Ross County were left wondering what might have been after two second half goals consigned them to defeat against Hibernian at Easter Road.
All was largely going to plan for the Staggies, who had succeeded in frustrating the home side until the hour mark.
Hibs were gifted the initiative when a blunder from goalkeeper George Wickens allowed Myziane Maolida to net the opening goal.
County’s best chance to equalise came through Eamonn Brophy who was denied by a fine David Marshall save before Hibs netted the all-important second goal through substitute Dylan Levitt in the latter stages.
A late St Johnstone equaliser against Livingston means the Premiership standings do not drastically change, with County now six points ahead of the bottom-placed Lions. Aberdeen, who suffered a late defeat against St Mirren, are now County’s nearest target with a four-point difference between the sides.
Staggies interim boss Don Cowie was frustrated to hand Hibs the initiative in such cheap fashion.
He said: “I felt the game swung on an error from our goalkeeper, unfortunately. He’s been excellent for us since he came to the club.
“He has held his hands up, it’s a pretty basic error.
“I felt at that time, 60 minutes into the game, we were starting to quieten the crowd.
“We spoke about the start of both halves being really important, trying to keep things quiet.
“I’ve been here, I know what it’s like when they get behind you and you’re on top.
“We did that and going into the second half I was happy.
“It was just a pretty standard cross that came into the box and a simple finish.
“We still had enough time to try and rectify the error.
“Eamonn had a good chance which he didn’t take, but I would still like to have seen us cause them more problems in that last half hour.”
Cowie made two changes from the side which drew 1-1 with St Mirren midweek. The Staggies were boosted by the return of skipper Jack Baldwin to the starting line-up, along with James Brown, with the pair replacing Loick Ayina and Simon Murray who was sidelined through illness.
That meant a change of shape to a 3-5-2, in an effort to snuff out the threat of Hibs’ pacy wide players.
There was little to separate the sides in the opening stages, with County showing plenty intent to force the ball into the final third but unable to fashion any meaningful goal threat.
Hibs had the first clear-cut chance on 17 minutes, with George Wickens unable to hold a low effort from Myziane Maolida but the goalkeeper showed excellent reactions to thwart what looked a certain goal from Emiliano Marcondes on the rebound.
County’s first glimpse came on 24 minutes when Victor Loturi robbed Lewis Miller of possession before feeding Brophy, who could not keep his effort on target from the edge of the box.
Loturi was denied two minutes later when he intercepted a loose pass in midfield before driving at goal, with his powerful strike beaten away by David Marshall.
Neither goalkeeper was tested in the remainder of the first half with Martin Boyle flashing a long-range effort over in the final opportunity before the break.
Wickens was forced into action just seconds after the restart when he was equal to a side-footed Marcondes effort.
The Staggies had another scare moments later when Miller slipped Boyle in before the attacker unselfishly cut the ball back for Dylan Vente who opted to dummy it despite none of his team-mates being in a position to take it on.
Hibs were gifted the lead on the hour mark when Wickens failed to grasp Boyle’s delivery, with Maolida reacting quickest to tap into the empty net.
Given his impressive form since joining County on loan from Fulham it was an uncharacteristic error from the goalkeeper but it proved the game’s crucial turning point.
Cowie made his first change when he introduced Brandon Khela in place of Eli King, and the on-loan Birmingham City midfielder nearly made an instant impact when he latched on to a Josh Reid through ball before cutting back for Brophy, who looked to have found the net – only to be denied by an excellent save from Marshall.
The Staggies went all out to find a way back into the game, with Josh Sims and Jay Henderson replacing wing-backs Brown and Reid, however they were caught on the counter-attack with four minutes remaining when Elie Youan squared to Levitt who showed fine composure to stroke the ball past Wickens and put the game beyond doubt.
Player Ratings
HIBERNIAN (4-3-3): Marshall 7; Miller 7 (Cadden 83), Fish 6, Bushiri 6, Obita 6; Moriah-Welsh 5 (Levitt 46), Marcondes 5 (Triantis 83), Newell 6; Boyle 6 (Youan 74), Vente 5 (Le Fondre 62), Maolida 6.
Subs not used: Wollacott, Hanlon, Mayenda, Stevenson.
ROSS COUNTY (3-5-2): Wickens 5; Efete 6, Baldwin 6, Leak 6; Brown 6 (Sims 78), Sheaf 7, Loturi 7, King 7 (Khela 69), Reid 6 (Henderson 84); White 6, Brophy 6.
Subs not used: Laidlaw, Borthwick-Jackson, Harmon, Henderson, Jenks, Ayina.
Referee: Craig Napier
Attendance: 15,705
Man of the match: Lewis Miller
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