Hibs reaction: Incredible red card to points ratio stat, the unsung hero, fresh perspective needed
Sending off
Carving out a 4-0 victory after Livingston had been reduced to 10 men, Hibs have now earned 16 of their 23 league points against depleted opposition. It has taken them within touching distance of third-placed Aberdeen with half of the season to go. Some will argue that the Leith side have been fortunate to benefit from opponents’ indiscipline but they still had to make the advantage count. In the final game before Christmas they did just that. Playing with the shackles off and making the most of the space granted them by Jason Holt’s absence, they were dangerous on the flanks as Elie Youhan and Chris Cadden provided tantalising crosses, and Kevin Nisbet, Cadden himself, and Kyle Magennis finished. Buoyed by the prospect of their first three points since October, there was a fluency, tempo and connectivity in the ranks as they passed and cut their way through Livingston.
Kyle Magennis
Much, quite rightly, has been made of the impact of Kevin Nisbet since his return from injury with the Scotland striker also bagging two goals in his first two games. But Kyle Magennis and Elie Youan showed that there is support in the wings. Both players contributed hugely to the victory over 10-man Livingston but while the Frenchman added guile to flat-out speed and weighed in with two assists, the Scottish midfielder scored twice to give the scoreline a more confidence-boosting sheen ahead of the visit from in-form Celtic.
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With clubs squeezed together throughout the Premiership, it is amazing just how quickly the landscape can change. Ahead of the win over Livingston, there was pressure on Hibs boss Lee Johnson due to a run of just one win in eight games. But a free-flowing, expansive and positive display on their own patch prompted chants of ‘ole, ole’, rather than booing and while they moved up just one spot in the league standings, leapfrogging their guests to go in to seventh, they are now just two points off Aberdeen and Hearts, who are setting the pace, in third and fourth. Celtic will provide a tougher test on Wednesday but the indications are that the players and the manager will head into January in more buoyant mood on the back of the performance, if not the result, against Rangers, followed by the performance and the win over Livingston.