Saints piles pressure on Johnson as Hibs Lack a cutting edge in Paisley
Hibernian 1 0
ST MIRREN won for a third game in succession to add to the pressure mounting on Hibernian boss Lee Johnson.
Keanu Baccus’s early strike proved to be the difference on a sunny afternoon in Paisley in what turned out to be a fourth winless game in a row for the Easter Road side.
They rallied at the start of the second half after an impoverished opening-period performance and ought to have found an equaliser through Elie Youan who squirted a great chance wide.
Further opportunities came and went and, when St Mirren weathered that storm, Hibs had nothing left to throw at them.
If anything, Stephen Robinson’s men ought to have made it far more comfortable but Eamonn Brophy – who struck the post – and Baccus both missed gilt-edged chances to add a second goal. But by that point Hibs’ fire was well and truly extinguished. The travelling fans booed their team off and Johnson did not try to sugarcoat the loss.
“The positive moments we have, like the two comebacks, the first win, builds momentum, builds team spirit,” he said. “Every negative, like today and [the earlier defeat to] Livingston, basically resets the rules. We have to make sure we drive it forward. Rightly we are going to get stick today.
“We deserve to own that today. Myself more than anybody else because I pick the team, I put the team out there. For whatever reason not enough produced their best game.”
Bureaucratic red tape meant Baccus’s arrival in Scotland was initially held up but he seems determined to make up for lost time. The Australian had already cut an impressive figure in his first few appearances in the St Mirren midfield and he showed here he can finish – sometimes – too.
Much of the goal was down to the diligence of countryman
Ryan Strain who burst down the right before picking out Baccus. The midfielder had timed his run to perfection to stroke home his first St Mirren goal.
The Paisley side continued to knock the ball around confidently even if their attacking intentions rarely led to efforts on goal. Mark O’Hara did produce a save from David Marshall with a diving header at the back post but it was one the former Scotland goalkeeper would have been expected to keep out.
Hibs huffed and puffed throughout the first half as they struggled to get a foothold in the game, their best chance before the break a flicked Christian Doidge header from Ryan Porteous’ cross that drifted wide. The Easter Road side looked far livelier after the break when they created – and then spurned – three chances within the opening 10 minutes.
The first was the simplest of the lot. Chris Cadden’s cross from the right made its way through to Youan at the back post. With no offside flag, it seemed the Frenchman had the simplest of tasks to knock it past Trevor Carson for the equaliser but somehow squeezed his effort wide.
Undeterred, Hibs continued to press. Joe Newell was denied a goal by a terrific stop from Carson before Cadden’s lash was blocked by Richard Tait’s legs.
St Mirren were under pressure as they looked to protect their first-half advantage although Curtis Main could have made life easier had he headed Ethan Erhahon’s free kick under rather than over the crossbar.
They thought they had finally grabbed what would have been a decisive second goal after 70 minutes, however. Brophy, not long on as a substitute, fashioned on to Main’s pass, clipped his shot beyond Marshall only to see it strike the inside of the far post before being hoicked to safety.
Brophy and Baccus sent groans reverberating all around the ground with their misses but it was cheers from the home fans by the time the final whistle sounded.
“You always think something is going to happen at the end,” admitted Robinson. “But we defended brilliantly, the back five were excellent at times. ”