Socceroo Martin Boyle has continued his dazzling form, netting a second-straight double in the Scottish Premiership -- but he wasn't the only Australian getting in on the goalscoring act for Hibernian.
Nectar Triantis, the Australia under-23 international who's on loan from English Championship side Sunderland, grabbed the other goal in Hibs' 3-1 win over Motherwell on Saturday which has thrust them into the top six.
Six days since his brace against Rangers in the 3-3 draw at Easter Road -- one from open play and one from the penalty spot -- Boyle repeated the trick in another striking performance which bodes well for the Socceroos in a big World Cup qualifying year.
The Australia international scored from close range in the 27th minute, with midfielder Triantis doubling the lead soon afterwards with his first goal for the club.
Substitute Callum Slattery dragged Motherwell back into the match with a free-kick, but Boyle, who'd also scored from the spot against Rangers, smashed another penalty in similar fashion straight down the middle of the goal in the.80th minute to seal the win.
Boyle's double took his league tally for the season to seven goals, and he's scored 10 in all competitions this season, looking wholly rejuvenated after a difficult injury-hit season where his form dipped and he had to fight his way back into the side.
But even the in-form 31-year-old Boyle was overshadowed by a man-of-the-match performance from Traintis, the 21-year-old Sydneysider who played for the Mariners in the A-League Men before being snapped up by Sunderland in June 2023.
His goal was the result of sharp thinking as he powered in to steal the ball off dithering full-back Ewan Wilson and then drove towards the box before firing a low shot which went in off the post.
Boyle's goal three minutes earlier had been a simpler affair as he got on to the end of a low, deflected cross from sub Jordan Obita, turning the ball in from a couple of metres out.
His second, from the spot, came after Hibs' third Australian star, substitute Lewis Miller, was hauled down by Stephen O'Donnell at the back post as a cross came into the box.
The win enabled David Gray's Hibs, who had suffered a dismal start to the season, to celebrate a seven-match unbeaten streak as they moved from bottom of the table to sixth in four weeks. They're now just two points behind fifth-placed Motherwell.
Elsewhere, Celtic romped to a 4-1 win at Ross County, with Japanese star Kyogo Furuhashi scoring twice to move them 18 points clear at the top.
