Hibs player ratings: One 4 and a smattering of 5s on miserable night at Easter Road

There was no new year cheer to be had for Hibs tonight as they lost out to a far superior Rangers 3-0 at a bitterly cold Easter Road.

First half goals from Ridvan Yilmaz (30) and Todd Cantwell (45+2) had already given the home side a mountain to climb before the much maligned Cyril Dessers cemented a dismal night in the capital when he scored with his first touch on 74 minutes.

Hibs boss Nick Montgomery had been crying out for reinforcements after not being able field a full bench at the weekend, so the sight of Hertha Berlin loanee Myziane Maolida in his starting line up and fellow new faces Luke Amos and Emiliano Marcondes on the bench will have been a sight for the Yorkshireman's eyes.

The Hibs boss really should have been toasting it with a goal after just 60 seconds when a neat break allowed Elie Youan to burst through on goal but the 24-year-old could only find the imposing figure of Jack Butland, who saved well at an angle. Shortly afterwards Youan would go into the referee's book for a foul on Yilmaz as the away side almost saw Fabio Silva open his Rangers account when he fired wide from close range.

Despite being largely untroubled in the opening half an hour, there was a feeling of inevitability around Easter Road when the Hibs defence was cut open all too easily by a looping John Lundstram pass which was blasted home emphatically by Turkish full back Yilmaz to hand Clement's side the lead.

Montgomery's side rallied slightly and will perhaps feel they should have been level when Jair forced a fine save from Butland and ,while a tough tackle on Cantwell roused the crowd for a moment, when the former Norwich City man to blasted home in first half injury time and cupped his ears to the already frustrated crowd, he handed Hibs a mountain to climb.

They should really have halved the deficit after the restart though with their best move of the game after a quick counter-attack handed Jair the simplest of chances - only for Butland to pull of a remarkable save that left the Hibs faithful aghast at a time when a goal would have handed a huge shot in the arm.

It wasn't to be though and it was Rangers' Dessers that would bag the game next goal and seal Hibs miserable night for Hibs when he tucked home immediately after his introduction to the pitch with an almost comical finish 15 minutes from time.

While the game would have started with plenty positives for Montgomery having being able to introduce three new names to his line up, the defeat to Rangers will leave him with more questions than answers going into the second half of the campaign. So often have they have matched Rangers in years previous at Easter Road, but tonight they fell to defeat without Rangers having to break out of second gear.

The win leaves Hibs without a league win in four and, while they still sit in the top six, Aberdeen move just two points behind them after their draw with St Johnstone and - crucially - with a further two games in hand.