Debut boys give both sides hope for the future
Greg Docherty expressed his delight at making his first appearance in nearly six months after being handed his Hibernian debut yesterday.
The on-loan Rangers midfielder, Paul McGinn and Marc McNulty all came off the bench in the second half after arriving at the club on deadline day.
It had been a long, frustrating wait to be reacquainted with competitive first team football for Docherty. His last outing for the Ibrox outfit came in last August’s 3-0 Betfred Cup victory at East Fife.
“I can’t believe it has been that long but I felt good,” declared the 23-year-old, who spent last season on loan at Shrewsbury.
“I woke up this morning with that buzz again, and it was nice to get on the pitch.”
Docherty shored up the Hibs midfield in the second half after all the game’s goals came in the opening 45 minutes.
Conor McCarthy and Tony Andreu had the visitors in a commanding lead after 18 minutes.
Scott Allan and Christian Doidge, netting his 15th of the campaign, ensured parity was restored prior to the break.
Despite both clubs making a total of seven signings in the final week of the transfer window, none of the new arrivals were thrown straight into the action.
“It is quite obvious to say everyone would agree we have brought in three good players in terms of their pedigree within Scottish football,” added boss Jack Ross, who let striker Flo Kamberi to move to Rangers on loan.
“Different ages, different positions. I did not have any preconceived plans about how much they would play today but they all ended up playing a decent part.”
“Greg and Paul showed what they can give us – the fans already know what Marc can do.”
It was the visitors who sped out of the traps in opening up a commanding lead, aided by some brittle defending from Hibs.
Some 14 minutes were on the clock when McCarthy connected with Cammy MacPherson’s corner to power a header beyond Ofir Marciano.
Andreu doubled St Mirren’s advantage four minutes later, sweeping in Ilkay Durmus’ cutback from 10 yards after his teammate had left David Gray trailing in his wake.
The frustration among the Hibs faithful was soon appeased as the home side battled back.
Allan reduced their arrears in the 25th minute, tucking home Martin Boyle’s pass from close range after the pair had initially exchanged passes.
Doidge completed the comeback two minutes from the interval with a fine header.
Stephane Omeonga’s cross was behind the striker but Doidge repositioned his feet to angle his effort past the despairing Vaclav Hladky.
Following the feast of goals in the opening 45 minutes, the second period was an anti-climax.
Hibs fans all got their first sightings of their three newcomers and in one of the best chances of the half, McGinn came close to grabbing the winner.
The full-back stole in the at the back post to meet Allan’s delivery, but his header was brilliantly saved by Hladky.
St Mirren manager Jim Goodwin, meanwhile, is adamant his squad is stronger than it was heading into the January transfer window.
The Buddies recruited seven new players last month, with the returning Lee Hodson earning his second debut for the club at Easter Road.
Goodwin is confident his team, who are now just a point above 11th placed Hearts, have the resources to avoid relegation from the Premiership.
He said: “There is a good positive vibe around the place, we feel as if we’re in a good place and the January window has been brilliant for us.”