Sunday November 9th 2025
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Ewan Hornell
With three draws in the last three fixtures between the two sides it is never easy when St Mirren and Hibs meet. The two sides were coming off two weeks that differed drastically in fortune. St Mirren managed to secure their place in the League Cup Final with a convincing 4-1 victory over Motherwell. For Hibs a defeat to Rangers and draw with bottom placed side Livingston had them seeking a victory to regain some momentum before the international break.
Last week it was Hibs who got off to the fast start, this week saw roles reversed. With 5 minutes gone a short St Mirren corner found its way into the box and with Hibs defence applying minimal Hibs pressure. St Mirren Captain, Marcus Fraser wandered into the box and met the ball with a powerful header finding the back of the net, thinking he had put the home side ahead.
But a confusing VAR and referee miscommunication ultimately meant there was too be no goal. The confusion stemmed from the referee who had initially pointed to the centre circle after the VAR check, indicating a goal but not even 5 seconds later he had reversed this and signalled for a Hibs free kick instead.
Despite an initial scare it was the away side who broke the deadlock first. St Mirren caught playing out from defence had the ball stolen by Jamie McGrath who tackled Jayden Richardson and found Josh Mulligan arriving late into the box. Hibs’ summer signing made no mistake and hammered the ball home, putting Hibs in front and continuing his excellent first few months in green.
St Mirren seemed sluggish for the large majority of the first half suffering from Hampden hangover as Hibs found gaps through their midfield at ease. As sluggish as they looked they may have felt they should have made it one a piece before the break. In the 36th minute a right footed, whipped cross from Liam Donnely found the head of Australian, Keanu Baccus who from 5 yards out was denied by the feet of Hibs Goalkeeper, Raphael Sallingers.
The squandered St Mirren chance meant it remained 1-0 at the break.
As the second half began St Mirren flew out of the traps as they looked to draw level and it only took a minute before Dan Nlundulu’s right footed effort curled into the back of the net. But just as in the first half it was not to stand. As again VAR ruled it out keeping the home side trailing by one goal.
The two VAR decisions which saw both goals taken away from St Mirren deflated the crowd and players alike.
From then on Hibs showed their class, piling on increased pressure. In the 52nd minute a cross from Nicky Cadden ricocheted off Kieron Bowie’s boot and out wide right to the other Cadden, Chris. He lashed a volley with his right foot into the corner, putting Hibs 2-0 ahead. The goal a sweet one for Cadden in his first minutes since being substituted in the first half against Rangers.
With nothing more than failed counter attacks and flashed crosses across the box from St Mirren, it was the away side who piled on more misery. A corner found its way to the edge of the box to Hibs midfielder, Miguel Chaiwa. His well struck volley took a heavy deflection of a St Mirren player on its way to the crossbar before bouncing into the goal and making it 3-0.
The home fans had seen enough as they began to filter out of the stands, as the Hibs support grew louder in admiration of their sides performance.
In post-match comments David Gray acknowledged that his side had earned some fortune with decisions after last week’s close call with Kieron Bowie:
“Football is very fine margins as well, so if you think about the last few weeks I’ve been saying how fine margins maybe not quite went for us. Tonight it certainly did.
“Huge moments that have went for us tonight and I think the players have deserved that for what they’ve put in.”
The St Mirren Manager Stephen Robinson expressed his frustration with VAR but indicated he and his side should have been better:
“I’ll try and control what I can control. I can’t really say what I really think. So what I’ll do is just look at what I can do better.
“I thought we reacted poorly when we equalised. I didn’t think we picked ourselves up enough after that. I changed the shape, I changed the personnel. We didn’t get the response we wanted, but again that’s on us, that’s on me.”
Three goals, three points and a clean sheet breaks the drawing streak between the two teams and leaves Hibs entering the international break positively as they continue to battle out with Hearts, Celtic and Rangers in the top half of the league.
For St Mirren a loss brings them back to reality after the highs of Hampden last week and draws them further into an increasingly interesting relegation battle.
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