Hibs debrief: Error-ridden display, lethargy on pitch and in stands, Levitt's pass, Levein's St Johnstone resurgence
Hibs will want to forget this sorry afternoon in Perth in a hurry following a dismal performance in this 1-0 defeat by St Johnstone.
In what must be surely their poorest performance of manager Nick Montgomery’s reign, they were second best in almost every department to Craig Levein’s sprightly Saints, who would have prevailed by more had it not been for some smart goalkeeping by David Marshall. Hibs looked lethargic from the very beginning and sorely missed their midfield linchpin Joe Newell, who was suspended. By virtue of capital rivals Hearts recording a shock 2-0 win at Parkhead against Celtic and St Mirren drawing 0-0 with Motherwell, Montgomery’s men fall to sixth in the Premiership and will need to be vastly-improved when they face Ross County in Dingwall next week in what could be a similar test. Montgomery did not sugar-coat “a disappointing” day at the office for Hibs.
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Hide AdSt Johnstone increasingly look like a Levein team, with the former Scotland and Hearts manager working his magic at McDiarmid Park. This was his seventh game in charge and they have won three, drawn two and lost two. Their back-three kept its shape throughout, midfielder Daniel Phillips was powerful and tenacious and they rarely looked under threat from their higher-placed opponents. Saints are now up to eighth in the league following this result and motoring under Levein, who inherited them sitting rock bottom. He gave 16-year-old Fran Franczak his first-ever start and he played well at right wing-back. The most notable observation was the way his team dealt with Hibs’ pace, the defenders very rarely exposed due to their sound positional sense.
Saints coped far better with a bobbly, firm pitch and a swirling wind. Both teams made mistakes in a match that lacked tangible quality but Hibs coughed up far more. It was therefore fitting that Graham Carey’s winner, on 57 minutes, was borne out of a misplaced pass. Dylan Levitt would not have slept well on Saturday night as it was his wacky ball from a goal kick that went straight into the path of the St Johnstone player. He strode forward unchecked and lashed past a static Marshall via the post.
Hibs have changed the way they play under Montgomery, passing out from the back almost every time, and have largely gone unpunished for it. This was the sort of game where such a tactic would go wrong given so many players were completely beneath their usual level. Their much-vaunted forward line completely failed to fire. Elie Youan, Martin Boyle, Jair Tavares and Dylan Vente did not have a moment of note in attack and Levitt and Jimmy Jeggo could not spark anything behind them.
Even the visiting fans were sleepy. They do not like Levein, given his heavy Hearts connections, but it took the near 2,000 travelling support until the 27th minute to audibly goad the Saints boss. “Have you ever won a trophy Craig Levein?” they sang. At that exact moment, Matt Smith curled in a corner and Max Kucheriavyi headed the ball home via a slight deflection of Levitt. The offside flag was immediately raised and after a long VAR check, the decision stood. Still images showed that DJ Jaiyesimi’s backside was in an offside position and impeding Marshall on goalline.
The rest of the half was forgettable and while Hibs – who replaced ill right-back Lewis Miller with Josh Campbell at the break – started the second period with a bit of zest, St Johnstone quickly regained the initiative, though, and Marshall made two excellent saves from Kucheriavyi in the space of a minute, he could do little to stop Carey’s shot crashing in off his post following Levitt’s inaccurate pass.
There was little reaction from Hibs. Marshall had to look lively again to stop an effort from Franczak and substitute Chris Kane also called the veteran stopper into action. Hibs chucked on forward Christian Doidge but it made little difference to their aimless attacking play.
Hibs’ day appeared to get even worse when Vente was sent off on 88 minutes for a high tackle on Liam Gordon. The Saints defender went down clutching his head and referee Graham Grainger almost instantly pulled out a red card. However, on the advice of VAR, the official was invited to review the decision and downgraded it to a yellow.
A stoppage-time corner brought late pressure on Saints, with Marshall coming up to add weight to Hibs’ numbers, but it was the sort of performance where had Hibs played into next week, they would still be looking for a goal. Their muted fans disappeared into the night as Saints’ faithful roared with approval.