AT a quarter-to-four on Saturday afternoon, had scores at that point remained the same when final whistles sounded up and down the country, Hibs would have found themselves sliding into tenth place in the SPL table, separated from bottom spot by a mere three points.
Instead, just 45 minutes later, having started the day in eighth, Mixu Paatelainen's side found themselves soaring back into the top six, claiming fifth spot on goal difference from Kilmarnock.
It was an outcome which will no doubt strengthen the
belief of all at Easter Road that they, too, are capable of hoisting themselves from the depths to the heights just as Dundee United and Capital rivals Hearts have done in this topsy-turvy season, if only they can find a measure of consistency.
But equally, it will serve as a reminder of just what might have been achieved already had it not been for the self-inflicted wounds which had seen, prior to this trip to Fir Park, Hibs without a win in six matches, a run which saw just three points accumulated.
Even if the signs had been there during that dramatic fightback to claim a draw against Aberdeen seven days earlier, few would have predicted not only such an emphatic victory but with it a coruscating performance against a team which, over the course of the past year, has proved to be Hibs' nemesis.
Against such a backdrop Motherwell, themselves enduring a close examination of their credentials after three games without a win although, admittedly, two of them had been against Celtic and Rangers, would most likely have welcomed the visit of Hibs, eyeing it as an opportunity to get themselves back on track to repeat last season's heroics.
However, in an opening phase reminiscent of Hibs visit to Lanarkshire almost exactly two years ago in which the Edinburgh club romped to a stunning 6-1 triumph, Paatelainen's players simply threatened to blow their hosts apart with a display of fast, free-flowing football and incisive, accurate passing allied to awareness, movement and vision.
That they didn't was very much down to goalkeeper Graeme Smith, twice denying Derek Riordan having been left in one-on-one situations against the Hibs striker, the first after barely 60 seconds. You'd have backed Riordan on each occasion, the Easter Road star ruefully left to reflect: "Every striker misses chances, even Henrik Larsson used to get eight in a game and score just three.
"The goalkeeper made two great saves and as a striker you just have to get on with it and look for the next chance."
Riordan's misses – although he'd prefer the credit to go to Smith – sandwiched the game's opening goal, John Rankin bursting through the home defence to rifle home Hibs 500th SPL goal.
It was also his first of the season, the little midfielder living up to his call made earlier in the day in the Evening News for players like himself to ease the burden on the strikeforce.
Hibs, unfortunately, allowed Motherwell to claw themselves back into the game and were left with yet another test of their mental resolve as Bob Malcolm hammered in a tremendous free-kick.
Paatelainen's players, however, produced the perfect answer, Steven Fletcher and Riordan combining for Dean Shiels to slide a low shot beyond Smith, again a midfield player claiming his first league goal of the season.
And Fletcher put the outcome beyond doubt, thundering in an unstoppable shot from 30 yards which arrowed across Smith and into the far corner of his net, his sixth strike of the season.
A surefire contender for goal of the season, although 21-year-old Fletcher would only admit to it "being up there" among the best he has scored, Riordan revealing his team-mate had signalled what was to come during the warm-up.
He said: "He put one like that in during the warm-up but as it was a nasty pitch, rock-solid and bobbly, I told him he wouldn't be doing that again. So he came straight over to me and told me."
Fletcher's goal capped a sumptuous performance and with assistant manager Donald Park having ignited the debate over the youngster's future with his honest appraisal that, at some stage, the player will move on, the Scotland star was asked the inevitable question as to where he might be following the January transfer window.
It's speculation with which Fletcher has lived since last summer when, on a weekly basis, Real Madrid were only 24 hours away from clinching a mega-bucks move although, the News understands, that at this point Hibs have received no approaches from any club, far less the Spanish giants.
As such Fletcher is already a veteran at fielding such inquiries, agreeing it was flattering to think he was attracting attention from far wealthier clubs but, at the same time, pointing out he was tied to Hibs on a long-term deal and, in any case, was enjoying his football in a green and white shirt.
He said: "It's part and parcel of football and it's nice if teams are looking at you. If people want to come and make bids it is up to the club to accept and me to see if I want to go but I'm young and I just want to score goals."
Riordan, of course, forged a formidable partnership during his first spell at the club with Garry O'Connor and with Paatelainen having reverted to a 4-4-2 formation which appears to suit his players far better than the 4-3-3 he had adopted to also accommodate Colin Nish, it looks as if the former Celtic player and Fletcher are beginning to develop a similar understanding.
He said: "I think we combine quite well. We played together during my first time at Hibs, we know each other's games and it's good playing with him."
Given his own unhappy couple of years at Celtic was Riordan able to offer his team-mate any advice regarding his future? He said: "I haven't spoken to him. It didn't go well for me but it's his life and if he wants to move on it's up to him.
"Obviously you want to keep your best players and we want Fletch to stay, he's a big asset to the team."
Only time will tell, but in the meantime Hibs will want to build on an impressive performance, Riordan finally getting on the scoresheet in the final minute, although Shiels had earlier hit the bar and Smith had been forced into sharp double saves from substitute Nish and Rankin as Paatelainen's players sought to underline their superiority on this, the first occasion they'd scored more than two goals away in the League since their visit to Fir Park two years ago. Apart from being "frozen" like everyone else at Fir Park, Paatelainen admitted his side's display had brought a warm glow. He said: "I thought it was a fantastic performance. We started the game tremendously, created chances and should have been three up.
"I was pleased to see mifielders getting on the scoresheet, John Rankin and Dean Shiels are attack minded players who work very hard."
Paatelainen admitted if he was to be greedy he could have moaned about the victory not being even more emphatic, but insisted he was content with the win. He said: "There's no point in getting carried away, we are happy to win 4-1.
"We could have scored more, there's no question about that. Motherwell are a good team with a solid defence but I felt our movement caused them all sorts of problems."
Equally pleasing for Paatelainen would be the fact there wasn't even a hint of an error at the back, skipper Rob Jones and Chris Hogg rock-solid in the middle of the back four while Ross Chisholm and Sol Bamba ensured Motherwell's midfield trio had little opportunity to get forward to support their front men. The Hibs boss said: "Motherwell like to play the ball early and look for seconds and I knew our centre-backs would be important. It was great to see an old-fashioned battle between centre-forwards and centre-halves, that's what the crowd love to watch.
"Agaisnt Aberdeen I thought we played well, created chances but didn't put them away. But we saw the fighting spirit the boys have and they carried it over into this game. Now I hope we can keep that going. I always knew we were capable of beating anyone on our day."
