Hibs plot their own downfall as Gray suffers horror start

Patrick McPartlin was in Paisley to provide the instant analysis.

Hibs orchestrate their own downfall

It's hard to know what to make of this game. The first half was largely attritional, typical of the 'teams feeling each other out' at the early stage of the season. But St Mirren's first goal was very straightforward, the second goal was self-inflicted by the Hibs defence - Marvin Ekpiteta making the fatal mistake of failing to assess the danger as he tried to find Joe Bursik with a backpass - and by the time Oisin Smyth curled home his second and St Mirren's third, the damage had already done. Hibs looked shell-shocked and leggy. St Mirren played on Thursday night while Hibs had a free week after their victory over Peterhead last weekend, but it was the hosts who looked sharper throughout. 

Had Martin Boyle aimed his effort either side of Ellery Balcombe at 1-0, perhaps we'd be talking about a share of the spoils. But he shot straight at the on-loan Brentford 'keeper and the resulting corner came to nothing, and Balcombe foiled Hibs late on as they sought a consolation. 

Result lays bare Hibs' needs

Even with the return of Mykola Kukharevych, Hibs look light in the final third. Dylan Vente puts in a power of work but looks jaded despite a hat-trick against Elgin City in the Premier Sports Cup group stages; Hibs are still managing Harry Mckirdy, and Élie Youan remains sidelined with injury.  Mercurial though he is, Youan gives Hibs a threat that, without him on the pitch, they lack. 

Kukharevych came off the bench, replacing Vente, and partnered Boyle up top as David Gray changed formation. But the Ukrainian had little to work with. There was to be no scoring return for the fan's favourite. 

Hibs have been linked with moves for Junior Hoilett and Kieron Bowie and on today's evidence, the sooner they, or other attacking targets, are brought in, the better - particularly with Celtic visiting next weekend and a desire to improve on last season's overall showing. 

Worst possible start

David Gray steered his team through the Premier Sports Cup group stages with only one blip against Kelty Hearts, 14 goals scored and just two conceded. Perhaps today's performance was a reminder that this Hibs team still aren't the finished article, and Gray has a lot of work on his hands to turn his side into one that is hard to beat but also a threat in the final third. 

Today's showing may quicken the search for new recruits but there will also be a sobering post-mortem to examine just what went wrong. The speed with which Hibs crumbled, and the ease with which St Mirren took advantage, will be of particular concern. 

Hibs could have done with a positive result in this game for a multitude of reasons - too many to mention here, but all fairly obvious. Instead, Gray will be left to face the music and pick his team up ahead of a trip to Celtic next weekend. He will back himself to be able to provoke a response from his team but the manner of this defeat will make that job considerably harder. 

If Hibs have designs on finishing in the top six, never mind the European places, they will have to eradicate performances like this. How they go about doing that will be top of Gray's to-do list.