Hibs find shooting boots to ease pressure on Montgomery
Marcondes screamer and rare Hanlon goal offer some breathing space for manager
HIBERNIAN eased to a much-needed three points with a comfortable 3-1 victory over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park. A brilliant Emiliano Marcondes free-kick from 30 yards out set Nick Montgomery’s side on their way, followed by a rare goal for Paul Hanlon and a clinical secondhalf finish from substitute Dylan Vente. Hibs were denied a clean sheet in the final minute as Benjamin Kimpioka side-footed into the top corner, but it was too late a contribution to threaten what was a professional Hibs performance.
Here are five things we learned.
A (mostly) drama-free afternoon
This was about as comfortable a victory as Hibs have enjoyed all season, racking up three fine goals along the way.
Montgomery’s side could easily have scored even more were it not for some last-ditch St Johnstone defending and the odd moment of wastefulness.
At the back, they were presented with few problems by largely toothless hosts, so it will sting a little that they were not able to see out a rare clean sheet.
Still, though, it was a result the manager needed given the noise and speculation which has swirled around him since the failure to make top six.
“I thought the performance was good and the result what we deserved,” Montgomery said. “That’s not always been the case this season.
“We’ve dominated so many games on stats and possession but they don’t win you games.
“Putting the ball in the back of the net and being clinical in those moments does and we were today.
“But we weren’t as clinical as we should’ve been because, if we’re honest, we could’ve scored another four goals – minimum – but their goalkeeper pulled off some great saves.
“A couple of weeks ago at Easter Road it was a real deflating, disappointing result and again their keeper pulled off four or five great saves.
“We totally dominated. What might’ve been, could’ve been, doesn’t matter. “What does is that we came here, showed good character and the boys put in a good performance.
“We come away with three points after what’s been a difficult couple of weeks.
“It’s a good group of lads, I’ve never questioned their character. The only question we’ve had is a bit of bad luck throughout the season.
“Sometimes you have to make your own luck, defend in key moments and probably disappointed we conceded the goal. Other than that, really happy with the result.”
Goal of the season contender?
It’ll certainly be up there, such was the quality of this strike from Marcondes. His set-piece prowess is no secret, but he hasn’t had too many opportunities to have a pop since coming north, and it seems the Dane wasn’t about to less this one pass him by.
Dimitar Mitov has made more saves than any other goalkeeper in this season’s Premiership, but even with all 6ft 2in of him at full stretch he wasn’t getting anywhere near a sumptuous effort that curled and dipped before nestling in the top corner.
It was as aesthetically pleasing a free-kick as you’ll see anywhere, and one that will make a serious case to be Hibs’ best of the campaign in all competitions. Perhaps only a pair of strikes from Joe Newell will get near it – a memorable effort against Luzern in Europa Conference League qualifying, and a stunning volley away at Kilmarnock in the league. The former might just edge it given the importance of the game and the raucous reaction from a capacity Easter Road crowd, but take nothing away from what was a superb strike from Marcondes.
Rare goal for Hanlon
I do wonder what the odds would have been on a first-half Paul Hanlon goal pre-kick off.
Summoned from the bench follow
ing injury to Will Fish, this was the 34-year-old’s first appearance since March, and he marked it with an important goal to put Hibs in firm control of proceedings.
The visitors had fashioned further opportunities following Marcondes’s opener, but as they kept going begging, that ominous feeling which has justifiably kept fans on edge all season started to creep in again. But those worries were eased when Hanlon tucked home coolly in the box following Joe Newell’s hoisted long throw. It was sheer persistence from the centre-back, who followed up his own challenge and found his endeavour rewarded with a chance to tuck into the corner, which he duly did.
It’s Hanlon’s first goal since netting a consolation in a 3-1 defeat to Rangers last May, and as uncertainty continues to linger over his future, there’s a not inconsiderable chance it could be his last.
Counter attacking threat
So many games this season have followed the pattern of Hibs looking to break down a low block, with opponents acutely aware of the threat they possess on the counter. But their greatest threat here was on the break, with Martin Boyle and Myziane Maolida having particularly effective afternoons.
That space on the counter only increased as the game wore on, given Saints’ need for points in their battle to avoid the drop. Hibs had numerous breaks in behind and probably should have made more of them.
Maolida was denied by a goal-line clearance from the ever-impressive Dan Phillips, and he may have even been about to head in a Cadden cross were it not for Andrew Considine launching himself into a hugely important block. The second half, at times, may have been a little more open than Montgomery would have liked, but it did result in some fluid attacking play, with Vente sent through by a clever Josh Campbell header, and he lashed into the net.
County let-off
This was a poor start to St Johnstone’s push to avoid the play-offs, the disappointment softened only by the fact that Ross County slipped to defeat at Livingston.
But Craig Levein’s side cannot continue to rely on favours from elsewhere if they are to secure their topflight status for another season.
They may have eventually grabbed a goal here, but you could argue that was down to Hibs’ almost compulsive tendency to concede late in games no matter the circumstance. They were defensively flaky and offensively toothless throughout, generally not a good combination when you’re fighting for survival. Having beaten Hibs in their last two meetings, they would have earmarked this as an opportunity to put more points on the board. Instead, they actively contributed to Hibs having one of their most straightforward wins of the campaign. There remains just one point keeping them above County, with neither side looking likely to pull away any time soon.
“Nothing’s changed in the table, has it?” said Levein, who revealed striker Adama Sidibeh had a protective boot put on his ankle after coming off just before the break. “In some regards we got away with one.
“It was frustrating. We didn’t start the game particularly well. Hibs scored a great goal at the start, but our decision-making and our execution of passes was really, really poor.
“I don’t know if we are going to turn up and perform at a good level, which we have done on a number of occasions, or whether we will turn up and make poor decisions and execute things poorly.”