Hibs leapfrogged Motherwell and Rangers to claim third place in the SPFL following an impressive 3-0 away win against Kilmarnock last night.
Neil Lennon made one change to the starting XI that beat Motherwell on Saturday with skipper David Gray replacing Steven Whittaker at right back.
Anthony Stokes and Danny Swanson both missed out due to injury.
The hosts went into the game in confident mood after two draws in Glasgow against Rangers and Celtic but it was the visitors who took an early lead when John McGinn headed home from a Gray cross.
Hibs almost made it 2-0 moments later when Gray’s header struck the post from a McGinn corner however it wasn’t all one way traffic as Kilmarnock looked dangerous when attacking.
Rory McKenzie’s long range effort rebounded off the post then Kris Boyd’s header struck the underside of the bar.
Kilmarnock started the second half brightly and only a superb save from Ofir Marciano denied Boyd from close range.
The Israel international keeper then made two fantastic saves from a Boyd free-kick and a Jordan Jones curling effort.
With Killie desperate for an equaliser, Hibs doubled their advantage against the run of play. A long ball from McGinn was cushioned by Gray into the path of Simon Murray who slid the ball into the net from two yards to the delight of the travelling supporters behind the goal.
McKenzie was bundled to the ground after a challenge by Stevenson but the referee waved away their appeals for a penalty kick then in the dying moments Martin Boyle then burst clear from the half way line, beating a defender before sliding the ball underneath Jamie MacDonald to secure the valuable three points.
Hibs now face Dundee at Easter Road on Saturday
After the game Lennon told BBC Scotland: “It’s been a great week. Tht was a difficult game.
“We have played better and maybe only won the game 1-0. I thought Kilmarnock deserved to score but we deserved to win the game. Maybe 3-0 flattered us.
“We were ruthless in front of goal tonight. The first two goals were a thing of beauty and then Boyle scores an individual goal to wrap things up.”
Hibernian: Marciano, Gray, Ambrose, Hanlon, Stevenson, Bartley, McGeouch, McGinn (Slivka, 82), Barker (Porteous, 75), Boyle, S.Murray (Matulevicius, 90) Substitutes not used: Laidlaw, Martin, Shaw, F. Murray.
Kilmarnock: MacDonald, O’Donnell, Greer, Broadfoot, Findlay, McKenzie (Erwin, 74), Power, Taylor, Burke (Frizzell, 55), Jones, K. Boyd. Substitutes not used: Bell, Thomas, S.Boyd, Waters, Brophy
Referee: Stephen Finnie
Attendance: 5,005
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
