Hibs began life in the Championship with a 2-1 victory in a match that will be long remembered not by the quality of football but goalkeeper Mark Oxley scoring on his debut for the home side.
Farid El Alagui also netted on his debut when his header from a corner flew past Livi keeper Jamieson on 16 minutes but it was the Hibees no.1 who was to grab all the headlines.
Oxley’s long kick from hand took one bounce before sailing over the head of his visiting counterpart and into the net with the bemused Jamieson racing back to attempt to stop it to no avail.
The Hibees keeper initially seemed a little bewildered before realising he could celebrate with his team mates rushing to congratulate him.
So, with Hibs 2 nil up within 20 minutes and looking comfortable they were knocking the ball about with ease, but concerns will be aired over their apparent lack of appetite in a second half where they rested on their laurels.
They handed Livingston a lifeline on the hour mark when a soft free kick award allowed Gallagher to react quickest, after McKenna’s effort had hit the bar, to prod home.
Livingston began to believe they could rescue a point from the match and had a couple of half chances but it was Hibs who should have sealed the victory with twenty minutes left.
Alex Harris slid a perfect ball across the box to Sam Stanton but the youngster completely mishit his effort from the penalty spot and the danger was averted.
Overall, Alan Stubbs will be pleased to register the win but there is still a lot of work to be done if his side are to challenge for the title.
Player Ratings
Mark Oxley 7
Goal scoring keeper’s don’t come around too often so rightly MotM
David Gray 7
Another good shift from the full back
Jordan Forster 6
Largely untroubled throughout
Paul Hanlon 6
Eased through the 90 minutes
Sam Stanton 5
Second poor performance on the trot from the youngster
Lewis Stevenson 5
Guilty of surrendering possession too often when in a good position
Liam Craig 6
Ran his heart out for the side and wasn’t shy to give the ref a mouthful
Scott Robertson 6
Average day for the midfielder
Alex Harris 7
Winger looked lively and should have had an assist to his name
Paul Heffernan 5
Didn’t get involved as he’d have liked and looked a yard short of pace
Farid El Alagui 7
Scored on his debut and always looking for the ball
Matthew Kennedy 5
Little time to make impact
Jason Cummings 5
On at the same time as Kennedy but little time to effect game.
Ref : Bobby Madden 4
Annoyed the home fans for apparent favouritism towards Livingston. Awarded a succession of free kicks where there was little contact.
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