchison was the next to threaten for Celtic in the 31^st minute when he touched the ball down at the back post but saw his shot go wide of the target. The bar was struck again in the 34^th minute, this time the Hibs bar, when Johnston found Ewan Henderson who had his powerful effort tipped onto the woodwork by keeper Maciej Dabrowski. Defender Stephen Welsh was then unfortunate to find his curling strike go just over from the resulting corner.

F. Murray was courageously denied once again by a Celtic defensive block when Stephen Welsh flung himself in front of the close ranged effort in the 36^th minute. Hibs continued the pressure when a minute later Adam Watson had an attempt from range which was comfortably saved by Doohan. A long-range attempt from Hibees defender Callum Donaldson which cruised over the bar in the 40^th minute, ended up being the climax of an action packed first half.

With the exhilarating first half ending, the second half was seen to be a much more conservative approach from each of the sides. Celtic’s Calvin Miller who has impressed manager Brendan Rodgers this season had the first chance of the second-half when he saw his freekick glance over the bar in the 49^th minute of the match.

Hibs got their first chance of the half when Shanley saw his forceful effort from the edge of the box fly over in the 51^st minute. Hibs then got their best chance of the game in the 55^th minute when F. Murray sweetly delivered a cross to captain Ryan Porteous from a free kick which saw the tall captain’s header just go wide of the post.

After a series of stubborn defending and a couple of naughty challenges which resulted in bookings, the next chance didn’t come until the 69^th minute, and was arguably the chance of the game when Aitchison showed a lovely bit of composure to thread the ball to Reagan Hendry who found himself one on one against Dabrowski, but fortunately for the home side Hendry couldn’t find the target.

The next chance didn’t come until the 88^th minute when on form target man Oli Shaw, who had been uncharacteristically quiet on the evening managed to turn his man and fire a fierce shot across the goal, but just drifted wide. The final chance of the game fell to that man again Shaw in the dying moments of the match when he managed to get his head on a great delivery which was then superbly denied by an agile Doohan save in the 91^st minute. The tense semi-final headed towards extra time.