Hibs ratings from Easter Road emotional torture of Dundee United - report from five-goal thriller

Hibs put the Easter Road faithful through emotional torture – but delivered at the death in a stunning, frantic, frenetic and frenzied 3-2 home win over Dundee United, with Deadline Day signing Ante Suto’s injury-time winner earning the striker instant cult hero status. And David Gray’s men will now head into the third Edinburgh derby of the season on the high of a dramatic triumph … despite coming oh so close to defeat.

A Martin Boyle strike late in the first half put Gray’s men in control. But the Hibs boss will not have been happy to his team concede a sloppy equaliser from a corner kick just 17 minutes from time, Ross Graham hammering the ball home amid a melee about half a yard from goal.

And there was fury enough to fill all of Easter Road – or at least the sections containing home fans – as Hibs conceded an almost carbon copy second a mere seven minutes later, substitute Watters getting the credit for the visitors. Out of nowhere, Hibs were 2-1 down.

But Elie Youan’s opportunistic strike with two minutes of the 90 remaining gave them a lifeline. And Suto rose to head home a Nicky Cadden free-kick three minutes into the seven added on, earning a rapturous ovation on an eventful night for so many new Hibs players.

With three January signings in the starting XI, Deadline Day arrivals Felix Passlack and Munasha Garananga joining Dane Scarlett – a substitute in the weekend draw with Rangers – in the line-up, Hibs looked as if they’d tweaked their formation slightly to a fairly orthodox 3-4-3. Within that shape, Boyle and Elie Youan were given plenty of freedom to roam from their starting positions on the flanks.

The game quickly settled into a contest of transitions and counter-attacks, with the odd threatening set-piece thrown in. Both sides had chances to score from corner kicks, while Raphael Sallinger had to make one spectacular save from a Kristijan Trapanovski free-kick.

The breakthrough came from a quick counter by Hibs just as the clock moved towards the 36-minute mark, with both Scarlett and Passlack involved in the move. Boyle’s left-footed shot took a healthy deflection off the head of Dundee United captain Ross Graham – but the Hibs skipper arguably deserved a bit of luck as reward for his overall work rate.

Boyle really should have made it 2-0 just over 10 minutes into the second half, the Socceroos star heading Passlack’s peach of a cross off the bar. Hibs had torn United asunder to create that opening, with Scarlett’s through ball from the overlapping Passlack a thing of beauty.

A flurry of substitutions unsettled Hibs slightly, as tired legs, cramp and a couple of knocks took their toll. But they didn’t look in any great danger. Until they did.

Trapanovski’s corner from the left was telling enough, travelling with pace to the back post area. But the ball being allowed to hit the ground was not a good sign for Hibs, who paid the price as Graham lashed it into the roof of the net.

Worse was to follow as, from an almost identical situation, United went 2-1 up with 10 minutes to go. Again, Trapanovski’s dead-ball delivery found a United head at the back post, this time substitute Max Watters squeezing it home – via a Hibs body or two – from a seemingly impossible angle.

United should have seen it out from there. That they didn’t will have worried Jim Goodwin. But thrilled Gray, who may yet have concerns – just not about the fighting spirit of his boys.