Hibs ratings and report as Easter Road side take giant leap in Scottish Premiership Euro race

Hibs closed the gap on fourth-placed Motherwell to just three points courtesy of a lightning-fast start at Easter Road, as two quickfire goals set David Gray’s men on their way to a valuable 3-0 home win over Kilmarnock. One up inside 15 seconds and two goals to the good with 11 minutes gone, the hosts added a third in injury time by way of an exclamation point.

On a day when Owen Elding, Felix Passlack and Ante Suto found the net for Hibs, the result – and Motherwell losing at home to Falkirk – puts the Edinburgh side within one win of Jens Berthel Askou’s men, with one game between the teams remaining. Only finishing inside the top four will guarantee a crack at UEFA competition next season.

With Gray taking his team north to face relegation-threatened Aberdeen while Motherwell visit title challengers Hearts next weekend, the race for that European spot is well and truly alive. And, while there was a definite drop-off after that early scoring burst, Hibs will arguably look back on this as a crucial three points.

They certainly didn’t have their troubles to seek when it came to selection, even excluding the absences of both Rocky Bushiri – not back from the DRC’s World Cup qualification party in time to feature here – and the injured Nicky Cadden. Both Martin Boyle and Ante Suto were deemed only fit enough for the bench after their 70-hour round trip to Australia during the international break.

With Grant Hanley making his first appearance since February 1, the Scotland international taking Bushiri’s place at the heart of defence, Jordan Obita in a wingback and the pairing of Dane Scarlett and Owen Elding leading the line, the home side could have been forgiven for gently easing themselves into this contest. Or maybe not.

They opened the scoring with the echo of the referee’s whistle still bouncing off of the four stands at Easter Road, as the dynamic Passlack made the most of an interception to drive through the heart of the Kilmarnock defence. The German fed Elding, who took a nice touch with his left before using his right to steer the ball beyond Kelle Roos in the Killie goal. Consider the tone set.

Gray’s men went 2-0 up before even quarter of an hour had elapsed, thanks to a quite brilliant team goal beginning with goalkeeper Raphael Sallinger’s driven ball into the centre circle. Dane Scarlett got enough of a flick-on for young Elding to find himself in possession the 20-year-old sending Jordan Obita in behind with a quite stunning pass down the left flank – and the experienced wingback progressing into the box before crossing for Passlack’s tap-in.

They probably should have made it 3-0 not long after, Elding just a touch too casual as he looked to roll the ball across goal for an in-rushing Scarlett. But Hibs also survived a minor scare when Killie had the ball in the net after 25 minutes, only for VAR to flag a pretty obvious offside in a chaotic passage of play.

Jamie McGrath thought he’d won a penalty early in the second half, the attacking midfielder hitting the deck just as he was about to shoot from 10 yards, but there wasn’t even a second look from referee Calum Scott. A third goal would certainly have soothed a few nerves, as Killie threw bodies and balls forward in search of a foothold.

They were well worth the win even before Suto struck in injury time, however. And, when Boyle rolled the ball across goal for his Socceroos team-mate to make it 3-0 in the third of three minutes added on, it certainly put a shine on a dreich afternoon in Leith.