St Mirren followed up on European excellence with domestic delight in a convincing 3-0 William Hill Premiership win over Hibernian in Paisley.
After winning through to the next qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League with a 4-1 home win over Icelandic side Valur on Thursday, Stephen Robinson’s side kept up the good form in their league opener with Roland Idowu, the 22-year-old midfielder on loan from Shrewsbury, firing them ahead three minutes into the second half with a terrific strike.
An element of farce was introduced to the afternoon when the VAR system went down moments later and play continued for a while before the system returned to partial operation.
Saints substitute Oisin Smyth, on for Dennis Adeniran, headed in a second in the 77th minute and drove in a third two minutes later to boost St Mirren before they return to European action against SK Brann on Thursday – while sending David Gray’s Hibs side back to Leith to think again.
Perhaps surprisingly after Thursday’s exertions, Robinson made only two changes.
Saints captain Mark O’Hara was out through injury and Jaden Brown dropped to the bench as Scott Tanser and Caolan Boyd-Munce came in.
There were league debuts for Hibs’ summer signings Josef Bursik, Marvin Ekpiteta and Warren O’Hora while Ukrainian striker Mykola Kuharevich, who signed on another loan for the Easter Road side on Saturday, started on the bench.
Both sides came close early on. A low drive by Saints attacker Jonah Ayunga from the edge of the box after seven minutes sped past Bursik’s far post, before Hibs wide-man Jordan Obita’s cross from the left could not be converted by Easter Road forward Dylan Vente at the other end.
In the 35th minute a powerful run by St Mirren striker Toyosi Olusanya took him to the edge of the Hibs box and when he laid the ball off to Idowu, his deflected strike just missed the near post, the corner coming to nothing.
Moments later, former Hibernian player Alex Gogic almost turned a cross from 18-year-old Rudi Molotnikov, making his first league start for Hibs, into his own net, alert Buddies goalkeeper Ellery Balcombe saving the day.
The Paisley side sprung out of the traps in the second half.
Brown, who had replaced Tanser at the break, fed Idowu down the left and he turned inside Hibs defender Lewis Miller and curled the ball past Bursik and into the far corner of the net.
There was a cheer all around the ground when it was announced VAR was non-operational and after a lengthy delay it was then announced that the game would continue without its use until further notice.
Hibs roared back and attacker Martin Boyle had two efforts on goal – the first blocked, the second saved easily by Balcombe – as it was then announced VAR had returned to partial operation.
The game opened up.
In the 73rd minute Boyle raced clear of the St Mirren defence but a poor finish allowed Balcombe to save.
Idowu came in from the right-hand side and crashed a shot off the post from 16 yards with Smyth, signed from Oxford in June, unable to guide the rebound into the net.
However, he was much more accurate when fellow substitute James Scott worked hard to keep the ball in on the byline and chipped for Smyth to power in a header.
As Hibs staggered, Smyth then converted a cutback from Scott to clinch all three points – 10 minutes were added for the VAR delay – and set them up nicely for another tilt at Europe next week.
[(Gangwon FC) Strength]: 1. Last season in the Korean FA Cup, Gangwon FC were eliminated in the Round of 16. This season, the team have made a breakthrough so far and have advanced to the semi-finals. In this second leg, they will play at home and have a strong desire to win.2. Lee Ji Ho, a forward of Gangwon FC, has had limited playing time this season. However, he has maintained high offensive e...
[(Everton F.C.) Strength]: 1. On August 24th, in the 2nd round of the Premier League, Everton F.C. secured a comfortable 2-0 home victory over Brighton & Hove Albion F.C., with Jack Grealish providing two assists and putting in an impressive performance.2. Everton F.C. kept unbeaten in the last 3 Premier League home games with 2 wins and 1 draw, showing excellent performances.3. Everton F.C. h...
