Hibernian 2-0 Ross County: Nick Montgomery's side move into top six
- Published
Myazine Maolida pounced on George Wickens' error to break the deadlock
Head coach Nick Montgomery praised the "professional" win over Ross County that pushed Hibernian into the Scottish Premiership's top six, but urged his side to be more ruthless.
Myazine Maolida pounced to score when County goalkeeper George Wickens spilled Dylan Vente's cross at his feet, which relieved tension at Easter Road after Hibs struggled to make their dominance pay for an hour.
After a few more spurned chances, Hibs eventually killed the game on 86 minutes when Dylan Levitt stroked the ball into the bottom corner after combining with Elie Youan.
Emiliano Marcondes, Vente and Adam Le Fondre could have made it more comfortable before Levitt's goal, but instead Hibs left the door ajar for struggling County.
Indeed, Eamonn Brophy should have brought them level when he was picked out by substitute Brandon Khela, but his close-range shot was too close to Hibs goalkeeper David Marshall.
"It's been a massive effort from everybody this week, we set out to get nine points [from three games] and should have got nine points," Montgomery told BBC Scotland.
"We got seven and I'm proud of the team. What you have to do is put the ball in the back of the net. That's let us down over the course of the season.
"There have been many games we've dominated but if you don't put your chances away you're always open to a sucker punch. We've had plenty of sucker punches this season. Today was a very professional performance."
Defeat for Don Cowie's side - coupled with Livingston's draw at St Johnstone - means 11th-placed County are six points from the bottom of the table.
But a second home win in a row for only the second time this season moves Hibs above Dundee into sixth with both sides still to play five games before the league splits.
Player of the match - Dylan Levitt (Hibs)
A player who has bags of ability but tends to frustrate fans at Easter Road. He made a big difference after coming on at half-time
Hibs taking steps, County rue errors again - analysis
January recruits and getting players off the treatment table has helped Hibs turn around some bleak form in the last four games.
The quality of their attacking players, including Maolida and Marcondes, is clear to see and Levitt's introduction at half-time helped Hibs get the ball forward with a bit more urgency.
The switch from a 4-4-2 to a 4-2-3-1 has made things a bit more solid out of possession, too, and a first clean sheet in the league since the 9 December will help build confidence in their defending.
Montgomery's plea for his players to be more ruthless in the final third won't relent, though, as they got into some really good positions only to let themselves down with a poor final pass or cross.
Marcondes had an effort from the edge of the six-yard box saved, Vente dummied from a similar range when he should have shot, and Le Fondre also bulleted a good headed chance wide.
If they can be more clinical then a top-six berth is there for the taking.
Having picked up four points in their previous two games, County were decent again but clearly missed Simon Murray, who was absent through illness. He has scored nearly 30% of County's league goals and is so influential in creating chances too.
Wickens has looked a solid addition in goals, but ultimately it was his error in dropping Vente's cross that handed Hibs the breakthrough.
Those errors keep cropping up in the County rearguard, which they seriously need to address.
What they said
Hibernian manager Nick Montgomery: "We more than deserved three points. We made it a little bit hard for ourselves at times, we created a lot of opportunities and could have made it really comfortable.
"But fair play to Ross County, they put a lot of men behind the ball and it was difficult to break them down. Second half it was just about having a little bit more composure.
"After Myazine got the first goal we could have scored a few more and it was nice to score the second goal and get some minutes into boys legs who haven't played much the last week."
Ross County manager Don Cowie: "I thought we defended very well. The game swung on an error from our goalkeeper. He's held his hands up.
"To that point I was happy with how we were playing, the crowd were starting to get a bit quiet. So it was disappointing the timing of it.
"But we still had enough time to get back in the game. Eamonn has a chance he could take on another day. But again I see plenty of positives from my team."
What's next?
Hibs turn their attention to the Scottish Cup as they host Rangers in the quarter-finals on Sunday, 10 March (17:30 GMT) before these sides meet again in Dingwall on 13 March (19:45).