As soon as Barry Nicholson scored a last-minute equaliser to set-up a Scottish Cup replay at Easter Road, the pundits started talking about Hibernian and Aberdeen having a week that would define their seasons.
It was time to see if these two proud clubs – marginalised for years by an acute lack of resources compared to Celtic and Rangers, and now contending with a Hearts team operating outside the normal rules of financial prudence – could make this season one to cherish.

Aberdeen is an oasis of top-flight football in the north-east, illustrated by the fact that matches against Inverness Caledonian Thistle – a club based 80 miles away – represents the closest they get to a regular derby match. The Dons have yet to lose to Caley in the Scottish Premier League, but they came mighty close this time, relying on a last-gasp goal from Steve Lovell to rob a point from a game they should have lost.

Hibernian’s big week didn’t start until Monday night. They were away against Kilmarnock, a team who have proved a big thorn in their side in recent years, which made it all the more surprising when John Collins decided to give debut starts to three 19-year-olds from the academy – Lewis Stevenson, Kevin McCann and Ross Campbell. It was a big, big gamble but it paid off, with Hibs surviving a fairly turgid first-half and then scoring twice through Ivan Sproule and Steven Fletcher.

Then came the Cup tie on Thursday night, with Nicholson again instrumental as he opened the scoring against Hibs. But that was as good as it got for Aberdeen – 2-1 down by half-time after poor defending from corners, they then fell apart at the beginning of the second period. Abdessalam Benjelloun, Hibs’ Moroccan striker, has talent, but has struggled at times with the pace of Scottish football. Inexplicable, then, that twice Aberdeen held off him rather than closing him down. And twice Benji, as he is universally known, exploited the space to punish his opponents.

Jimmy Calderwood is the kind of manager who heads every ball and contests every decision from the touchline, but he is not blinkered and was fulsome in his praise of Hibs at the end of the game. He was somewhat less impressed with his own team’s efforts, though, bemoaning their uncharacteristic defensive lapses. He tried to talk positively about the rest of the season, but his admission that “the dream is over for another year” betrayed his dismay at being out of the Cup.

It is Hibs, though, who dream about lifting this trophy more than any other club. They have not won it since 1902, a record that stands as one of the biggest burdens in British football, and an easy source of mockery for rival fans. They now go on to a fourth-round home tie against Gretna, who they spanked 6-0 in the League Cup earlier this season. That won’t stop their own fans having kittens as the game approaches, however.