Late goals from Colin Nish and Liam Miller were required for Hibernian to see of a stubborn Aberdeen side who looked as though they were going to hold on for a share of the points - in spite of their being down to nine men for the last half-hour. It was a pulsating afternoon in front of a big crowd at Easter Road this afternoon, and those two late strikes sent the home support on their way home happy in the knowledge that for this evening at least their side have reached the lofty position of second place in the SPL.

Unsurprisingly John Hughes kept faith with the same starting eleven that had performed fantastically well for him last weekend at Ibrox. Unfortunately that meant no place from the start for Lewis Stevenson who gave excellent account of himself as a substitute last time out; he had to be content with a place on the bench once more.

After only 3 minutes Hibernian carved out their first opportunity when Benjelloun and Zemmama linked up superbly to put Stokes clean through on goal - but the striker had a poor first touch and that was enough to allow Ifil to take the ball away from him. There was then an early yellow card for the home side when referee Nicholls cautioned Zemmama for simulation, a harsh decision that laid a marker for the game and was quickly followed by a yellow for Ifil for a late challenge on Benjelloun.

Bad news was to follow for Hibernian who were forced into an early change when Zemmama limped from the field on 15 minutes, he was replaced by Kurtis Byrne taking up the right-midfield position he occupied for the Under-19 side last term. In an open first period Hibernian were next to threaten when Riordan's deep free kick picked out Benjelloun in a crowded penalty area, but the Moroccan was unable to keep his header down and it drifted off target..

The game was certainly shaping up to be a tasty encounter and a late challenge from Ross on Riordan earned the former Rangers defender the third caution of the match after only 20 minutes. Six minutes later Stokes slipped the ball to Byrne on the edge of the Aberdeen penalty area, the youngster steadied himself and with the goal opening up he looked set to break the deadlock - but a fantastic late sliding clearance from Foster was enough to divert the shot off target.

From the resulting corner kick Riordan picked out Bamba, however the powerful defender's header was over the top of the bar. Derek Riordan was coming in for some rough treatment from the visitors and Maguire picked up a yellow card for a late lunge on the Hibernian striker that would prove particularly costly for Aberdeen later in the game. A clumsy foul then from McBride on Maguire on 36 minutes gifted Aberdeen a free kick 25 yards from goal, but free kick specialist Charlie Mulgrew struck a poor effort on this occasion and could not get beyond the defensive wall.

As half time approached a long clearance downfield from Bamba gave Stokes the chance to have a strike a goal, his left foot effort was well off target much to the relief of Ifil who had been left for dead by the Irishman. On 42 minutes a misunderstanding between Riordan and Miller allowed Aberdeen to break from a Hibernian free kick deep in the visitor's half. Fyvie attempted to race away down the Aberdeen left he was pulled down by Riordan, earning the Hibernian striker a yellow card that this time few could argue with.

There is no doubt that Aberdeen boss Mark McGhee would have been the happier of the two managers at the break as while his side had not offered much in attack they had managed to show just why their defence had performed so well away from home this season..

Half Time: Hibernian 0 Aberdeen 0

There were no further changes at the interval as Aberdeen got the second half underway. The second period had barely begun when Aberdeen were reduced to ten men - Maurice Ross went through the back of former team-mate Ian Murray and that earned the defender a second yellow card with the red quickly following.

On 58 minutes Riordan cut inside Mulgrew on the edge of the penalty area and his low right foot effort was just pushed around the post by the diving Langfield. From the resulting corner kick Considine headed from the gaol-line as Hibernian continued to put the Aberdeen defence under pressure as they set about breaking through the deadlock.

Seconds later Aberdeen were down to just nine men when Maguire was shown a straight red card by referee Nicholls for a terrible challenge on Kevin McBride that left he Hibernian midfielder writhing in agony on the Easter Road turf. Maguire had been booked in the first half but the referee this time had clearly decided the challenge merited the red card on its own.

Riordan once more brought out a decent save from Langfield at his near post before Mulgrew at last forced Stacks into action with a dipping free kick that was hit straight at the goalkeeper. Wotherspoon was replaced by Nish on 64 minutes as John Hughes put a striker number five into the action. Not long after that change a Riordan free kick was played just in front of goalkeeper Langfield and although Stokes got there before the Aberdeen man he was unable to guide his header on target as the visitor's goal survived another scare.

Aberdeen were holding on but only just as wave after wave of Hibernian attacks came at them, to their great credit however the under-strength Dons were at times belying the fact that they were two men down. From a deep cross from Hogg Nish sent a header just wide under pressure from McDonald, before Langfield took the opportunity to waste a few more precious seconds.

Further chances continued to come for the home side, Miller having a shot block before Byrne fired over from the rebound, but still Hibernian could not break down the men from the Granite City. Against the run of play Aberdeen almost took the lead themselves when Stack had to push a shot from distance by Kerr over his bar.
Aberdeen's numerical disadvantage was highlighted from the corner when they were only able to push three players into the Hibernian penalty area. Hibernian burst forward at pace and a decoy run from Miller allowed Stokes to cut inside and his powerful left foot shot was saved well by Langfield.

John Hughes final change of the afternoon saw Rankin replace Benjelloun on 78 minutes before an injury to Fyvie resulted in Aberdeen man leaving the field on a stretcher and being replaced by Young. Remarkably the Dons still found space to attack on the break, notably when Mark Kerr was not far away with a lobbed effort as Stack was stranded following a punch clear from Miller.

With the clock ticking down towards full time Hibernian's approach became more desperate with Stokes and Rankin guilty of snatching at chances when composure would have reaped greater benefit. The required composure however was provided with just two minutes of normal time remaining - Colin Nish rose to head home Byrne's perfect cross, and the home stand erupted with delight and no shortage of relief.

Almost immediately from the restart Aberdeen won a corner kick and with the game almost over they threw forward goalkeeper Langfield for the set-piece. Mulgrew's cross was over the head of everyone and a counter attack looked on as Stokes raced away but a fantastic tackle from Foster saved the day for Aberdeen. Deep into injury time Hibernian made the points safe when Nish did fantastically on the left to win possession from Mulgrew before passing to Riordan. He raced forward and poked the ball through the legs of Considine for Liam Miller who sent a powerful strike goalward - it took a deflection but that did not bother Miller who was off and celebrating his first strike for Hibernian.

That was the final action of a deserved victory - John Hughes men had dominated from the start and although they had to wait for their goals they were worth waiting for. Next up is Tynecastle, and Hibernian go into the first Edinburgh Derby of the season in great form and fully eleven points ahead of their city rivals.

Hibernian: Stack, Hogg, Bamba, Murray, McBride, Wotherspoon, Zemmama, Miller, Riordan, Benjelloun, Stokes. Subs: Ma-Kalambay, Cregg, Nish, Stevenson, Thicot, Rankin, Byrne.

Aberdeen: Langfield, Mulgrew, Foster, McDonald, Considine, Ifil, Maguire, Kerr, Miller, Ross, Fyvie. Subs: Bain, Young, Wright, Duff, Paton, Crawford, Hansson.

Referee: Steven Nicholls.

Report: Richard Payne