Analysis: Jason Cummings was more “wee laddie” than Big Daddy as Aberdeen overpowered Hibs

HE warmed up for Hampden with a wrestling match.

But Jason Cummings was more “wee laddie” than Big Daddy as Aberdeen overpowered Hibs.

Cummings made waves on social media in midweek after posting a video of himself grappling with pro-wrestler Grado.

But when it mattered, he was outfought by Aberdeen’s heavyweight centre-halves.

In Grant Holt, Hibs did have one striker who didn’t shy away from battle.

From the very second he arrived on the pitch after replacing Fraser Fyvie, it was clear he, rather than Cummings, was the Hibee Haystacks.

But in the end, the Dons withstood the Holt onslaught, and delivered the knockout blow themselves.

Cummings started up front alone.

Against an imposing Aberdeen centre-half pairing of Ash Taylor and Mark Reynolds, it was a big ask for the wee man.

But his task was made even tougher after Adam Rooney rocked the Hibees 13 seconds in.

In the aftermath, with Hibs reeling, the hopeful hit man tried to fly high against Taylor and Reynolds.

Instead he bounced off them.

It was a complete physical mismatch.

And Neil Lennon’s  side weren’t just lightweight up top – they were being tossed around all over the park.

Ryan Christie’s audacious free-kick tightened the Dons’ stranglehold.

With more than two-thirds of the contest remaining, Hibs looked ready to submit.

Then Holt entered the fray, joining Cummings up front.

Lennon’s big man, little man combo immediately put the Dons’ back line on the ropes.

Holt’s goal came within two minutes of his arrival – bustling presence, towering header – and it set the tone for the rest of the game.

Aberdeen, once comfortably in control, were suddenly fighting to escape Hibs’ clutches.

On their feet, toe-to-toe, the Dons looked the tougher.

Once Hibs took the fight to the floor, Derek McInnes’ men were toiling.

Holt was in the thick of it again at the equaliser – though his contribution was more subtle than before.

Some neat positioning, a delicate lay off for Dylan McGeouch, and suddenly it was all square.

Cummings, meanwhile, the man who put on such a big show in the build-up, was left to scratch around the edges.

Others got stuck in, while he tried to feed of their scraps.

Unfortunately, they were few and far between.

Once, with the Dons’ reshuffled defence in disarray early in the second half, Cummings was sent clear, but the assistant referee’s flag denied him a run on goal.

Thanks largely to Holt’s presence, it seemed Hibs had earned themselves a deserved crack at extra time.

But as Hampden steeled itself for another half-hour of action, Jonny Hayes, Aberdeen’s silent assassin, popped up to pin down the Hibees once and for all with a deflected winner.

All that remained was for whistler John Beaton to deliver the count – one, two, three – and send the Dons home delighted.