Hibernian equalled a club record of 17 successive Premiership games unbeaten with an emphatic 4-0 win over Dundee which took them clear in third place.
Defender Rocky Bushiri scored from a Martin Boyle corner in the 26th minute at Easter Road and substitute Kieron Bowie doubled the lead in the 68th minute before Dwight Gayle, another replacement, curled in a third with 12 minutes remaining.
Bowie grabbed his second in the 84th minute to add further gloss to the result, which as well as matching a record set in 1948 also took David Gray’s side three points clear of Dundee United and Aberdeen in third place, with five post-split fixtures remaining.
Tony Docherty’s side, who fell apart in the second half, remain five points ahead of bottom side St Johnstone and one behind Ross County and Kilmarnock and will have to produce much more in the run-in to get away from the relegation play-off spot.
Gray watched his team take the initiative from the kick-off, with Dundee scrambling to keep the home side at bay.
In the ninth minute Mykola Kukharevych set up the unmarked Junior Hoilett with a cutback from the byline, but his fellow attacker failed to connect properly with the ball and it shot sideways to safety.
That appeared to jolt the visitors into action and a clever Dundee free-kick released Simon Murray, the former Hibs striker forcing a save from goalkeeper Jordan Smith with his angled drive.
In the 20th minute Hibs broke quickly following a Dundee corner and Kukharevych combined with Hoilett before smacking a shot against a post with ‘keeper Trevor Carson beaten.
The home side got the deserved breakthrough when, from an inswinging Boyle corner, Bushiri volleyed in on the turn in a packed six-yard box for his fourth goal of the season.
Hibernian’s Rocky Bushiri celebrates scoring to make it 1-0
Kukharevych came close with a drive just before the break as Hibs finished the half still on top, but Dundee came out with more purpose at the start of the second half, although that soon waned.
A mix-up between Dundee captain Joe Shaughnessy and ‘keeper Carson in the 65th minute saw the defender head just wide of his own goal.
Bowie had only been on the pitch for four minutes after replacing Kukharevych when he swept a cutback from full-back Lewis Miller high past Carson.
Bowie then turned provider when he passed to Gayle inside the box and the veteran striker curled a delightful shot past Carson and into the far corner.
Hibernian’s Kieron Bowie celebrates scoring against Dundee
The Taysiders were bereft and Bowie was involved again when he headed in a cross from substitute Nicky Cadden, on for brother Chris, to seal a fine afternoon’s work before Dundee hit a post in added time.
The Leith side can now focus on securing a European spot which had looked out of the question during their poor start to the campaign, while Dundee’s fight for survival goes into the final five games, where they will have to show more than they did against Hibs.
What the managers said…
Hibernian boss David Gray said: “A great performance, fantastic result. To score four goals in the Premiership is very difficult, but delighted with the clean sheet as well.
“The level of consistency, the level of performance and the effort I’m getting from the players every single day in training and in games now is incredible and that’s a reflection on 17 games undefeated, which is an incredible achievement.
“We talk about it [the record], but at the same time we’ve been very much about short-term goals a lot this season because of the nature of the season and where we’ve found ourselves, to where we are now.
“Little incentives to try and change history in positive ways, it’s probably a quote I’ve used a lot this season, but we’ve managed to do that several times and today was another opportunity to do that.
“The challenge for us is, if we keep winning, nobody can catch us.
“I keep saying that to the players all the time and, if that keeps happening, the run will keep going. The players are desperate to keep that going. There’s a real feel-good factor around the club at the minute.
“It’s a real togetherness from the staff to the players, to the fans, the powers that be above, everyone’s in a real good place, but we’re all determined now to make sure we finish as strong as we can.”
Dundee boss Tony Docherty: “Today was a surprise for me, I must admit. That’s something that we need to get to the bottom of as a group.
“There’s a lot of frustration and disappointment.
“The team that have been as good as we’ve been in our last four league fixtures, beating St Mirren, beating Dundee United, should have got a positive result against Rangers and a draw against St Johnstone, that team never turned up in the first half.
“Now whether that was down to Hibs’ reputation or whatever, but certainly we addressed that at half-time.
“I thought when we came out in the second half, we were a better team. I thought it was us looking like the team that were going to get the next goal.
“That’s the team I want to see, that’s the bravery I want to see. But then to allow the game to flow and go away from us the way we did in the second, third and fourth goal, we need to take real responsibility for it.
“It’s happened too many times. So there’s real disappointment from that point of view.”
