Dundee United kicked their drawing habit with a convincing victory over Hibs at Tannadic that lifted them into the top half of the SPL.
Eight out of United’s previous nine matches had ended in a stalemate, but there was never any real doubt of this one being anything other than a home win from the moment skipper Jon Daly put them in front early on.
The Edinburgh side have now gone 10 league games without a win and over 10 hours without a goal, which is relegation form by anybody’s standards.
Their defence was in disarray on several occasions on Sunday, and two more goals from man of the match Craig Conway and substitute Johnny Russell were just reward for United’s superiority.
United manager Peter Houston said, “I actually didn’t feel as comfortable as you would think with that scoreline. We can play a lot better.
“But I’m not going to complain because it’s a great win – our second in a row at home.”
He added, “We scored some good goals and Craig Conway gave us the creativity we’ve been missing. He put in some great crosses.”
Conway is hoping that he has put his injury problems behind him and that he is now in the United team to stay.
He said, “It’s been a stop-start season for me so far, which has been really frustrating.
“It’s brilliant to be back and to play in a game like that where I saw a lot of the ball. I just tried to get it into the box as quick as I could and things seemed to happen.”Bright startHibs boss Colin Calderwood admitted his team got the result they deserved because “we didn’t defend.”
He said, “It’s something we know we have to address but I’m sure we’ll get it right. We’ve got a big game coming up against St Mirren and we need the supporters to give us something above and beyond the call of duty.”
There were three changes to the United team which drew against St Mirren in midweek, with Daly and Scott Robertson returning from suspension and Paisley goalscorer David Robertson getting a start. Morgaro Gomis, Stuart Armstrong and Russell were the men to drop out.
Calderwood gave debuts to transfer window signings from Ross County and Liverpool respectively, Martin Scott and Victor Palsson.
United started brightly and on three minutes Conway sent over a long diagonal cross from the left aimed at David Robertson. The midfielder was on the stretch however, and couldn’t keep his volley on target.
Hibs were next to threaten two minutes later. Liam Miller tried to sneak a left-foot shot past Dusan Pernis from an acute angle but it went into the side netting.
There was another near-miss on 10 minutes. Callum Booth delivered a long free-kick into the box which was met by Colin Nish, who headed the ball on to Danny Galbraith. The former Manchester United wideman chose to shoot first time and his crisply struck effort shaved the crossbar.
The deadlock was broken by United on 12 minutes. A Keith Watson cross from the right was helped on by David Robertson to Daly. The Irishman found himself unmarked eight yards out and steered the ball home past Graeme Smith.
Midway through the half Daly came close to grabbing a second but he didn’t get enough on his glancing header from a Conway cross from the left and it flew wide of Smith’s left hand post.
A hesitant Hibs rearguard failed to clear a Conway corner and the ball fell to the right foot of Garry Kenneth. The big centre-back couldn’t take advantage of the gift though, and skied his shot over the bar.Internationals’ partnershipDavid Goodwillie broke down the right and evaded a challenge from Francis Dickoh. Conway was free at the back post for what would have been a simple finish, but his team-mate’s cross was cleared by Richie Towell before it could get to him.
Five minutes before the break a Scott Robertson shot from the edge of the box narrowly missed Smith’s right-hand post.
Goodwillie got the first sight of goal in the second half but he lashed a shot on the turn high and wide.
The Tannadice striker had a hand in United’s second just moments later, however. He fed the ball through the middle to his fellow Scotland international, Conway, to run on to.
The winger didn’t have to break stride, outpaced Dickoh and gave Smith no chance with a perfectly struck shot high into the net from just inside the box.
A rare opportunity to work Pernis came David Wotherspoon’s way on 55 minutes, but he was off balance when he shot from 16 yards out and the Slovakian didn’t have too much trouble keeping his tame effort out.
The Tangerines should have put the game out of Hibs’ reach on 62 minutes when Goodwillie unselfishly squared to David Robertson. In hindsight he should probably have shot himself, as Robertson lacked composure and blazed the ball over.
Calderwood made a double substitution two minutes later, with Darryl Duffy and Kurtis Byrne sent on for Towell and Galbraith.
It made no difference as United continued to dominate and their third goal arrived on 80 minutes.
A Conway corner produced a goalmouth scramble before the ball found its way back to the taker. Conway returned a cross into the danger area where Johnny Russell, who had replaced Goodwillie a few minutes earlier, had his header blocked by the feet of Smith.
The 20-year-old made no mistake with the rebound, though, for his fifth United goal.
Hibs had an injury-time flurry but Pernis parried a Byrne shot to ensure he kept a cleansheet.
Prince Buaben and Scott, who squared up on 75 minutes, were the only players booked.