The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Football: Saints lose out to late Gers goal.
ST MIRREN 2 HIBERNIAN 0
Full-back Stelios Demetriou scored his first goals for St Mirren as the Scottish Championship’s bottom club stunned leaders Hibernian with a 2-0 win.
The former Cyprus Under-21 international bagged a brace, with Stevie Mallan setting him up on both occasions, as Jack Ross’s strugglers pulled off a shock result.
The result leaves Neil Lennon’s side seven points clear of Dundee United, who have a game in hand, with the clubs due to meet at Tannadice a week tomorrow.
Hibs, who were 34 points ahead of Saints at the start of play, handed a debut to defender Efe Ambrose, who joined the club on an emergency loan from Celtic yesterday.
The league leaders started brightly and Fraser Fyvie had the ball in the net after six minutes, only to see his effort ruled out for offside.
St Mirren’s Kyle Magennis flicked a John Sutton cross against the crossbar after 22 minutes before the hosts took a deserved 34th-minute lead when Demetriou was played in by Mallan and lashed a shot past goalkeeper Ofir Marciano.
The same pair combined for rock-bottom Saints’ second at the start of the second half, Mallan again setting Demetriou free and he hammered in a low drive.
Cammy Smith, who spent the first half of the season on loan with Dundee United, and Lewis Morgan were not too far away from a third, while Billy O’Brien pulled off a superb double save to deny Hibs striker Martin Boyle and then substitute Grant Holt
Harry Smith had a shot blocked on the line and Morgan should have done better after being set up by Mallan as St Mirren comfortably held on to cut the gap on second-bottom Ayr to five points with Raith Rovers just one more ahead.
Brian McLean was on the bench for Hibs after joining the club until the end of the season after a spell playing in Singapore.
The 31-year-old former Motherwell, Falkirk, Dundee United and Ross County defender was brought in after injuries to amid injuries to Paul Hanlon, Jordon Forster and Liam Fontaine left Lennon short of central defensive options for the title run-in. Attendance: 3,441 St Mirren: O’Brien, Demetriou, Davis, MacKenzie, Irvine (Fjelde 62), Magennis (Todd 86), Mallan, McGinn, Morgan, Smith (Baird 90), Sutton. Subs not used: Langfield, Webster, Loy, Storie.
Hibernian: Marciano, Gray, McGregor, Ambrose, Stevenson, Fyvie, Bartley (Holt 59), McGinn, Shinnie (Keatings 70), Boyle (Graham 78), Cummings. Subs not used: Laidlaw, Crane, Martin, McLean. Referee: Euan Anderson.