Pace Up Top
There an element of raw pace about this Hibs side with Èlie Youan and Martin Boyle causing havoc on Saturday and stretching the Kilmarnock back line.
This was evident from the outset on Saturday and led to Ash Taylor’s straight red card on eleven minutes. Boyler latched on to Porteous’ inch-perfect pass over the top and was too quick for Taylor who caught the Australian international and was given his marching orders.
The pair continued to look threatening when it was 11 vs 10 and Kilmarnock were forced to drop deeper to deal with it.
Joe Newell: Midfield Maestro
Newell was everywhere – covering virtually every blade of the Easter Road turf on Saturday.
He grabbed the match-winning goal with an excellent left-footed driven shot after his initial free-kick was saved.
The midfielder was awarded the Whisky Row Man of the Match Award for his performance and he showed bravery to win a crucial header in the middle of the park that put Momodou Bojang through on goal in injury time.
Goals From Midfield
There is an emerging trend of more goals coming from midfield this season.
Joe Newell was the latest midfielder to open his cinch Premiership account for the season following in the footsteps of Josh Campbell who already has two goals to his name and Nohan Kenneh who found the back of the net against Livingston.
Martin Boyle also has two goals to his name, albeit playing in a more attacking role.
More Goals To Come
The Hibees dominated possession and controlled large parts of the game, but ultimately couldn't kill the game off as early as we'd have liked too.
We had 18 attempts on the Kilmarnock goal, eight of which were on target but only Joe Newell's first half strike found the back of the net.
Momodou Bojang had a golden chance to seal the points in injury time, Ryan Porteous and Ewan Henderson went close and strikers Èlie Youan and McKirdy had chances of their own - on a more clinical day the scoreline would've been a lot more comfortable.
A Glimpse of Harry McKirdy
Deadline Day signing Harry McKirdy was straight into the matchday squad after his transfer was approved by FIFA late on Friday night.
The 25-year-old – who managed 23 goals in 44 games for Swindon Town last season – started on the bench but was introduced to the action early in the second half.
The striker looked lively down the left-flank, created chances for his teammates and could have had a goal himself. He went close with a well-timed diving header following a Chris Cadden cross and had a couple of shooting chances – a flash of what is to come for Hibernian FC supporters.
