Saturday April 4th 2026
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Ewan Hornell
Hibs closed the gap on Motherwell to two points in a 3-0 win. Owen Elding made it a dream start for Hibs scoring straight from kick off and Felix Passlack found another not long after to put them two ahead the half. Ante Suto capped off the day with a second half stoppage time goal to seal the third and the win.
With 7 games remaining before today, Hibs found themselves caught between a season that could quietly fade out or spark a late surge. It may not have felt like it, but they only sat 5 points behind 4th placed Motherwell, with Falkirk trailing them by the same margin. Today’s fixture against 11th placed Kilmarnock gave them a valuable chance to build momentum prior to the split.
Kilmarnock arrived in the capital in high spirits having defeated league leaders Hearts prior to the international break. Their uptick in form has risen them to level on points with St Mirren and within touching distance of Aberdeen. For once this season Killie are looking at catching those above and not holding off those below.
With fans not yet in their seats and the clock yet to reach 20 seconds Hibs squashed any hopes Kilmarnock had of building on that heroic win over Hearts – taking the lead straight from kick off.
Felix Passlack weaved his way through the Kilmarnock defence as they scrambled to get to find their positions. But, it was too late. On the edge of the box Passlack played in Owen Elding whose right footed finish found the bottom corner and put the Hibees into the lead.
That lead was doubled inside 15 minutes as Owen Elding’s left footed pass cut the exposed Kilmarnock defence apart. His ball found Jordan Obita running beyond. Kelle Roos, in the Killie, goal rushed out to close him down. As he approached Obita calmy squared it to Felix Passlack to tap the ball home into the empty net.
2-0 Hibs and a dream start for David Gray’s side.
A disallowed goal from Findlay Curtis threatened to upset the first half spirit of Hibs but a VAR checked spotted an offside Killie body in the buildup, keeping the scoreline and momentum in Hibs’ favour.
It took Kilmarnock nearly half an hour to recover from the early Hibs bombardment as they attempted to find a way back into the contest. Their possessional control however, did not cause any discomfort to Raphael Sallinger in the Hibs goal as the first half ended with Hibs still two in front.
It was Felix Passlack once more causing danger in the early stages on the second half. He found himself in beyond the Killie left back and driving towards the box. His cross was in the path of the oncoming Jamie McGrath who’s attempted volley saw no connection with the ball, only half hearted claims for a penalty.
Owen Elding was a constant bright spark for Hibs as he build on his early goal. The Irishman hounded Kilmarnock all over the pitch with his dogged work rate even into the late stages of the match.
Despite a lacklustre second half display comparatively to the highs shown the early exchanges of the first, Hibs found a stoppage time goal to top off the day.
Aussies Ante Suto and Martin Boyle combined for the goal. Boyle found Suto with a low cross and the big Aussie stretched and converted, to cap off the day for the Hibees.
For Neil McCann’s side nothing quite clicked today. Their work rate never waned but despite all their running they were unable to carve out any significant efforts on the Hibs goal. Any chances with a semblance of hope were tidily mopped up by Hanley, Iredale and O’Hora all afternoon.
Here’s what David Gray had to say about the win and closing the gap on Motherwell post-match;
‘I did ask for a fast start’, Gray joked.
‘Especially playing at home, you want to start with intensity and get the crowd behind you. Can you get someone to really stamp their authority on the game and 13, 14 seconds was a pretty good return.
‘I spoke before the game on only being able to control the controllable which is all we can worry about because of the situation we were in. So before the game, 6 points behind Motherwell and only playing them once more you are relying on other results.
‘All you can do is take care of your own business and we’ve certainly done that today. Three goals at home, a clean sheet, that’s three clean sheets in a row as well, so from a defensive point of view it was really pleasing.
‘Our form at this stage of the season needs to be strong because of what’s at stake, its very much one game at a time but job done today.’
Motherwell losing 3-2 at home to Falkirk means that Hibs gap to them is now only two points. Hibs face another bottom table side in Aberdeen next week whilst Motherwell have to travel to Hearts. This leaves the chance for a six point swing in two weeks and for Hibs to leapfrog Motherwell right before the split.
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