Neil Lennon praised the performance of his Hibernian team, highlighting how his players dealt well with a "no-win situation" against Bonnyrigg Rose in the Scottish Cup.

James Keatings and Jason Cummings both hit doubles as the holders thrashed the side from the East Super League of the Scottish Junior ranks 8-1.

The result got Hibernian's defence of the title off to an emphatic start and the boss of the Easter Road side was keen to stress how well his players coped with an unusual environment at Tynecastle.

Lennon said: "The tie was always fraught with danger, we were in a no-win situation, so we have made a good start to our defence of the cup. I think the fans enjoyed it.

"We went strong and gave Bonnyrigg the respect they deserved. They beat Dumbarton in the last round and that's not an easy achievement but very, very pleased with the way we approached the game.

"We got a little bit sloppy just before half-time so I had a few words with them at half-time and we had a really good second half."

The one down side was an injury to goalkeeper Ofir Marciano, who was replaced by Ross Laidlaw 20 minutes into his comeback from knee surgery.

"It was either a boot or a knee in the back round the kidney area," Lennon said. "He is in hospital now so we are waiting to hear.

"We are hoping it's not too bad otherwise we will be short of a goalkeeper. We have lost our third choice because of a dislocated thumb. It's a blow to Ofir because he has just come back from surgery."