Hibs horror show pushes Gray to brink - report and ratings reflect woeful performance in St Mirren loss

In a season when Hibs have plumbed the depths on a regular basis, this felt like a new low. A performance so lifeless and bloodless, punctuated by the obligatory individual error that have become a recurring theme of the campaign, that it raises obvious questions about the future of head coach David Gray.

On a day when the rookie gaffer tried everything to wring a performance out of a squad, a group of players who have spoken so blithely about taking responsibility and doing more for the under-fire boss, some of those professional footballers looked almost resigned to their fate. And that’s a very dangerous state of affairs for a team sitting rock bottom of the Scottish Premiership.

A Connor McMenamin double put Saints 2-0 up with just 30 minutes on the clock. A Martin Boyle penalty miss just after the hour mark effectively ended all hope of a Hibs comeback, despite Nicky Cadden scoring from the spot three minutes into the five added on.

After Cadden saw what he thought was a dream equaliser ruled out even deeper into injury time, defeat left the long-suffering Easter Road regulars – the few still left after a long, slow exodus during the closing half hour - with no option but to voice their displeasure in a chorus of boos.

Truthfully, all hopes Hibs had of creating some positive vibes here were blown away, quite comprehensively, by events of the opening half hour. By which point the visitors were two-nil up – and the natives weren’t so much restless as veering towards open revolt.

St Mirren took the lead with just over quarter of an hour on the clock, McMenamin finishing off a low Scott Tanser cross from close range after a smart first-time pass from Mark O’Hara. Hibs looked winded by that blow to the solar plexus although, had Elie Youan scored instead of hitting the post after a sharp spin and shot with 27 minutes gone, they might have regained momentum enough to give themselves a chance.

Once again, though, the curse of individual errors came back to haunt embattled gaffer Gray, as a horrible miscue by Warren O’Hora gifted McMenamin the ball inside the Hibs have with two supporting team-mates creating a 3 v 2 for the visitors. McMenamin didn’t need any help as he advanced on Josef Bursik and let rip with a right-footed shot that went in off the keeper.

Gray either pressed the panic button or had a blinding flash of inspiration at half-time. However you view it, throwing on THREE substitutes was certainly a bold move.

None of the players hooked at the break – O’Hora, Nectar Triantis and Hyeokkyu Kwon – could complain. Still, it was surprise to see Rocky Bushiri, a forgotten man under Gray, come on with Nicky Cadden and Dylan Levitt.

In a rejigged 4-4-2, Hibs at least looked to have a little more threat in the final third. Never more so than when Boyle skipped past O’Hara to win a penalty bang on the hour mark.

After the obligatory VAR check to confirm referee Iain Snedden’s decision, Boyle stepped up to the spot to take responsibility himself. And promptly sent a low right-footed effort into the body of the diving Ellery Balcombe. It was not a great penalty.

Gray rolled his last two dice immediately after the miss, removing Boyle and Junior Hoilett in favour of Harry McKirdy and Dwight Gayle. Cadden duly capitalised when a Joe Newell shot hit the arm of a St Mirren player, the sub putting the penalty away.

And he thought he’d bagged a second deep into injury time, only for VAR to rule out his thumping finish for an offside. It wasn’t enough. It was never going to be enough to save Hibs. Or, most likely, the manager.