Rob Jones celebrated the opener with Colin Nish and Derek Riordan
Goals on either side of the break from Rob Jones and Derek Riordan handed Hibernian a win over St Mirren.
The Hibs captain put the hosts in the lead with a glancing header after Riordan had flighted in a searching corner in the 14th minute.
St Mirren struggled to gain a foothold on the match, although Andy Dorman passed up a golden opportunity to level the scores late in the second half.
Riordan completed the win in the 84th minute with a fine curling shot.
Hibs made four changes for the match with Grzegorz Szamotulski handed his first start in goal, while Darren McCormack, Steven Thicot and Colin Nish were promoted to the starting 11.
Gus MacPherson made two changes to the side that won at Brechin in the Scottish Cup, with Garry Brady and Craig Dargo replacing Steven Thomson and Jim Hamilton.
Brady went on a powering run in the seventh minute and released Dennis Wyness to shoot for goal, but Szamotulski blocked the danger.
At the other end, Riordan fired in from just outside the box, but his effort sailed over the bar.
Franco Miranda sent in a cross for Wyness to test Szamotulski from inside the box, but the former Inverness man fired wide.
With 14 minutes played, Hibs captain Jones opened the scoring when Riordan flighted in a corner and the Englishman out-jumped the Buddies defence to send in a glancing header past Mark Howard.
Lewis Stevenson could have made it two for the home side when he blitzed forward on a searching run in the 20th minute but failed to hit the target with his final ball.
As the half hour mark approached, St Mirren struggled to get a foothold on the match as Hibs continued to put pressure on the visitors' goal with a close effort from Steven Thicot.
Bamba's close-range effort was saved by Howard as half-time approached.
After the break, St Mirren's Stephen McGinn fired in a cross for Scott Cuthbert, who headed wide for goal from deep inside the penalty area.
Three minutes later, Riordan sent in a corner kick to the head of Souleymane Bamba, but the Frenchman struck the post.
Dorman tried to reply with a powerful effort from outside the Hibs penalty area that ended up drifting harmlessly over the bar.
Shortly after the hour mark, McGinn tested Szamotulski again with a powerful shot, but the Polish keeper denied Saints the opportunity to level the scores.
Dorman passed up a late opportunity to restore the balance in the 70th minute with a delayed shot that went wide of the mark.
With six minutes left to play, Riordan ended St Mirren's hopes of a late revival with a fine strike from the edge of the box after good work by Ross Chisholm.
The former Celtic man picked up the ball 18 yards out and curled it past Howard, clipping the post on its way into the back of the net.
Hibernian manager Mixu Paatelainen: "I'm delighted. Whenever you play against St Mirren, they make it very difficult for you.
"That's what we expected - and that's what we got.
"The first goal was fantastic and the second goal was a peach - it was a fantastic finish from Derek Riordan. He's a goal machine.
"At the back, we were good, and Rob, as always, was instrumental - very powerful in the air and he keeps everybody together.
"But I felt in the midfield we made a big improvement and passed the ball well from one midfielder to the other."
St Mirren manager Gus MacPherson: "I'm extremely disappointed. We've come to Easter Road and, for long periods, played some great football on what I would term a shocking pitch.
"In this day and age, for a pitch to be in that condition, it's unacceptable.
"We tried to pass the ball and, in the first half, we controlled the tempo of the game, but we didn't have that cutting edge in the final third.
"In the second half, we were a bit sharper in that area and had a bit more belief in the final ball, but I'm pleased with the performance but disappointed with the result."
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