Elie Youan scored the only goal as Hibs ended St Mirren’s 12-game unbeaten run in Paisley to leapfrog their hosts in the Scottish Premiership.
Saints named an unchanged lineup from the 3-1 win against Aberdeen in midweek, while the Hibees made two alterations from their 1-1 draw with Ross County. Kevin Nisbet and Chris Cadden dropped out for Harry McKirdy and CJ Egan-Riley and the visitors had the upperhand in the early stages of the first half.
The blustery conditions made it very difficult to but Youan and McKirdy looked to link up well before the latter had to go after an injury, replaced by debutant Matthew Hoppe. Aiden McGeady then sent a free kick over the bar after being fouled on the edge of the penalty area.
Saints came into the game later in the half with striker Curtis Main, three goals in his last two games, forcing a good save from David Marshall. The second period started with both sides enjoying plenty of the ball but in truth neither of them doing a lot with it, that led to Cadden and Tony Watt being subbed on for their respective teams.
But the late winner came from Youan 13 minutes from time as he fizzed a great shot home past the dive of a helpless Trevor Carson to send the Edinburgh side home happy. Here's three talking points from Paisley.
Hibees on the up
Hibs gaffer Lee Johnson will believe that his side should be on a run of three successive victories after he was disappointed VAR didn’t rule out Ross County’s equaliser on Tuesday night for what he saw as a foul on his goalkeeper David Marshall. But the former Sunderland manager was involved 'El Sackio' last weekend when they beat Aberdeen 6-0 so this win over St Mirren, thanks to Youan’s, winner will delight him as he has taken seven points in a week. Although he missed out in Paisley, Johnson will also be relieved that the hamstring injury suffered by chief goal getter Kevin Nisbet on Tuesday night is not deemed too serious and he should be back in contention for their game against Kilmarnock later on in the month.
Unlucky 13 as Saints home unbeaten run
Wins against Motherwell and away to Aberdeen in midweek propelled the Buddies up to fourth spot in the Scottish Premiership table, coming into this weekend’s top flight Scottish Premiership fixture card, something that’s been somewhat unexpected.
But this defeat means that Stephen Robinson’s men have had their run of successive unbeaten home games brought to an end at the 13th attempt, much to the disappointment of the Buddies faithful who have more than played their part in that sequence. And the result sees the Paisley hosts drop to sixth position in the table. And the task doesn’t get any easier for St Mirren as they get ready to visit Celtic Park in the Scottish Cup fifth round next weekend.
Youan answers critics
Striker Elie Youan has been criticised for his lack of Hibs goals, particularly with the current lack of attacking options available to the manager. But alongside the winner against St Mirren, he’s netted in the two previous games against Ross County and the 6-0 victory against Aberdeen. And with Harry McKirdy, Kevin Nisbet and Martin Boyle all currently unavailable due to injuries of varying degrees, Youan’s new found form could not have been found at a better time.
