Hibs coasted to a 2-0 victory over Livingston as they maintained their early pace in the Scottish Premiership.
Kevin Nisbet and Martin Boyle struck in the second half as Hibs move to 10 points from 12 available in their opening four games. Livingston have yet to earn a point this season but were hindered by fitness troubles at Easter Road, striker Bruce Anderson suffering a diabetic fit while two other players vomited.
Problems for manager David Martindale. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
The pace of Boyle caused Livingston problems as they struggled to keep up with the Australian international for the most part. The winger had plenty of opportunities in front of goal and merited more than just one.
Livingston’s best opportunities of the match came from sloppy home defending, which came as a rarity. Hibs were in full control of possession but couldn’t threaten goalkeeper Max Stryjek until the second half. Then the barrage of attacks came.
It was Nisbet who opened the scoring. The Scotland international wonderfully brought the ball down in the box and beat Sean Kelly to buy a yard of space and fired a shot past Stryjek. Hibs then had a flurry of chances through Nisbet, Boyle and Scott Allan, who was dangerous too once he came on for James Scott.
Boyle killed the game off in the 89th minute after he used his lightning pace to get away from the Livingston defence. He played a one-two with Allan, who laid the winger off with a back-heel pass for him to neatly chip the ball over Stryjek. Here are three things we learned.
Boyle netted again. (Photo by Callum Landells/Getty Images)
The streak
Hibs are still unbeaten after their first four Premiership matches and currently sit top of the league, on equal points with Edinburgh rivals Hearts. They are one game away from replicating the five-game unbeaten start they had last season – which was the best start since Eddie Turnbull’s team of 1979.
Boyle scores again
Boyle found the net once again for Hibs and took his goal tally to four goals for the season. He is now top scorer in the league and will look to continue this form. He was Hibs’ best player throughout the match and his importance cannot be underestimated. Getting him on a new contract – without a release clause – is huge.
Livingston injury woes
Livingston manager David Martindale revealed his side’s injury problems post-match. Half of his bench weren’t fit and shouldn’t have been near involvement. Anderson is in hospital after his diabetic fit. Fitzwater and another player came off the park sick at half-time and Craig Sibbald, Kelly and Jackson Longridge shouldn’t have been in the squad.
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