Hibs final word: Far from their best and improvement will be needed - but what a base to build from

Hibees benefited from some luck, but life is good at Easter Road right now

Stevie Mallan scores Hibs' winner in Perth.

Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good. For Hibs, that phrase never rang truer than on Sunday evening at McDiarmid Park.

Jack Ross' men deserve all the plaudits for their start to the season, but they were nowhere near their best against St Johnstone. For large parts of the match, Saints looked more likely to score - and indeed, they did score, only for the goal to be ruled out wrongly for offside - and a point looked to be a more than respectable earning from this game until, at the beginning of stoppage time, hosts' defender Liam Gordon needlessly fouled Ryan Porteous in the penalty box. Referee John Beaton immediately pointed to the spot, Hibs substitute Stevie Mallan rammed the ball high into the net and the game was done. St Johnstone 0-1 Hibs. 13 points out of 15. The best start to a top-flight season since 1974/75, when Turnbull's Tornadoes ran the show. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Mentioning the two "classes" in the same breath may seem a bit far-fetched as this Hibs team isn't a patch on Joe Harper, Pat Stanton et al, but that season Hibs split the Old Firm with a second-placed finish. That season, their fifth match of the campaign was against St Johnstone and they lost 1-0 at home, so to win the fifth game of this term 1-0 away at Perth is not to be sniffed at. They currently sit joint-top of the Premiership with Rangers.

This was their worst performance of the season, though. Last weekend against Motherwell wasn't brilliant either, but Hibs felt like they were on the ropes at times in the second half. Ross had to make an enforced change to a team he had selected three times in a row due to Kevin Nisbet's hamstring injury, so Scott Allan came in for the forward and Hibs reverted to a 4-2-3-1 formation. They never once got in behind St Johnstone and their most attractive moment, up until the penalty award, came right at the beginning of the match when a Martin Boyle effort was turned away for a corner kick by goalkeeper Elliott Parish.

In truth, Hibs were very blunt in attack. Boyle hasn't fired since the opening-day win over Kilmarnock, Daryl Horgan's early influence on the match waned quickly, and while Christian Doidge worked incredibly hard as usual, he only got one real sight at goal. Allan's creative juices did not flow either and St Johnstone's defence, marshalled by their impressive captain Jason Kerr, looked comfortable throughout. Nisbet, suffering from a hamstring complaint, was missed.

Hibs, however, have a rock-solid defence too. Five games into this new season and Ofir Marciano's goal has yet to be breached in open play - although that came perilously close to ending here.

Craig Conway's cross found Callum Hendry unmarked in the box and Marciano mistimed his attempt to get to the ball, allowing the Saints striker an easy header into the net. However, the linesman's flag was raised and Hibs could sigh in relief, although television pictures confirmed what many of those inside McDiarmid Park believed on first look: Hendry was onside.

Remarkably, that goal was in the middle of a five-minute spell when three goals were chalked off. It was probably the most entertaining part of the match. Boyle had an effort chalked off - rightly - for offside when Parish made a hash of a backpass, while Doidge bundled the ball home with his arm after his first effort was well saved.

This match was a case for Hibs' defence once again. Ryan Porteous was spot-on with his positioning and headers and along with Paul McGinn, kept the right side of Hibs defence all locked up. St Johnstone tended to attack down Hibs' left and got more change out of Josh Doig and Paul Hanlon. Doig probably had his poorest game in a Hibs shirt, yet still didn't look out of place. Alex Gogic shielded them well, although it must be noted that Cypriot's passing was well off-piste.

The match appeared to be meandering towards a 0-0 draw that was probably a fair reflection of a spirit-sapping affair until all hell broke loose on 91 minutes. First, Gogic ventured into St Johnstone's penalty box and glanced a header off the post. The ball was cleared momentarily, but Gogic retrieved it, sent it back into the penalty box and Gordon - up until that point foot-perfect - charged through the back of Porteous. Beaton blew for a foul and substitute Mallan made no mistake.

It was a nice moment for Mallan, who was making his first competitive appearance since Boxing Day last year due to a persistent knee injury. His aptitude for set-piece goals will benefit this Hibs team considering strikes from open play have dried up somewhat.

Regardless of this performance, Hibs are in a great place right now. This is a position Ross, the players and the fans would've snapped your hand off if offered four weeks ago. Their grittiness in victory reminds me a little of the Aberdeen team that has been best of the rest for some years now, and that is no bad trait.

However, a word of warning: the Dons are up next, followed by St Mirren, then both halves of the Old Firm. Tougher opponents than what they've faced so far. Hibs will need to improve - and owner Ron Gordon may need to open the chequebook again - if their lofty status is to be preserved, but they have the perfect base to build from.