Ross tells Hibs to revel in second place

Manager Jack Ross wants his Hibernian players to enjoy the feeling of being second in the Premiership even if it proves a short stay.

Goals from Martin Boyle, Christian Doidge, Paul McGinn and Kevin Nesbit swept Hamilton Accies away and lifted Hibs one point above Celtic.

The champions have played three games fewer and host Kilmarnock on Sunday.

"For the players to look at the table and see themselves there after 17 games is brilliant," said Ross.

"It might only be for 24 hours but it's just a reflection of how well they have done so far.

"You don't get to that position after this number of games without being a good team. It is just making sure they can replicate that over the second half of the season and be relentless in their work."

• As it happened & Scottish Premiership reaction

The Edinburgh side, 12 points behing leaders Rangers, now have seven wins from 10 on the road in the league.

Accies had given themselves a lift with four points from their last two home matches but were completely overwhelmed and drop down to second bottom.

Hibs were on the front foot right from the off, with Melker Hallberg shooting over the top before an early penalty came their way.

Charlie Trafford had his arms wrapped around Ryan Porteous from a corner and the visiting defender ended up in a heap near the front post, allowing Boyle to convert confidently from the spot-kick.

Doidge should have doubled the lead when a smart pass from Paul Hanlon split the Accies defence but the striker took a clumsy touch when trying to round Ryan Fulton at the edge of the box, allowing the keeper to get a vital touch.

Doidge has scored a lot of goals for Hibs but seldom looks comfortable in situations like those.

Where the big forward excels is in the air and in the six-yard box and he proved his credentials in that department when rising to power in a lofted delivery from Drey Wright.

The home side had made three changes before the hour but the pattern of play did not change in the slightest. If anything, Hibs' dominance became more pronounced as they punctured the bedraggled Accies defence time after time.

Wright blazed a golden chance too high before McGinn smashed a terrific first-time shot into the far top corner as the right-back raced on to a loose ball.

Nisbet was then on hand to knock the ball in from a few yards, with the hosts unable to repel a fierce, low cross from the busy Boyle.

The chances kept coming and there was almost a Premiership debut goal for teenage substitute Steven Bradley but Fulton managed to push his shot up on to the crossbar.

Man of the match - Martin Boyle

Martin Boyle doesn't always look comfortable on artificial turf but he knocked in a good penalty and was a constant menace in the second half, setting up the fourth goal for Nisbet

What did we learn?

This was a demolition job, with a huge gulf in quality. Hibs got a stranglehold on the game early and did not let go.

Joe Newell and Hallberg kept the tempo up in central midfield and the front four were a blur of movement, dragging the home defence every which way.

Confidence is up, with seven goals scored and none conceded in their last two outings, and looking at the league table will only strengthen belief in the Easter Road squad.

What did they say?

Hamilton Accies manager Brian Rice: "To concede a cheap penalty, when there's no need to do it, it set us back and put Hibs on the front foot.

"I've got six first-team players, who would normally have started this game, missing. That's massive for me. We don't have the biggest of squads."

Hibernian head coach Jack Ross: "It's always encouraging when the goals are shared because you don't want to be overly reliant on one or two sources. We've got a continued threat in forward areas and now goals are coming from other areas and that reflects the confidence within the group."

What next?

Hibernian are back on the plastic on Tuesday as they visit Alloa Athletic, with a place in the semi-finals of the League Cup up for grabs.

Hamilton must wait until next Saturday to get this performance out of their system and it's a big one since they visit Ross County, the only team below them in the table.