John Hughes was looking for his side to respond in a positive manner after a heavy defeat at Ibrox Stadium on Sunday, the Hibernian manger keeping faith with the majority of the players that started against Rangers with Riordan replacing Gow the only change. In the event however it proved to be the darkest hour and a half of the Hughes tenure as manager at Easter Road, Hibernian simply never coming to terms with their opponents and suffering their heaviest defeat of the season as a result.

Hibernian got the action underway and despite a bright start it was St Johnstone that had the first opportunity of the game when Benjelloun was slack in defence and his pass for Hogg was cut out by Mackay, the defender unleashed a first time left foot drive from the edge of the penalty area but his effort was straight at goalkeeper Smith who gathered comfortably. The Edinburgh side failed to take note of the early warning and on 4 minutes St Johnstone moved ahead. Miller's clearance only found Deuchar on the edge of the penalty area and his knockdown was smashed low into the net by Liam Craig to stun the travelling support.

The visitor's were rocked by the loss of the opening goal so early in proceedings - and before they could regain their composure they found themselves two behind when Davidson's cross was flicked into the net by Cillian Sheridan. The large following from Edinburgh could hardly believe their eyes as Hibernian struggled against their rampant hosts, and it could have been worse when on 13 minutes it took a fantastic stop from Smith to prevent Hibernian slipping further behind. The goalkeeper threw himself across goal to push away a powerful drive from Deuchar, after the powerful striker had turned away from Murray. A slack header back from Bamba then put Smith under pressure as Hibernian threatened to push the self-destruct button once more, on this occasion the goalkeeper came to the rescue by saving bravely at the feet of Sheridan.

For a team that had been playing with tremendous confidence all season Hibernian were looking a shadow of their former selves and the only positive to be taken from the opening 30 minutes was that they were not further behind. St Johnstone on the other hand were full of fight and determination, making sure they were first to every ball - and they almost increased their lead when a shot from Miller was flicked towards goal by Sheridan only to be blocked by Rankin at the near post. The impressive Sheridan was winning his personal battle with Bamba and almost caught out Smith after shrugging off the defender and trying to beat the goalkeeper at his near post but found his effort blocked.

As half time loomed Hibernian were awarded a free kick in a good position, Riordan took responsibility for it but his delivery was poor and failed to put the St Johnstone defence under any real pressure. Liam Craig was impressing in the St Johnstone midfield and his incredible work rate was not being matched by his opponents. It was then that a bitterly disappointing first half came to an end with Hibernian yet to register a credible effort on goal against a St Johnstone side that had dominated from start to finish.

Half Time: St Johnstone 2 Hibernian 0

Surprisingly there were no changes during the interval as St Johnstone picked up where they left off by winning a corner kick in the opening seconds. The delivery from Moon was only cleared as far as Millar and he was not far away with a snap shot that fizzed just past Smith's near post. Liam Craig had perhaps been St Johnstone's best player but on 50 minutes he missed a fantastic opportunity to put the game beyond Hibernian when left with only Smith to beat. A long ball forward from Moon appeared to be heading harmlessly towards goalkeeper Smith only for Bamba to slide in and attempt to cut it out - but only succeeding in knocking the ball to Craig. With all the time in the world to pick his spot, Craig rushed his effort and fired straight at a grateful Smith.

Seconds later Smith had to get down quickly to keep out a left foot shot from Sheridan after the on loan Celtic forward had again out-muscled Bamba. Smith was then well position to save from a powerful Duberry header following a corner from Craig. Hibernian had to get their act together quickly if they were going to find a way back into this game and they at last put St Johnstone under pressure when Riordan's back heel allowed Murray to race in behind the home defence on the left, only for his cross to be cut out. Riordan was quickest to react to the loose ball and his fierce drive was deflected wide for corner kick.

Moments later Hibernian had the ball in the net when Hogg's header from Riordan's cross struck Stokes to wrong foot Smith and rolled into the St Johnstone net. The Irishman's celebrations were correctly cut short however as he was in an offside position when the ball stuck him. Anderson picked up the first yellow card of the evening for a poor challenge on Hogg before John Hughes attempted to inject some life into his flailing side by introducing Nish and Wotherspoon for Moroccan duo Benjelloun and Zemmama.

Before either of the substitutes could make an impression St Johnstone looked to have put the game beyond Hibernian when Kenny Deuchar bulleted a header beyond Smith from Sheridan's cross. St Johnstone looked home and dry but minutes later Hibernian pulled a goal back when Rankin's ball over the top saw Anthony Stokes hold off Gartland before rounding Smith and rolling the ball into the empty net for his 16th goal of the season. The Hibernian supporters now expected their side to lay siege to the St Johnstone goal - but any hope the visitors had of rescuing anything from this game evaporated in a crazy 60 second spell. First Colin Nish, who had only been on the field a matter of minutes, was given a straight red card for an off the ball incident spotted by referee assistant Gary Cheyne.

Immediately from the restart Hibernian conceded when Deuchar avoided a number of challenges before his cut back was smashed into the roof of the net from close range by Cillian Sheridan. The on-form striker then left the field to a standing ovation when he was replaced by Milne on 75 minutes. John Hughes could hardly believe what he was watching and his frustrations were compounded when he was sent to the stand by referee Winter. The Hibernian manger would have been unlikely to have found his seat in the Main Stand before St Johnstone netted a fifth goal from the penalty spot. A cross into the box was needlessly handled by Bamba and although Smith managed to block the spot kick from Liam Craig, Hibernian's luck was summed up when the ball spun to the opposite side of the goal and crossed the line.

Shortly after the restart Wotherspoon split the home defence to put Riordan clean through on goal only for the striker to be incorrectly pulled by for offside by assistant Mitchell. Wotherspoon attempted to reduce the deficit with a rasping shot from distance but there was no way past goalkeeper Smith who was well position to save. It was then that a fantastic evening for St Johnstone ended with the impressive Deuchar leaving the field on a stretcher after coming off worse in a challenge from Murray. There didn't appear to be anything wrong with the Hibernian defender's tackle but no one wants an opponent to pick up an injury.

St Johnstone: Smith, Mackay, Anderson, Duberry, Gartland, Millar, Davidson, Moon, Craig, Deuchar, Sheridan. Subs: Main, Irvine, Connolly, Sheerin, Swankie, Milne, Samuel.

Hibernian: Smith, Hogg, Murray, Bamba, Hanlon, Miller, Zemmama, Rankin, Stokes, Benjelloun, Riordan. Subs: Stack, Cregg, Nish, Wotherspoon, Gow, Thicot, Stevenson.

Report: Richard Payne
Pics: Alan Rennie for Hibernian TV