SUCH is the fraught relationship Hibernian have with the Scottish Cup, even a last-16 tie against League Two opponents would not have filled their long-suffering supporters with any degree of confidence.

Taking into account the fact Arbroath also took the lead, that the Easter Road side find themselves in the quarter-finals will engender as much relief as satisfaction.

Kieran Stewart was the Red Licthies' hero with a 17th-minute opener that raised hopes and fears in opposing camps. However, Franck Dja Djedje's equaliser just before half-time and second-half strikes from Jason Cummings and substitute Dylan McGeouch got the job done for Alan Stubbs's side.

"In the end you've got to give credit to Arbroath," commented Stubbs. "They came and they tried to have a good go at us. I commend them for that. But I felt that we just had to make sure we didn't panic, to keep trusting ourselves to do the right things more often than not, and I think eventually that paid off for us.

"We scored at an important time in the team, which settled everybody down coming in for half-time. And it was just a matter of reinforcing the fact we needed to keep passing the ball, but do it quicker than we had done, and if we kept doing that I knew we would get opportunities. That proved to be the case in the second-half."

Lewis Stevenson was handed the honour of captaining Hibs on the occasion of his 250th appearance, whilst Fraser Fyvie was afforded his debut in midfield after joining this week. With Martin Boyle and Keith Watson both cup-tied, there was an early return for David Gray at right-back following a groin operation and a first start in attack for January signing Dja Djedje.

Arbroath, bedecked in the kind of maroon jerseys capable of bringing out the Easter Road outfit in a cold sweat, showed their ambition by fielding two strikers. Paul McManus and Simon Murray, whose dad Gary was a goal-scorer for the capital club in the early 1980s, came into the match with 35 goals between them this season but, despite giving the home side some anxious moments, could not add to that total.

The opening exchanges were characterised by the midfield invention of Scott Allan, who was the subject of three failed bids from former club Dundee United on Monday. Every time Hibs won possession, the 23-year-old was the focal point of their attack, whether it be from from the left, right or centre of the pitch, but the end product remained elusive.

When the Red Lichties got within touching distance of the Hibs goal they made the most of the opening, however, and took a shock 17th-minute lead. Stewart and Dylan Carreiro worked a wonderful give-and-go near the bye-line on the left and the former bought himself enough space to lash a fierce right-foot shot high into the roof of the net.

Hibs were clearly rocked back onto their heels by the opener, which contrastingly invigorated the part-timers and gave them a tangible reward for their ambitious approach.

The Easter Road side thought they had hauled themselves back into the tie in the 33rd minute, only for their celebrations to be cut short by referee Andrew Dallas when Dja Djedje's strike was ruled out for a high foot on the advancing keeper, Marc McCallum.

Two minutes later Allan struck the post with a 20-yard drive and, just when it looked like being one of those afternoons for Alan Stubbs's team, they finally engineered an equaliser four minutes from the interval. Allan accepted a cross-field pass and threaded a ball in behind Johnny Lindsay for Gray to cut a low ball back into the danger area and Dja Djedje gleefully swept in from eight yards out.

This was never a tie of the plain-sailing variety for Hibs but the fact their second came within 15 minutes of the restart ensured the jangling nerves were settled early. Full-back Stevenson cut inside on a cross-field pass and found Cummings with his back to goal. The striker was able to turn and fire in a shot that, though net-bound, was given a helping hand by a wicked deflection off Liam Gordon.

The third arrived just eight minutes later. McGeouch ran at the Arbroath rearguard from the right flank and after exchanging passes with Dja Djedje patiently engineered enough space to drill in a low left-foot shot from the 18-yard line. It ensured the Hibs fans could relax and show their appreciation for both sides at full-time.

"What did please me was that the Hibs fans clapped us off," said Arbroath manager Allan Moore. "I had a wee bit of banter with the fans behind the dugout, who were telling me we were a pub team. I said 'aye but we're a good put team because we're beating you 1-0!'. They said 'wait until the final score' and, in fairness, when it went to 3-1 it wasn't as if they gave me any stick. It was a good bit of banter."

Man of the match: Scott Allan.

Hibernian: Oxley; Gray, Hanlon, Fontaine, Stevenson; Fyvie, Robertson, S. Allan (Stanton 77), Craig (McGeouch 59); Dja Djedje, Cummings. Subs not used: Cerny, Forster, Handling, L. Allan, Martin.

Arbroath: McCallum; Rowan, Gordon, Little, Lindsay; Hunter (Linn 59), Whatley, Carreiro (Lowdon 88), Stewart; McManus, Murray (Buchan 78). Subs not used: Wilson, Smith, Johnstone.

Booked: Hunter 28, McManus 41, Whatley 56, Lindsay 63, Carreiro 72.

Referee: A. Dallas.

Attendance: 9,065.