Josh Campbell scored the only goal of the game to see off Kilmarnock and hand Hibernian head coach Nick Montgomery his first Premiership victory in seven games.
The midfielder slotted home from close range after Martin Boyle did brilliantly to tee up his team-mate.
The result moves the Easter Road club to within a point of sixth place Kilmarnock in the cinch Premiership.
Kilmarnock played well in patches but their long wait for a win in Leith was stretched to 10 games.
In a bright start to the match Jair Tavares went close with a solo effort from outside the area after four minutes.
The Portuguese winger got away from Joe Wright with a neat bit of skill but his curling effort flew just past the top corner.
Hibs forward Boyle then had the ball in the net moments later but the effort was ruled out for offside.
Kilmarnock gave as good as they got during the early exchanges and Liam Donnelly should have done better with a half-volley at the back post that he fired over from a Daniel Armstrong corner.
At the other end, Boyle raced clear after Donnelly had a square pass cut out but the Australia international lost his footing in the box as he was chased down by Stuart Findlay.
But the hosts were not to be denied in the 36th minute as Boyle provided a great assist for Campbell.
The pacey forward spun away in a congested centre circle and rode a cynical challenge from Donnelly that earned the midfielder a retrospective booking.
Boyle then flicked a pass to Campbell inside the area and the midfielder placed a low drive past Will Dennis.
Kilmarnock brought on Matty Kennedy for Donnelly at the break as they looked to get a foothold in the game.
But the visitors struggled to create any meaningful opportunities in a second half that lacked entertainment at both ends.
Tavares went close for Hibs again with an effort from outside the box but Dennis did brilliantly to push the shot round the post for a corner.
With Hibs having surrendered winning positions in their last two league games, tensions grew among the home fans as the match approached the closing stages.
Campbell was denied a second goal in the 86th minute when his stinging drive from outside the box was repelled by Dennis.
Hibs goalkeeper David Marshall then made a save at his near post to keep out Rory McKenzie.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here