Hibs secured a well-deserved third place finish with a 2-2 draw at the SMISA Stadium in Paisley tonight.
Head coach David Gray made two changes to the starting XI that lost to Celtic at the weekend.
Lewis Miller replaced Warren O’Hora at the back, while Junior Hoilett replaced Josh Campbell in midfield.
Stephen Robinson named an unchanged starting lineup after the defeat of Dundee United on Saturday.
Skipper Mark O’Hara returned to the bench after missing out at Tannadice due to a hamstring injury.
There was a minute’s applause ahead of kick off in memory of the St Mirren fans who passed away during this season.
The game kicked off in sunny conditions in front of a large crowd with the visitors selling out their end of the stadium.
And the Hibs fans had something to celebrate in two minutes when Jack Iredale’s pass was controlled by Hoilett and his through ball found Martin Boyle who fired a low strike into the bottom corner of the net.
Moments later Boyle had the ball in the net again but on this occasion the ‘goal’ was ruled out for offside following a VAR check.
Hibs doubled their lead in the 9th minute when Boyle broke from midfield, found Hoilett on the left and his cut back was fired into the net by Myko Kukharevich,
Boyle could have made it 3-0 in the 18th minute when he won possession on the half-way line, ran through and forced a great save from Zac Hemming.
Jordan Obita was harshly booked for a challenge in the centre circle.
Hemming then did well to get to a Dylan Levitt pass a second before Boyle.
Kylian Phillips fired over following a spell of pressure before Declan John was booked for a reckless challenge on Chris Cadden.
Nectar Triantis followed him into the book for a push moments later.
Miller almost scored an own goal trying to clear a St Mirren cross from the right.
Seconds before half time St Mirren won a corner on the right. The ball was floated to the back post then headed back to Richard Taylor who fired the ball into the net. The goal was given after a lengthy VAR check.
First chance of the second half fell to Boyle who was fouled but the referee played advantage, and his eventual shot flew inches wide of the post.
Hoilett then tried his luck from the edge of the area but his effort was too high.
Bushiri required treatment for an arm injury following a challenge on the Hibs byline.
St Mirren made a triple substitution on the hour mark and Hibs replaced Kukharevich, with Kieron Bowie.
St Mirren equalised against the run of play in the 64th minute when substitute Conor McMenamin fired home from close range. After a lengthy VAR check the goal was given.
Five minutes later St Mirren thought they had taken the lead when Mikael Mandron slid the ball into the net but the referee spotted a foul on Miller in the build up.
The Saints boss was shown a yellow card for protesting.
Nicky Cadden and Josh Campbell replaced Hoilett and Jordan Obita in the 75th minute.
Marcus Fraser was booked for a foul on Boyle then Bowie was shown a yellow card for a push on Phillips.
Dwight Gayle and Warren O’Hora replaced Boyle and Chris Cadden with six minutes remaining.
McMenamin almost grabbed a late winner, but his effort deflected off Bushiri and rebounded off the post.
Eight minutes of added time was awarded and both teams looked to take all three points.
St Mirren piled the pressure on but the Hibs defence held firm and celebrated with the fans at the end of the game.
In the last minute Triantis almost grabbed a late winner following a wonderful run but his toe poke went inches wide.
The draw coupled with Aberdeen’s defeat to Celtic at Pittodrie ensured the third place finish.
St Mirren: Hemming, Fraser, Gogic, Taylor, Alebiosu, Phillips, Boyd-Munce, Idowu. John, Mandron, Ayunga.
Substitutes: Urminsky, Iacovitti, Tanser, Mooney, Smyth, Kiltie, O’Hara, McMenamin, Scott.
Hibs: Smith, Miller, Bushiri, Iredale, C Cadden, Triantis, Levitt, Obita, Boyle, Kuharevich, Hoilett.
Substitutes: Bursik, Ekpiteta, O’Hora, N Cadden, Moriah-Welsh, Campbell, Manneh, Bowie, Gayle.
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.
