hibernian 4
st johnstone 0
Scorers: Luna (25min); Fenwick (56), Brebner (59), Smart (61).
WITH five strikers all out to prove a point to Alex McLeish it's no surprise that in the league at least Hibs are starting to score at will.
Last week they put five past Dunfermline and followed that up yesterday with a comprehensive win over a St Johnstone side who look, even so early in the season, that they are one of the prime relegation candidates.
After being given a torrid time in the 2-0 away defeat against AEK Athens in the UEFA Cup, at least this performance gives the Easter Road side a bit of hope that they can overturn that deficit at home against the Greeks on Thursday.
Clearly, it is up front where their UEFA game could be won and McLeish is spoiled for choice in that vital area.
In their last two league games four out of the five first team squad strikers have scored, with only David Zitelli, who has come as a substitute on both occasions, not hitting the target.
Yesterday, it was the turn of Francisco Luna and Alan Smart, who scored on his starting debut, to make their mark, with defender Paul Fenwick and midfielder Grant Brebner completing the scoring.
The game was a personal success for Smart, who is on loan from Watford, and who hadn't started a game up until yesterday for eight months. His last goal came two and a half seasons ago when he scored for Watford against Spurs.
Certainly the form of Smart and Luna in particular, who has scored three goals in his last two starts, has given McLeish a selection dilemma ahead of the AEK Athens game.
Although he will start with a
3-5-2 formation, which will include Franck Sauzee, but possibly not Gary Smith - both of whom missed yesterday's match because of injury - don't be surprised if he changes it early to a 4-3-3 set-up with Craig Brewster, Tom McManus and Luna making up the front line.
McLeish conceded the form of his strikers over the past two weeks had ''given him food for thought'' going into the Athens game.
He added that he believed that his side could overturn the 2-0 first leg deficit if enough good service could be given to his strikers from wide areas. He also made a plea for the supporters to turn out in force to roar them on.
From a St Johnstone point of view, Sandy Clark claimed he felt under no pressure, despite the fact his side are bottom of the SPL table with only three points, which have come from three draws.
''There is nothing like a win to help our confidence and that's what we will be hoping for from our home match against Motherwell next Saturday,'' said Clark.
Yesterday's game was controlled by Hibs, with Mathias Jack, the captain in place of the injured Sauzee, at the heart of most of the moves.
Certainly St Johnstone had no answer to the opening goal in 25 minutes from Luna which came about after a well-worked Hibs passing move.
It began with good work from Jack and John O'Neil, who released De la Cruz on the right. The Ecuadorian internationalist ghosted past defender Ross Forsyth before putting in an inch perfect cross which Luna rose unchallenged in the box to head home.
Apart from that it was a rather lacklustre first 45 minutes in which Sandy Clark's side offered little up front, although Tommy Lovenkrands did his best to try and create chances up the left hand side.
The second half was only seconds old when St Johnstone were nearly gifted an equaliser. Alan Orman, playing right-back in the Hibs back-four, was short with a back pass. It was pounced on by Willie Falconer, who should have done better than hit his shot against the legs of Nick Colgan with the goal at his mercy.
That proved to be the turning point of the match as it served as a wake-up call for Hibs who went on to score three goals in five second half minutes.
The second goal of the game came in 56 minutes when Fenwick headed home an O'Neil corner, then Brebner, with a low shot, made it three before Alan Smart rounded off the scoring when he got on the end of a cross from de La Cruz, who was involved in three of the four goals.
From then on in it was a simple case of Hibs moving down a gear to conserve their energy for their UEFA Cup match on Thursday.
Substitutions
Hibernian Townsley for Jack 68min, Zitelli for O'Neil 68, McManus for Smart 75 St Johnstone MacDonald for Forsyth 59, Connolly for Falconer 71
Subs not used
Hibernian Caig, Brewster St Johnstone Main, Dods, Hartley
REFEREE D McDonald
BOOKINGS
Hibernian Jack 45 St Johnstone McCluskey 39, Forsyth 52
Attendance 10,404
Falconer Jackson
McBride Dasovic Murray Lovenkrands
Forsyth Kemble Weir McCluskey
Cuthbert
st johnstone
hibernian
Colgan
Orman Fenwick Laursen Murray
de la Cruz Jack O'Neil Brebner
Smart Luna
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