Dundee United will be wary of Hibs when the teams meet in Saturday's Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden, according to Jason Cummings. The striker scored a penalty when the Championship side secured 3-0 win over the Taysiders in the League Cup quarter-final tie at Easter Road in November. United's season has deteriorated further since and they travel to the national stadium bottom of the Premiership, eight points behind Kilmarnock with five league games left to play. However, Cummings, who has scored 23 times this season, believes it will be their cup loss to Hibs which will preoccupy their minds at the national stadium.
He told Press Association Sport: "They have been struggling a bit this season and they have lost the majority of games they have played and we have won the majority of games we have played so I think that will come into play a wee bit. And I think it will be in the back of their minds, the fact that we have already beaten them 3-0. That night we were different class and we battered them off the pitch. It was a comfortable 3-0 and it could have been more. I think that is massive for us, the fact that we have already beaten them and beaten them comfortably. The boys will go into Saturday knowing we can do it again and I am buzzing for it."
The Scotland Under-21 player believes his team are due some good fortune at Hampden Park which will allow them to silence their detractors. In last season's Scottish Cup semi-final they were the better side only to go down 1-0 to Falkirk and last month they were the better side for most of the League Cup final against Ross County before losing 2-1 to a last-gasp Alex Schalk goal. The former Hearts youth player said: "It seems that when we go to Hampden we just don't seem to get the result, even if we are the better team. I think we are due a wee bit of luck and hopefully we can get that and break the Hampden curse. Everyone seems to say Hibs have bottled it in big games. I would love to go out on Saturday and just prove everyone wrong."
Manager Alan Stubbs faces a goalkeeping dilemma for the game. With number one Mark Oxley, suspended, along with forward James Keatings, Stubbs has to decide between Otso Virtanen, who has played only a few minutes as a substitute, or former Leicester keeper Conrad Logan, signed in March as cover. Stubbs is hoping captain David Gray and midfielder John McGinn shrug off knocks.
Meanwhile, Dundee United midfielder Ryan Dow aims to take the chance to go into a game without worrying about other results - but he knows Hibs will also welcome the opportunity. United fell eight points adrift at the foot of the Premiership last Saturday, four days after missing the chance to cut the gap on Kilmarnock to two points. Consecutive defeats by Partick Thistle and Inverness have given them a mountainous task to avoid relegation in the final five games but they can forget about their plight until after Saturday's semi-final meeting.
Dow said: "The league campaign has been a big disappointment and this is a different competition, a one-off game, you go into this game with a wee bit less pressure. You don't need to be aware of other results like we have been, looking at the likes of Kilmarnock and Hamilton after a game. This is a one-off game so the boys are looking forward to it. I'm sure Hibs will probably feel the same, they have the pressure of the play-offs to come and I'm sure they will be thinking there is less pressure on a cup semi-final and will be looking forward to it as much as we are. We are not thinking about the league this week, we are just thinking about the chance to get into a cup final, it would be our third cup final in three years."
Dow knows that a win tomorrow at Hampden would give United a major boost going into the post-split games. He said: "We should be able to lift our spirits anyway and get up for the games, but you can't kid anyone on: if you get into a Scottish Cup final, it's going to lift everyone around the club. If we get a win on Saturday I'm sure the boys will take the momentum and spirit into the league games." Manager Mixu Paatelainen has received a massive boost after midfielder Paul Paton was passed fit following a knee problem. However, defender Gavin Gunning has been released by Paatelainen following his bizarre exit against Inverness, while fellow centre-back Mark Durnan is suspended.