Hibernian 0-3 St Mirren: Alex Gogic, Greg Kiltie and Mikael Mandron all score as Saints run riot in first half

Match report as St Mirren ran out comfortable 3-0 winners at Hibernian; Alex Gogic, Greg Kiltie and Mikael Mandron all netted before half-time to give the Saints a commanding lead; the result keeps St Mirren fifth in the Scottish Premiership table

Saturday 3 February 2024 20:46, UK

St Mirren produced a dominant first-half performance at Easter Road as they ran out comfortable 3-0 winners over pitiful Hibernian.

The Paisley side opened the scoring early on through Alex Gogic's header before a Greg Kiltie penalty and a close-range finish from Mikael Mandron put them in full command by the interval.

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Hibs remain in the bottom six of the cinch Premiership after taking just two points from their last six league matches and many of their supporters left the stadium long before the end of what was a humiliating afternoon for the Edinburgh side.

Three of Hibs' seven January recruits were selected for starting duty, with Nectarios Triantis handed a debut at centre-back. The 20-year-old Australian's fellow Sunderland loanee Eliezer Mayenda was named on the bench alongside Chris Cadden, who returned to the squad for the first time since rupturing his Achilles on the last day of last season.

St Mirren handed a first start to former Hibs forward James Scott, who joined on loan from Exeter in January, but it was another ex-Easter Road player who opened the scoring for the visitors in the eighth minute.

Caolan Boyd-Munce seized on a loose ball following a Buddies corner and clipped in a cross from the right, allowing Gogic - who had two years with the Hibees - to power in between Rory Whittaker and Will Fish and head home from inside the six-yard box.

The hosts struggled to conjure a response and St Mirren doubled their lead in the 33rd minute when Kiltie slotted home a penalty after Mandron flicked the ball up against the hand of Triantis in the box.

The Paisley side were in full control and they almost stretched their advantage five minutes later when right wing-back Elvis Bwomono latched on to Scott Tanser's cross and saw a low angled shot from 12 yards out blocked by David Marshall.

A minute before the break the Buddies got their third when Mandron somehow found himself free just a couple of yards out to knock home Boyd-Munce's corner.

Hibs - who had failed to muster any notable attempts at goal - were booed off at the interval by their furious supporters and then jeered back on for the start of the second half.

Manager Nick Montgomery responded by making a triple change for the start of the second half, sending on Dylan Vente and debutant pair Mayenda and Nathan Moriah-Welsh for Jair Tavares, Dylan Levitt and Elie Youan.

However, the abject home side rarely looked like finding a way back into the home game as Saints saw out the second half in professional fashion to keep themselves fifth in the table.

What the managers said...

Motherwell's Stephen Robinson: "It's a fantastic performance. It matched, if not bettered, our previous away performance at Aberdeen.

"To score three goals and not concede any, I thought we were in total control.

"We showed real quality on the ball and dominated with it. But defensively to a man, including all the subs, it was a real team display.

"Marcus Fraser made a tackle at the end that showed the togetherness and will to win and not to concede goals that we've added to our game in the last month, since the break."

Hibernian's Nick Montgomery: "It's a real difficult one to take. The first half was nowhere near good enough.

"We got outfought, outran, outcompeted and we gave away sloppy goals. From there, it's a mountain to climb against a decent team.

"Being outfought and outcompeted, there's not many times I've said that here, but I have to accept that. The players accept that.

"In the second half we huffed and puffed. But you can't get back into a game after showing that first-half performance.

"I can understand the supporters' frustration. There have been times this season where we've played really well and not got the result we deserve - and sometimes a couple of boos have been unjust.

"But today they were fully justified. We deserved the booing at half-time. At the end of the game? The second half was a lot better, we competed more, were probably unlucky not to get a goal or two and get back in the game. It wasn't to be.

"But it was too late. We can't give three-goal leads. We've come back from 2-0 down twice this season but 3-0 down is difficult."