Hibernian made it 15 unbeaten Premiership matches in a row and kept themselves on course for third place with a comfortable 3-0 win at home to bottom side St Johnstone.
A delightful opener from Junior Hoilett and a 15th domestic goal of the season for Martin Boyle had the hosts coasting by the half-hour mark before substitute Kieron Bowie sealed the victory with a stoppage-time penalty.
Hibs – bottom of the table as recently as mid-December – remain a point clear of fourth-placed Aberdeen in their quest to secure European group-stage football next season, while Saints, who were unable to muster a notable scoring chance all day, are left with just seven games to salvage their top-flight status.
Hibees boss David Gray made one change to the side that started the 1-1 draw at Kilmarnock a fortnight previously as Mykola Kuharevich replaced Bowie up front.
Saints, who arrived in Edinburgh buoyed by a run of six wins and two draws from their previous 10 matches, also freshened up their attack as Victor Griffith and Jonathan Svedberg came in for Adama Sidibeh and Stephen Duke-McKenna.
Hibs made the breakthrough in the 18th minute, seconds after Boyle had gone clean through and been denied by Andy Fisher.
Jordan Obita fed Hoilett on the left and the Canada international cut inside and curled an exquisite finish high beyond Fisher and into the far corner of the net.
Saints offered little in the first half, with their only threatening moment before the break proving to be a dangerous Jason Holt cross from the right that was diverted behind by Rocky Bushiri in the 25th minute.
Hibs doubled their lead in the 29th minute. Kuharevich volleyed the ball high and wide from close range and as the visitors tried to play out from the resulting goal kick, Hoilett slid in to dispossess captain Sven Sprangler.
Hibernian’s Martin Boyle celebrates with Junior Hoilett and Lewis Miller (L-R)
The ball broke to stand-in captain Boyle, who drove into the box, outfoxed Barry Douglas and slotted a low, angled finish into the corner from 15 yards out.
Saints boss Simo Valakari was clearly frustrated with his team’s first-half display and made three changes for the start of the second half as Benjamin Kimpioka, Duke-McKenna and Taylor Steven replaced Drey Wright, Makenzie Kirk and Sam Curtis.
The substitutions did little to alter the flow, however, with the Edinburgh side remaining in control. Fisher made three good saves to deny Kuharevich and Bowie twice.
But the Saints goalkeeper found himself picking the ball out of his net in virtually the last moment of the match when Bowie beat him from the penalty spot after the striker was fouled by Daniels Balodis.
What the managers said…
Hibernian manager David Gray: “It was a complete performance.
“Everybody fully deserved that clean sheet.
“Smudge (Jordan Smith) didn’t even have a save to make, so it shows how good we were without the ball.”
St Johnstone boss Simo Valakari: “We didn’t play well enough to get anything out of the match.
“We played against very good opponents and they played well.
“But at the same time, we need to own this performance, learn from it quickly and move on.”
