St Mirren made it four wins on the spin for the first time since 2008 with an assured victory over league leaders Hibernian at the Paisley 2021 Stadium.
Cypriot Stelios Demetriou was on the scoresheet twice as he scored either side of half time - his first goals since joining the Buddies in January.
The Buddies started in hungry fashion and were unlucky not to be ahead with 13 minutes played when Kyle Magennis forced Ofir Marciano to work. Stevie Mallan sent an expert cross field ball towards John Sutton inside the box and the Englishman cushioned a header to Magennis who fired low into the right corner only to see the visiting goalkeeper tip the ball wide.
It was Magennis who went closest to opening the scoring again when he cracked the cross bar after a cross from Morgan. Morgan did well on a driving run to keep the ball in play and expertly picked put Magennis whose volley looked to be heading into the top corner before smashing off the bar and going over.
Saints had been on top but minutes after Magennis' chance hit the bar, the Hibees were almost ahead. John McGinn played in a wonderfully teasing cross that just evaded Efe Ambrose, making his Hibs debut, thanks to the fingertips of Billy O'Brien who clawed the ball away.
And the Buddies took a well deserved lead 10 minutes later when Stelios grabbed his first St Mirren goal. The full back charged down the flank and was expertly picked out by Mallan before cutting into the box and lashing it beyond Marciano at the near post to spark wild celebrations in the Paisley 2021 Stadium.
Fraser Fyvie had a gilt-edged opportunity to get the Hibees back on level terms just before half time after coming on to McGinn's pass inside the area but he fired well over.
HALF TIME: St Mirren 1-0 Hibernian
The second half was barely a minute old when Stelios struck again to double Saints advantage. He took the ball from Morgan on the left side before cutting in on his right foot and driving the ball low to the near post where it kissed the post on its way into the net. It was a fabulous start to the second half and gave the Buddies a cushion.
Saints were buoyant and Cammy Smith went close on two occasions. The first, a shot dragged wide from 25 yards, but the second looked like it was heading in for the far corner
Captain, Stephen McGinn was next to go close as he forced Marciano to stretch as he tipped McGinn's effort just by the post. It gave St Mirren a corner that was only half dealt with by Hibs before falling to Morgan who left fly from outside the area with the shot whistling just over the bar.
As Saints looked to extend their lead the fragility of a two goal deficit was almost shown when O'Brien was called into action a minute later as he made a tremendous double save to deny Martin Boyle and then Grant Holt. It looked as though Hibs were destined to pull a goal back at a vital stage in the match but the loanee did brilliantly well to keep his hopes of a clean sheet alive.
Still though it was St Mirren who were doing the creating and Harry Davis was unlucky to see one cleared off the line after getting on the end of a scramble from a Saints corner.
And with just over ten minutes to go, Lewis Morgan should have made it 3-0 after a neat exchange between Magennis and Mallan found the 20 year-old winger in acres of space inside the box, but he dragged it wide of the left hand post.
That was to be the last clear cut chance for either side in the match as Saints saw out the closing minutes comfortably to secure another huge three points in the battle to remain in the Ladbrokes Championship
FULL TIME: St Mirren 2-0 Hibernian
St Mirren: O'Brien, Irvine (Fjelde 62), MacKenzie, Davis, Stelios, Magennis (Todd 86), S.McGinn, Smith (Baird 90), Mallan, Morgan, Sutton
Subs Not Used: Langfield, Webster, Loy, Storie,
Hibernian: Marciano, Gray, McGregor, Ambrose, Stevenson, Bartley (Holt 59), J.McGinn, Shinnie (Keatings 70), Fyvie, Boyle (Graham 78), Cummings
Subs Not Used: Laidlaw, McLean, Crane, Martin
Referee: Euan Anderson
Assistant Referee: David McGeachie
Assistant Referee: David Burns
Attendance: 3441
