Mykola Kuharevich opened the scoring at Easter Road
Hibernian head coach David Gray says "I'll sleep tonight" after his side finally delivered his first Scottish Premiership win in charge at the fifth attempt by defeating St Johnstone.
Mykola Kuharevich's close-range goal capped a tepid first half, Hibs finding the crucial breakthrough in stoppage time.
The Ukranian striker got a faint touch to Marvin Ekpiteta's header across goal after Nicky Cadden's deep free kick caught St Johnstone flat-footed.
It laid the platform for a more encouraging second half for Hibs and they got a further reward when Chris Cadden slipped in Martin Boyle, who sent a beautiful dink beyond goalkeeper Ross Sinclair to seal a crucial win.
"Where we want to get to and where we need to be these are the games we need to win," Gray told BBC Sport Scotland.
"We know it's hard to win games and we've seen that already.
"That's us unbeaten in three and we have an opportunity to build now and take the momentum into the next game. I'll sleep tonight for a change, which is good."
St Johnstone, meanwhile, slipped out of the game in the second half after playing some neat football before going behind.
However, Craig Levein's side did not threaten the Hibs goal enough when they were on top, with speculative efforts from Matt Smith and Nicky Clark as close as they came.
And when they switched off at a set piece it sparked a decline which ended in a fourth straight defeat, which was made worse when Benjamin Kimpioka was sent off in the 90th minute for a lunge on Jordan Obita.
Wide men help Hibs to crucial win
After failing to win their first four league games for the first time since 2002, Hibs and rookie head coach Gray just needed a win, especially in front of their own fans.
After another first half which failed to inspire, Kuharevich's timely intervention and the subsequent introductions of Junior Hoilett and Boyle changed the game.
Boyle added energy and pace, which was so effective for the second goal as he burst in behind before producing a composed finish.
Hoilett, who made his debut as a half-time replacement, does not have the pace of old but his dribbling ability is excellent.
His footwork and use of his body to deceive players opens up space for himself and others to cause problems and he was a handful for St Johnstone.
There is plenty to work on for Gray as he tries to get this side to play consistently over 90 minutes and develop a more pronounced game plan.
But getting the first win with a much better attacking performance gives him much-needed breathing space.
Saints defeated by familiar problems
There is plenty of evidence St Johnstone are playing more with the ball this season than in recent campaigns, but regardless of a more slick approach they have now lost four games in a row, three of them in the league.
Their first-half spell was tidy but lacked punch with pacy striker Adama Sidibe a big miss amid his four-match ban.
Levein's side mustered just one shot on target - Clark's shot from distance in the first couple of minutes - and registered a pitiful expected goals rating of just 0.16.
After conceding from a set piece, as they did twice against Motherwell last week, they slipped out of the match all too easily.
Kimpioka's sending off will only compound their issues in attack as he will now also be banned, and discipline is clearly an issue as it is the third game in a row they have been reduced to 10 men in the closing stages of matches.
Levein and first-team coach Andy Kirk have much to consider as a bright start to the campaign threatens to unravel due to persistent problems.
What they said
Hibernian head coach David Gray: "I'm delighted with the three points. We've seen progression in the games we've played and I'm seeing it in training. It's up to the players to show it on the pitch and especially second half we did that.
"But I said to the players before the game the starting 11 rarely finish the game and the subs come on and try to make an impact.
"They certainly did that today they came on and made us better which is what we want them to do."
St Johnstone manager Craig Levein: "I thought we were relatively good in the first half and it was a really body blow to go in behind after a good first half away from home.
"I was very frustrated with the goal right on half-time and it was a very simple goal that we should be able to deal with. The second-half performance wasn't good enough and we need to do better."
