Three points bounced Aberdeen into third. Now second is crooking a beckoning finger as Rangers head north in midweek.
Dons boss Derek McInnes just hopes the price paid to win here isn’t too high.
His side eased to a come-frombehind victory despite the first-half loss of goal machine Sam Cosgrove with a back spasm and keeper Joe Lewis with a head injury.
Goals from Andy Considine and Gar y Mackay- Steven overhauled Oli Shaw’s Hibs opener inside 23 minutes, allowing Dons the luxury of a missed penalty in the second half as they got over the line.
But with steadfast stopper Scott McKenna missing and also touch- and- go for midweek, it was a high-tariff victory.
The Pittodrie boss said: “These two league games, Hibs and Rangers, could prove pivotal to where we are.
“When you play teams in and around you, particularly when there’s only 14 games to go, the benefit of winning those games is huge, it’s an opportunity to do a bit of damage.
“Rangers will see it exactly the same way.
“Today, for whatever reason, that’s as comfortable as we have been at Easter Road for a while.
“You kept waiting on Hibs throwing the kitchen sink and cranking up the pressure but it never came.”
Cosgrove – with 10 goals in his previous 10 games – limped off after just 19 minutes, while Lewis made it to first-half injury time t before clattering his head off o the post chasing a Stevie Mallan M free-kick.
He needed stitches but McInnes M is hopeful there’s no concussion c which would force him h to miss out on Wednesday.
He said: “I’m hoping both are going g to be okay.
“Joe’s got a nasty gash above his h eye but he’s absolutely fine and a seems eager to play. Sam, I think t it’s been the consequence of o training on hard pitches and maybe even the other night on astroturf at Stenhousemuir, his back just went into a spasm.
“Hopefully it is something we can work on and it can disappear as quickly as it came.
“He certainly feels positive but he needs a lot of things to go his way to be ready for Wednesday.”
Dons made an uncertain start here and after an early warning shot from Mallan was well saved by Lewis, they gave Shaw all the room he needed to drill home from 25 yards.
But it was a false dawn for Hibs and within 15 minutes they were behind to two goals horribly conceded and totally avoidable.
Darren McGregor had bravely blocked a Cosgrove raker inside the six- yard box before a combination of David Gray and the post denied the on-fire Reds striker again a split second later.
But their defence was finally undone by a Considine header through Ofir Marciano.
The keeper was then culpable for a cringe-inducing second.
The Israeli looked to have redeemed himself for fumbling Greg Stewart’s tame 25-yarder by bravely blocking from Stevie May. But he was helpless as Mackay-Steven tucked home the rebound from a tight angle, still without a Hibs jersey within five yards of them.
Losing Cosgrove and Lewis left Dons on the small side for the second half but Tommie Hoban, making his first league start since scoring here in August, was outstanding while back-up No1 Tomas Cerny dealt with everything that came his way on his debut.
Redemption of sorts was found by Marciano at the other end when he saved Mackay-Steven’s penalty low to his left after McGregor had bundled over Lewis Ferguson.
That gave Hibs a lift as they chased a leveller but a couple of really poor Flo Kamberi headers was the best they could muster.