St Mirren 0-2 Hibernian

Cummings nets his second of the day, his fifth goal in Hibs' first three league games

Jason Cummings' brace against St Mirren helped Hibernian continue their perfect start to the Championship season.

Cummings was in the right place at the right time to convert David Gray's cross for his first.

And the 21-year-old rolled in an opportunistic second from a tight angle when he capitalised on a mix-up in the Buddies' defence.

New signings Andrew Shinnie and Brian Graham both came off the bench to make their debuts for Hibs.

Graham in particular had a brilliant chance to score his first goal for the Leith side but Saints goalkeeper Scott Gallacher blocked the effort.

Former Buddie John McGinn cracked the angle of post and cross-bar late on and any critics of Cummings would say the forward should have gone home with a hat-trick ball.

His double here brought his tally for the season to five already, and the deflected cross from energetic captain Gray only needed a left-foot steer into the net.

Being in the right place to capitalise was key for Cummings, and 10 minutes later his persistence at pestering St Mirren defender Jack Baird and keeper Gallacher was rewarded.

The St Mirren duo left a back-pass to each other and Cummings nipped in to clinically score from a tight angle.

Lennon's influence evident

Lennon rebuked his players at regular intervals

Lennon's managerial effect from the sidelines is clear. Fifteen minutes into this match the former Celtic boss was berating Hibs centre-back Darren McGregor for a lack of urgency.

Players paid attention to Lennon's demands to "move it quickly" and "get it forward".

Cummings received an earful for a poor second-half pass and Marvin Bartley was rebuked for moaning at the referee. Lennon has got his team by the scruff of the neck.

St Mirren's home form under Alex Rae has been better than his predecessors but there was not much for the locals to get excited about on this occasion - indeed some booed at half-time.

Baird watched his header sail over and substitute David Clarkson shot narrowly wide, but the impression was Hibs had another gear in them if required.

Post-match reaction:

Hibs boss Neil Lennon: "Jason Cummings is a goalscorer but there's more to his game.

"He got two brilliant goals and could've had a couple more. I thought he got sloppy in the second half and looked a little bit tired.

"If you'd been watching him in the first half you could have had Real Madrid on the phone. But if you'd been watching him second half you would've had Accrington Stanley on the phone - and that's no disrespect to Accrington."

St Mirren manager Alex Rae: "The fact is that we dug in and competed in the second half.

"You can't legislate for that second goal. No matter what the preparation is, it's just a miscommunication and it becomes difficult because you're chasing the game.

"We need to stick together as a team and get through this."