The key Hibs men and moments from win over Livingston

Hibs, too, could perhaps do without it as they hit their stride in a comfortable 3-0 victory over Livingston on Saturday. Nick Montgomery's side had the points wrapped up inside 22 minutes, flashing three past the Premiership's bottom side on a day where their relegation to the second tier was all but confirmed. 

Jordan Obita, Myziane Maolida and Adam Le Fondre were on target, but this was an impressive team display punctuated by delightfully-worked goals. Here, the Hibs Observer highlights some star performers and breaks down their key moments.

Le Fondre's movement

Adam Le Fondre has made a significant impact since being reintroduced to the side in Dylan Vente's absence through injury. The 37-year-old's season was hampered by a knee injury back in October and, in hindsight, it's perhaps been overlooked how much his influence has been missed - particularly by the Dutchman, who struck up a good understanding with his fellow striker and was watching on from the stands at the weekend.

The Englishman was consistently impactful in the early weeks of Montgomery's tenure, serving as the link between midfield and attack, and it seems that his removal from the picture did coincide with a drop-off in Hibs' output in the final third. Le Fondre is an efficient finisher but his movement is so important to him consistently finding himself in positions to shoot. Despite his advancing years, he's still no slouch, but it's the intelligence of the positions he picks up that negate any decline in explosiveness.

He possesses a fine understanding of timing and space, as evidenced in Hibs' first goal. Le Fondre initially gestures for Nectar Triantis to move the ball wide to Myziane Maolida but when he becomes aware that the gap between Livingston's defenders has grown invitingly wide, he's immediately peeling off into the vacated space.

His body positioning means the covering centre-back has no way of getting to the ball as Triantis slides the pass through, and he's unselfish enough to play in Obita for the finish.

Livingston struggled to deal with the areas he picked up, and his ability to play first-time when receiving the ball makes it doubly difficult for defenders to get to grips with him. The example below encapsulates how Le Fondre looks to bring others into the game, making a clever run to open up a passing lane for Chris Cadden, and then executing a well-weight lay-off that allows Emiliano Marcondes to step onto the ball.

The timing of the run, the awareness, the weight of the pass - all qualities that set Le Fondre apart on Saturday.

Youan's effectiveness

Nobody in this Hibs team provokes stronger reactions from fans than Élie Youan, and any frustration directed at him often comes from knowing exactly what he's capable of on-form. Saturday was one of those days when it went right, if we overlook the moment in the second half when he elected to let a ball drift out of play when a bit of pace would have seen him catch up with it. StatsBomb rated Youan's On-Ball Value (which measures actions which contributed to chances and goals) at 0.49, the highest of any player on the pitch. He registered two assists and was a constant menace on the right flank.

Decision-making is among the primary criticisms Youan faces but he was faultless in Saturday's big moments. His pass into Myziane for the second goal was excellent, picking the right ball in a crowded area and weighting it perfectly. It would have been easy to fire a pass into the ruck of bodies, or even have a pop at goal, but Youan keeps his composure to pick out his team-mate near the penalty spot. 

As shown on the passing network above, Youan was also given license to roam inside, and his fluidity of movement contributed to Livingston's failure to stop Hibs playing through the middle of the pitch. In the example below, he drifts into a central pocket and gets turned, sliding a finely-weighted pass through to Le Fondre for a shot on target.

Youan now has 18 goal contributions for Hibs this season, an indisputably impressive return. For all he provokes the odd groan from the Easter Road stands, the team would undoubtedly be in a worse position without him, and is a more dangerous proposition when he is on the pitch.

Link up with Cadden

Chris Cadden holding width on the right allowed Youan to make those forays in-field, but it was on the flank they made their most effective combination. Again, Livingston are all over the place as Hibs play out and advance up the right wing, with Cadden allowed to drive unchallenged over the halfway line. In the example below, the obvious route (highlighted in yellow) would be to play into Youan's feet and allow him to drive at the defender, but the right-back is clever, biding his time until a more penetrative pass becomes available.

READ MORE: Nick Montgomery on Marshall sub, Le Fondre, clinical finishing

Note how Cadden shapes to play the ball directly out to Youan, disguising his intention to split the Livingston defenders and send the winger in behind. This disguise flummoxes Cristian Montano, who is beaten all ends up by Cadden's clever pass and Youan's searing pace.

Cadden has been impressive since being thrust back into the first-team picture, and his handling of three matches in six days suggests any lingering concern over his long-term injury recovery has dissipated. He pulled up with some muscle tightness in the second-half, but Montgomery did not seem overly concerned by it in his post-match press conference.

READ MORE: Jojo Wollacott speaks on Hibs future, David Marshall, AFCON

StatsBomb rated Cadden with a high 0.14 OBV, and his xG build-up since coming back into the fray is 1.44. It's a small sample, currently, but with the league average at 0.38, it demonstrates that he has hit the ground running since his return.