HIBERNIAN 1 MOTHERWELL 2: New manager Alfred Johansson fills the boots of Jens Berthel Askou in style as Steelmen get off to a winning start

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss? Time will tell but Alfred Johansson has certainly hit the ground running as he embraces the daunting task of filling Jens Berthel Askou’s shoes at Motherwell.

There may have been a touch of fortune about this opening Premiership weekend win against a misfiring Hibs side but Johansson’s team earned their luck and fully capitalised upon it.

On the back of the convincing UEFA Conference League defeat of Faroese side HB, this has been an impressive start for the Swedish coach who will now lead his players into the first leg of their next European qualifier against HJK Helsinki on Thursday with no shortage of confidence.

By contrast, it was a painful setback for Hibs boss David Gray as he tries to overcome the early-season misgivings among a sizeable constituency of the Easter Road club’s support.

Despite having 19 shots at goal to Motherwell’s nine, and almost twice as many touches in the opposition box than the visitors, Hibs were wasteful at key moments.

When Martin Boyle’s penalty cancelled out Lukas Fadinger’s own spot kick, Hibs looked the likelier side to go on and win the game. Instead, they were left stunned by Ibrahim Said’s 85th-minute clincher for the visitors.

It was in this fixture that Motherwell rounded off their admirable Premiership campaign last season with a win at Easter Road to clinch fourth place, a game which also turned out to be Askou’s last in charge.

The Dane was always going to be a hard act to follow and Johansson is wisely adhering to the old adage of not attempting to fix something which isn’t broken.

Despite the exodus of so many of the players who were integral to Askou’s success, most notably the likes of Elijah Just, Elliot Watt and Callum Slattery, Motherwell and Johansson appear determined not to deviate from the precise and progressive style which earned so many plaudits.

Their patterns of play were familiar, constantly trying to build from the back and shuttle the ball through the thirds of the pitch with one and two-touch passing.

It continues to carry risks, of course, and in the initial stages of a cagey first half Motherwell occasionally looked vulnerable in defence.

Hibs, finding space in the wide areas through wing-backs Felix Passlack and Adam Mayor, played with good tempo as they looked to give their visitors as little time on the ball as possible.

Oscar Priestman coughed up possession cheaply to present Hibs with the first opening of the afternoon, Owen Elding setting up Nathan Lowe for a shot which the English striker dragged wide of Alex Paulsen’s right hand post.

Passlack had a shot deflected wide as Gray’s men continued to have the better of the early exchanges but there was a scarcity of genuine penetration in the attacking third from either side.

Motherwell’s patience was rewarded with Fadinger’s breakthrough from the spot five minutes before the break. Said, whose ability to carry the ball consistently drags his team up the pitch, was at the heart of a slick move on the right of the Hibs penalty area.

The ball was eventually worked to Priestman inside the box and, with the home defence stretched out of shape, Josh Mulligan dived in with a despairing challenge which left referee Steven McLean with no option but to point to the spot.

Fadinger, who scored in both legs of Motherwell’s Conference League second qualifying round tie against HB, made it three in three so far this season when he calmly rolled the ball beyond Raphael Sallinger’s left hand into the net.

Having seized the initiative, Motherwell almost built on it immediately when Regan Charles-Cook curled a shot narrowly wide.

There was a real let-off for Hibs at the start of the second half when Jason Kerr failed to deal with a simple through ball on the edge of his own penalty area. Charles-Cook pounced on the defender’s error to find himself one-on-one with Sallinger but hesitated before getting away a shot which the keeper did well to save.

Just as the Hibs fans were starting to vent their frustration, Lowe gave them fresh encouragement with a shot on the turn which Paulsen did well to touch wide.

It sparked a momentum shift which saw Hibs equalise from the spot in the 56th minute. Having earned his team a penalty in the first half, Priestman conceded one in almost the same area of the box when he tripped Boyle. The Hibs captain got up to take it himself and gave Paulsen no chance with a confident low finish.

Motherwell suddenly looked rattled, while Hibs were energised. Paulsen had to make another save at full stretch to keep out a long-range shot from Elding who then had another effort cleared off the line by Martin Moormann.

Hibs only had themselves to blame as they failed to translate a sustained spell on the front foot into a second goal. Lowe missed a simple chance from close range after being picked out by Elding before lacking conviction with another shot which beat Paulsen but was again blocked on the line by Moormann.

There was a sense of inevitability about the sucker punch which Motherwell duly delivered to claim all three points. Hibs had over-committed in attack when they lost possession and invited a devastating one-touch counter raid from the visitors.

Sub Alex Lowry, making his Motherwell debut, picked out Dylan Williams with a clever pass and his cutback from the left found Said unmarked for a calm finish beyond Sallinger.

The final whistle was greeted by jeers from the home fans and things don’t get any easier for Gray with Thursday’s first leg of their Conference League qualifier against North Macedonian side Shkendija at Easter Road followed by a trip to face Rangers at Ibrox next Sunday.

Hibernian (3-4-3): Sallinger 7; O’Hora 6, Kerr 6, Obita 6; Passlack 7, Mulligan 6, Chaiwa 6 (Abdulai 73), Mayor 6 (Molotnikov 60); Elding 7, Lowe 6, Boyle 7 (Suto 73). Booked: Mulligan. Manager: David Gray 6.

Motherwell (4-4-2): Paulsen 7; Sparrow 6, Girdwood-Reich 6 (Knight-Lebel 66), Moormann 7, Williams 6; Vogt 6 (Maswanhise 66), Priestman 6 (Whyte 82), Fadinger 7, Longelo 6 (Wilson 82); SAID 8, Charles-Cook 6 (Lowry 75). Booked: Priestman, Fadinger, Sparrow. Manager: Alfred Johansson 7.

Referee: Steven McLean 6.

Attendance: 17,440.