THE prospect of Hibernian being a first division club by the time they contest the Scottish Cup final against rivals Hearts is a step closer to reality.

A seven-point advantage over Dunfermline Athletic when the Clydesdale Bank Premier League split has been cut to just three, and with three matches to go, there is a real chance that the Easter Road side could be relegated by the time they arrive at Hampden on May 19 for their big day. And wouldn't the Hearts fans just love that?

Hibs huffed and puffed yesterday without making much of an impression against a St Mirren side with little to play for. The next challenge for Pat Fenlon's team is away to Aberdeen on Wednesday night and they will go there without Lewis Stevenson after the midfielder was sent off in the final seconds for a second yellow card.

It summed up another frustrating afternoon for Hibs, with Fenlon feeling they should have had a second- half penalty for a foul on Leigh Griffiths. "If it had been someone else we might have got it," mused the Irishman, suggesting that the forward's reputation had gone against him at that crucial moment.

Griffiths, in fact, was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise underwhelming Hibs performance, although it was Eoin Doyle – making a rare start in place of the ill Garry O'Connor – who missed their two best chances, lobbing a shot wide in the first half and shooting straight at Craig Samson in the second. Hibs would pay for such wastefulness. St Mirren, who played the last 15 minutes with 10 men after Marc McAusland picked up a second yellow card, did not create very much but scored with one of only a handful of efforts on target, Kenny McLean sweeping in a low shot.

"I'd be the first to admit it wasn't the free-flowing football that we enjoy," said Danny Lennon, the St Mirren manager. "But I must give my boys credit. They handled the ugly side of it very well."

What Hibs would give to be in St Mirren's league position right now. The momentum to avoid relegation would seem to be with Dunfermline and the meeting between the two teams next Monday at Easter Road could turn out to be pivotal. Fenlon, though, saw no reason to panic. "I thought we did enough to win the game," he said.

The first half gave comfort to nobody except maybe Dunfermline and Hearts. It seems hard to comprehend a team with so much at stake as Hibs playing as lethargically as they did but there was little zip or drive that suggested they were bursting a gut for the cause.

The home team saw more of the ball but did little with it. Steven Thompson headed a Graham Carey corner wide but it took until early in the second half before Mark Brown was called into action, the Hibs goalkeeper dealing comfortable with McLean's deflected drive.

Hibs showed greater determination in the second half and should have been in front just before the hour mark. Doyle capitalised on a blunder by Lee Mair to create a chance but Samson got his team-mate out of trouble with a fantastic stop. "I think if we get the goal it gives us something to cling on to and defend," said James McPake, the Hibs captain.

There was a feeling that Hibs may come to regret their profligacy and so it proved when St Mirren edged in front. It was a well-worked goal, substitute Dougie Imrie feeding a pass to Jeroen Tesselaar who picked out McLean on the edge of the box. The Scotland under-21 cap took it first time to sweep a shot past Brown.

McAusland's red card, for a tug on Griffiths' shirt, gave Hibs a man advantage for the closing stages but they were unable to make the most of it, instead losing Stevenson late on. A nervy few weeks for the Easter Road side await.