Hibs buck losing trend as Kevin Nisbet inspires Livingston rout to ease the pressure - 3 talking points
dailyrecord.co.ukLee Johnson lapped up a 4-0 demolition of 10-man Livingston as Hibs brought a four game run of defeats to a halt in style.The Easter Road boss watched Jason Holt's first half red card help open the floodgates for his side who had Kyle Magennis firing a double as Kevin Nisbet and Chris Cadden were also on target.
An emphatic victory eases the pressure on Johnson who will now go into next Wednesday's clash with Celtic on a high and then get ready for the Edinburgh derby five days later.Nisbet should have sent Hibs into a third minute lead when he raced clear on goal but his finish was straight into the body of Lions keeper Ivan Konovalov.
It was the type of opportunity which is normally maximised by a player still fine tuning after his lengthy injury layoff. Then VAR refused to intervene after Bruce Anderson superbly controlled a high ball before trying to get a shot away but despite appearing to be clipped by Paul Hanlon, referee Craig Napier was having none of it.The whistler was at the heart of the game's flashpoint in the 14th minute when Livi were reduced to ten men after he deemed Holt's late challenge on Nisbet as a red card offence.
It appeared harsh in the extreme but it was also a cue for Ryan Porteous to get involved as he was involved in a barging match with Holt to earn a caution as did Andrew Shinnie who joined in the altercation.Nisbet then tapped in a Cadden cross only for the linesman's offside flag bringing a halt to his celebrations.
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