Hibs ratings and report as Easter Road side secure third place in Scottish Premiership on night of high drama

At a venue just along the road from Scotland’s busiest airport, David Gray’s Hibs secured a result that enabled their supporters to dream of European destinations and – they hope – sun-kissed adventures in foreign lands, as a battling draw with St Mirren secured their status as the third best team in Scotland. If this wasn’t exactly how Gray would have chosen to get there, with his team squandering an early two-goal lead against a super-motivated Saints side chasing their own targets, all that matters is the final table.

As every Easter Road regular knows by now, a Celtic victory in the Scottish Cup Final on Saturday week will secure the team finishing third in the Scottish Premiership a bumper UEFA bonus. A Europa League play-off, with Europa Conference League football until Christmas to cushion the fall should they stumble at that high hurdle.

Two goals inside the opening 10 minutes, Martin Boyle bagging his 20th of the season before strike partner Mykola Kuharevich doubled the visitors’ lead, put Hibs in control. A Richard Taylor finish from a penalty box scramble deep into first-half injury time before substitute Conor McMenamin equalised with 64 minutes gone.

Saints had a third ruled out in madcap second half that saw Stephen Robinson’s men hurl bodies and balls forward. With Aberdeen losing to Celtic B, the loss of a late winner wouldn’t have mattered. Still, it was nice for Hibs to see out the draw – even if it left them short of the Scottish Premiership clean sweep that would have been theirs by dint of a victory. A win that looked well within their grasp earlier in this contest.

In the blazing sunshine of a hot summer’s evening, the visitors made a positively scorching start, putting themselves into the lead with just two minutes and 15 seconds gone. In a move notable for Kuharevich’s manful hold-up play, Junior Hoilett played in Boyle with a sweet slipped pass into the inside left channel – and the captain did the rest, shifting the ball onto his right and beating Zach Hemming at his near post.

Boyle had a quickfire second ruled out for offside with five minutes gone. But Gray didn’t have to wait long to celebrate again.

With a little over nine minutes of the contest gone, Boyle pounced on a loose ball and found Hoilett making a clever support run on the left. The Canadian teased his marker before delivering an ideal cut-back which, with a slight touch from Nectar Triantis, allowed Kuharevich to smash the ball through a ruck of bodies and into the net with no little venom. Boyle then saw a chance to make it 3-0 inside the opening 20 minutes as Hemming made a brilliant one-on-one save.

St Mirren rallied in search of a foothold, as they always would, with an acrobatic Killian Phillips effort over the bar – and nearly a horrible own goal from Lewis Miller, whose ‘clearance’ flashed inches wide of Jordan Smith’s right-hand post – causing enough concern even before Taylor scored from a half-cleared free-kick in the fourth minute of first-half injury time.

McMenamin’s equaliser was no more than the fired-up hosts deserved, while Hibs could count themselves lucky to see a third St Mirren goal disallowed for a foul in the build-up. And then? Just mayhem. Balls ricocheting all over the Hibs box, followed by counter-attacks against a depleted Saints back line.