Ash Taylor red card proves costly as Hibs make Kilmarnock pay at Easter Road

That run of form continued for the Edinburgh side against Derek McInnes’ men yesterday.

An early strike by Joe Newell was enough to separate the teams, with the visitors playing the majority of the match with ten-men.

Lee Johnson was absent after undergoing emergency surgery on Friday. Stand-in gaffer Jamie McAllister was delighted to guide Hibs to their first win since the opening day of the campaign.

He said: “I think we had 25 shots on goal and dominated but it was that quality in the final third that let us down. We should have been out of sight and should have managed the game better.

Newell slams home

“It was a great three points, a good win and we’re still undefeated at home this season so you have to take the positives.

“I think he’s (Johnson) popped a few stitches. He was on the phone to David Gray constantly through the game so we were in constant contact.

“Final third, we got in some great areas and created some good chances but it was just that final pass or execution in the final third to get the second goal and be comfortable. We were always giving them a chance when we were 1-0 and they were throwing caution to the wind with ten men, catching us on the counter.

“We’ve got that threat in behind and Boyler is a constant thorn and a threat all the time. He had good movement in behind. His touch is a great touch and he’s probably scoring that, it’s a red card.”

The opening stages belonged to Hibs, with the home side enjoying virtually all the ball.

Sam Walker was forced into a decent save low to his left as Elie Youan hit one from range. The resulting corner came to nothing, but the home side had settled well.

Walker had to hold on to another shot from distance shortly after, but Ewan Henderson’s effort was tame. Joe Wright had defended the situation well initially, but his error later error could’ve been costly.

The Hibs players celebrate

A huge mistake from Kilmarnock then did prove costly. Ash Taylor was sent off after just ten-minutes for bringing down Martin Boyle on the edge of the area. As the last man, the experienced centre-back had to go. The ball inside Lewis Mayo meant that Boyle had a clear run through on goal, as he was chopped down as he raced in on goal.

Newell hit the resultant free-kick. It was saved by Walker but came straight back to the midfielder. He then fired a rocket into the bottom corner, giving the Killie keeper no chance. It proved the difference between the sides.

Hibs caught Killie cold with a quick free-kick which set Youan free. If he’d picked out the right cross Boyle would’ve had a tap-in, but the attacker got it horribly wrong as the ball sailed over the bar.

Despite being a man down, the Ayrshire side stroked the ball around nicely. Calmly playing out of defence, Ben Chrisene set Polworth free on a counter. He slipped in Oli Shaw with a clever reverse pass, but the ex-Hibees striker could not capitalise on the situation as his weak effort trickled wide.

Henderson really should’ve doubled Hibs’ advantage on 35-minutes. A wicked ball across the face from Chris Cadden found its way to the back post. He could not divert on target, though.

Killie were left fuming after claims for a penalty were ignored by John Beaton. Ryan Porteous appeared to bundle over Chrisene. Up the other end, the impressive Ryan Alebiosu put in a goal-saving tackle to deny Henderson.

New boy Harry McKirdy was introduced to the fray immediately after the re-start, with the home crowd on their feet to welcome their new signing.

A neat move by Hibs on 54-minutes saw Walker forced to tip a Porteous header over the bar. It was slick stuff from the home side.  

Alan Power had a great opportunity to test Marshall from range as Killie looked to equalise, but his shot curved well wide.

Boyle slipped in Youan, but the angle was against him as he hit the side netting. Killie were dealt a blow as Alebiosu was forced off through injury. It was confirmed post-match that this was precautionary, though.

McInnes’ side huffed and puffed but could not create that opening which would’ve saw a share of the spoils. Hibs moved on to eight points with victory, which could’ve been more comfortable with a late flurry of chances.

The Killie gaffer said: “I thought we were even better with ten men. It was challenging going behind, it was a double whammy, losing the goal from the red card incident.

“Going behind with ten men at a place like Easter Road was going to be a real challenge for us.

“I thought the better team lost the game, to be honest. We’re kicking ourselves because we have played against Martin Boyle long enough. You know the pace he has, you don’t want to leave too much grass in behind.

“We’re annoyed at ourselves and Hibs were good enough to capitalise on that.

“But from then we were the better team. We showed good imagination, good thought. We picked and chose our battles at the right time, we had great spirit.

“I just felt we could have been cuter to open them up and maybe get an opportunity to get an equaliser.

“But there is absolutely zero criticism of my players after we went down to ten men.”