The wee Hibees extended their winning streak to five matches with an away victory over St Mirren on Friday afternoon.
Darren McGregor’s side ran out 3-1 winners at the St Mirren Training Ground in dreary conditions.
Dean Cleland scored twice before Rory Whittaker found the net, all inside the opening half-hour, before the Buddies pulled one back just before the half-time break.
A smart lofted shot from Cleland inside four minutes gave the hosts a warning of what was to come, as his dinked effort clipped the post before being hastily cleared by the Buddies backline.
Within five minutes of his first attempt, Cleland nabbed his first of the afternoon. The forward nodded in from close range to open the scoring after meeting an excellent lofted cross from Josh McDonald.
Cleland continued to threaten with his movement in the early stages. A jinking run from the attacker ended when he was clumsily brought down inside the penalty area.
The young striker stepped up and confidently dispatched his spot kick, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way in the process, as he fired low into the bottom-left corner.
The ruthless Hibees had their third inside 25 minutes. Whittaker ventured forward to slam home through a number of defenders on the goal-line after winger Jamie McMurdo was twice blocked from a tight angle.
St Mirren brought themselves back into the tie right on half-time, as an Innes Clark header from a deep corner squirmed under Hibs goalkeeper Ryan Mallon at the back post.
The home team were limited to a handful of chances in the second 45 as Hibs maintained steady control of the match and comfortably held onto their two-goal advantage.
Hibernian remain top of the league table following the win heading into next Friday’s top-of-the-table clash versus Rangers.
