Motherwell swept past 10-man Hibernian at Fir Park, moving level on points with the Edinburgh side, who hang on to third place in the Scottish Premiership after a hapless display.
Tawanda Maswanhise moved to the top of the league’s scoring chart on eight goals, converting a penalty given for handball against Grant Hanley.
Elijah Just made it 2-0, slamming in a gift after some comical defending from the visitors.
Worse was to come for Hanley when he was dismissed for clipping the heels of Maswanhise just outside the penalty area.
Depleted Hibs were completely outplayed but did miss a glaring chance before the interval when Martin Boyle skipped round the goalkeeper only to see his weak flick cleared off the line by a sliding Johnny Koutroumbis.
Oscar Priestman, making his first Motherwell start, clattered the post with a low shot, with Hibs chasing shadows for most of the second half.
The hosts were full of flicks of tricks, with fans purring their approval, as Callum Slattery drilled an effort wide.
Substitute Ibrahim Said even got a ticking off from manager Jens Berthel Askou for some showboating before crashing a shot into the side-netting, while Regan Charles-Cook forced Raphael Sallinger into a good save after another slick move.
One more goal would have taken Motherwell above David Gray’s demoralised men but they were content to keep a stranglehold on the game rather than chasing it.
Unbeaten in their past five league outings, with four wins, Motherwell have plenty of momentum as well as a game in hand on Hibs.
