Hibs finally get it right - ratings from convincing away win in Perth

Oh, so NOW Hibs decide to perform with poise and professionalism to outclass, outscore and outplay the opposition? Perfect, lads. No notes.

Ah well, you take what you can get. If failure to make the top six in the Scottish Premiership has forever rendered this a season to forget, victory in Perth may eventually feel like partial compensation for a calamitous campaign. Although that may depend on how the final four games go.

But the pressure on manager Nick Montgomery should be relieved a little, at least, by a crushing 3-1 win over a St Johnstone side who had inflicted plenty of suffering on Hibs already this season. Having been publicly warned over the need to improve results by the board of directors, he and his team delivered here.

A stunning 30-yard free-kick from Marcondes in the sixth minute put Monty’s men in control of the contest. Paul Hanlon, who climbed off the bench to make his first appearance since March 13, became one of the most popular scorers of the season when he netted at the second attempt just a minute before half-time. And substitute Dylan Vente smashed home a deserved third with 15 minutes of the game remaining. This was as convincing as Hibs have looked all season.

Even without the early goal, the visitors were full of danger from the off, consistently punching holes in the Saints backline with regularity and, in the case of Myziane Maolida, an almost contemptuous air. The Comoros international, on loan from Hertha Berlin, has these days when he makes the game look easy.

He was inches away from winning a penalty after one particularly cheeky flash of genius, a driving run in from the left that began with a nutmeg – and ended with a foul just inches away from the penalty box. Lining up his free-kick much closer to goal on this occasion, Marcondes couldn’t get the ball to drop quickly enough to test Dimitar Mitov in the Saints goal.

Martin Boyle should have doubled the lead after making a great chance for himself, the right winger simply outrunning the entire Saints defence and capitalising on the decoy run of Maolida, only for his dinked shot to be contemptuously swatted aside by Mito. The home side were delighted to escape with only the concession of a throw-in.

They weren’t quite so pleased when that set-piece resulted in a second Hibs goal, Joe Newell’s long hurl into the box allowed to bounce and ricochet before Hanlon – an early replacement for the injured Will Fish – stabbed it beyond Mitov with his right boot. The sheer joy of the celebrations said everything about the popularity of a club captain out of contract in a matter of weeks.

Hibs continued to pummel the St Johnstone penalty area after the break, making chance after chance in a game that became increasingly stretched. One brilliant goal-line clearance from Dan Phillips, a midfielder who seemed to cover every inch of the pitch at McDiarmid Park, was probably the home side’s supreme act of defiance – although Mitov also made a couple of timely interventions.

A couple of substitutes eventually combined to make and take the third, Josh Campbell heading the ball through for Vente to beat the offside trap and fish with a thumping right-footed shot. The only negative? The loss of another late goal, Benjamin Kimpioka diverting a cross from close range with a minute remaining.