[(Nagoya Grampus) Strength]: 1. Nagoya Grampus are on a 2-game losing streak. They are motivated to win this home game to boost their morale.2. Soichiro Mori scored a goal and made an assist in the last game, showing outstanding form.3. Nagoya Grampus secured a 3-game winning streak in their last 3 encounters between both sides, giving them a better mentality.[(Nagoya Grampus) Neutral]: 1. Nagoya ...
[(Grimsby Town F.C.) Strength]: 1. Grimsby Town F.C. player Jaze Kabia scored in the last game, with reliable form.2. Grimsby Town F.C. drew 1-1 against Accrington Stanley in the last game, but they still kept unbeaten among all events in the new season, being in stable form.3. Grimsby Town F.C.'s home performance was outstanding. They won all the last 3 home games.4. Grimsby Town F.C. have a good...
[(FC Machida Zelvia) Strength]: 1. FC Machida Zelvia are undoubtedly motivated to win this home game to qualify for the semi-finals.2. Yuki Soma scored 10 goals and made 6 assists across all competitions this season, being important on the team's offense.3. FC Machida Zelvia drew 0-0 with Yokohama F. Marinos in the last game. They were unbeaten with 11 wins and 1 draw in the last 12 games, showing...
[(Reading F.C.) Strength]: 1. Reading F.C. are playing in the EFL League One this season and are on a 3-game winless run lately. They need to return to winning ways, indicating full motivation in this game.2. Lewis Wing scored a goal and made an assist in the last game, helping the team tie with Wycombe Wanderers F.C.3. Reading F.C. won the last 2 games in AH, revealing recent performances in line...
[(Sheffield Wed) Strength]: 1. Sheffield Wed have a rather impressive track record in the EFL Cup. In the first round of this season, they defeated Bolton Wanderers F.C., another team from the EFL Championship, and have posted 3 wins and 2 draws in their last 5 EFL Cup games.2. Sheffield Wed lost only 1 of the last 5 games in AH with stable performances. They ended all the last 4 games with OVER.[...
[(Eintracht Braunschweig) Strength]: 1. As a 2. Bundesliga side, Eintracht Braunschweig have made a solid start to the new season. Having been eliminated in the first round of the DFB-Pokal in each of the past two seasons, the team will undoubtedly be eager to achieve a better performance when they compete in the tournament again this season. Therefore, they will be full of determination when faci...
[(Sturm Graz) Strength]: 1. Sturm Graz suffered a crushing defeat in the first leg on the road. In this home match, they have to go all out to attack, with full motivation to win.2. Sturm Graz midfielder Otar Kiteishvili scored 4 goals in three league games this season, performing excellently in the league. As the starting forward of the team, his performance in this match is worth keeping an eye ...
[(Burnley) Strength]: 1. Burnley's key midfielder Josh Cullen not only opened the scoring for the team in the last game but also provided an assist, emerging as the biggest contributor to the victory with an outstanding individual performance.2. Burnley claimed a comfortable 2-0 win over Sunderland in their last game, securing their first victory of the new Premier League season and boosting the t...
- 1 Ruben Amorim gives cryptic response when asked about Andre Onana returning to starting XI for Fulham clash after Altay Bayindir blunder handed Arsenal victory
- 2 'Victory Bodes Well for Future' – Gasperini Delighted with Roma’s Opening Day Win
- 3 TIPS - Eintracht Frankfurt VS Werder Bremen
- 4 Transfer rumors, news: Arsenal could turn to Lyon's Fofana
- 5 Antony’s Man United Exit Hopes Rest on Fresh Real Betis Bid Within 'Next 24 Hours'
- 6 TIPS - Cerezo Osaka VS Vissel Kobe
- 7 TIPS - Gamba Osaka VS Yokohama FC
- 8 TIPS - Schalke 04 VS VfL Bochum
- 9 TIPS - Sunderland A.F.C. VS Huddersfield Town A.F.C.
- 10 TIPS - Olympique de Marseille VS Paris FC