Hibees fold as Saints play a last-ditch ace
Ron Gordon got sunshine on Leith to mark his first match at Easter Road since buying the club.
But Hibs’ American owner also heard rumblings of discontent after St Johnstone scrapped their way to a last-gasp draw.
Saints twice pulled themselves level in a game they simply refused to give up on. Hibs, meanwhile, were utterly meek in the face of their visitors’ stop-at-nothing approach.
Unhappy Hibees made their feelings plain about their side’s showing with a chorus of boos throughout the second half. For Saints boss Tommy Wright, that was a sign of a job well done by his players.
“We are disappointed to lose a goal from a set-play but I think, apart from the goal, we totally dominated the game,” he said.
“We should have won it.
“We controlled the midfield and I think the only thing we lacked in the first half was that
Hibernian:
(4-4-2) Marciano 6; Gray 5 (Whittaker 56, 4); Jackson 7; Hanlon 6; Stevenson 6; Allan 5 (Horgan 61, 4); Mallan 5; Vela 6; Middleton 6; Kamberi 7; Doidge 5 (Slivka 61, 4). Unused – Maxwell (GK); Newell; Porteous; Shaw
ST johnstone:
finishing touch. Hibs are always a threat and we went to sleep for their second goal, which let them back in the game.
“But we showed character, we kept going and got our reward at the end.”
It ended in recriminations for Hibs, but they started the game well.
Having bagged a Betfred Cup brace against Greenock Morton last week, Florian Kamberi was quickly on the prowl, and saw an early strike blocked by Scott Tanser after the Saints defence failed to clear their lines.
Three minutes later, with the Perth side still to find their feet in the game, Kamberi struck the post from a Christian Doidge cut-back before the assistant referee’s flag brought the move to an end.
Hibs hoped a pattern had been established but Saints quickly set about showing they weren’t in Edinburgh to make up the numbers.
Matty Kennedy carved out their first chance with a teasing cross, with Michael O’halloran a whisker away from knocking home at the back post.
It got the visiting fans on their feet, but it was the home support who were celebrating the opener after 25 minutes.
It came when Saints’ Ali Mccann was penalised for a foul out wide on Kamberi, allowing Stevie Mallan to curl in a wicked free-kick that Adam Jackson nodded home.
With the lead in their grasp, Hibs seemed content to manage their way to half-time.
But Saints set about making them regret it at the start of the second half.
Five minutes in, Ofir Marciano was booked after racing off his line and wiping O’halloran out of the game with a wild challenge, which could easily have attracted a red card, just outside the box. Then Liam Craig saw a curling effort saved by the Hibs keeper as Tommy Wright’s side turned up the pressure.
It paid off 10 minutes later when O’halloran motored on to Craig’s terrific through-ball before rifling an unstoppable effort high past Marciano. Easter Road was suddenly roiling, the home fans stirred up by their team’s retreat, allied with gaffer Paul Heckingbottom’s decision to take off Scott Allan.
Yet, just as Saints were preparing to settle into the new scoreline, Kamberi popped up to restore Hibs’ lead, mis-hitting Glenn Middleton’s cross past Zander Clark. That ought to have been that – but Saints weren’t for lying down.
In truth, they absolutely dominated the closing stages – and got the goal they deserved when Jason Kerr nodded Danny Swanson’s deadly cross past Marciano deep into injury time.
STAR MAN
(4-1-4-1) Clark 6; Duffy 7; Kerr 7; Gordon 6; Tanser 7; Craig 6 (Hendry 74, 5); O’halloran 8; Davidson 7; Mccann 7; Kennedy 7; Kane 6 (Swanson 79, 5). Unused – Parish (GK); Callachan; Vihmann; Mcclean; Denham MICHAEL O’HALLORAN looked back to his unplayable best against Hibs. Defenders simply couldn’t cope with his directness and pace. On this form, he is a huge asset to Saints The biggest worry about Hibs just how is that they look disjointed and less than the sum of their parts @ewangibbs