Kevin Nisbet's hat-trick gave Hibernian a "really important" Scottish Premiership win at Fir Park, as Motherwell's miserable form continued.

Nisbet scored scored neatly before the break and added another two after it as Lee Johnson's side reduced the heat on the back of a dreadful run of nine defeats in 11 league games.

Stuart McKinstry had made it 2-1 and Ross Tierney ensured a nervy four minutes of stoppage time for Hibs, but Motherwell were unable to stop themselves succumbing to another loss.

It's now just two wins in 16 Premiership games for Steven Hammell's side and one win in nine home matches, but Motherwell stay 10th, three points from the foot of the table.

Hibs move up to seventh after earning a vital victory following last week's chastening 3-0 derby defeat by Hearts and a dreadful league run.

"The result was really important, three fantastic goals and for the most part we looked petty solid," said Johnson.

"I think we deserved the win. After a tough week in terms of all of us taking a bit of a bashing, it was really nice to come together and celebrate the win in the dressing room."

Johnson's vocal criticism of his squad in the wake of that Tynecastle loss provoked a positive reaction from his players, who started intently and got the breakthrough.

Aiden McGeady - who was excellent on his first start of the season - picked out an unmarked Nisbet in the box, and the striker took one touch with his right foot, and drilled the ball into the bottom corner with his left.

The Scotland international added his second from two yards out after the break when Elie Youan latched on to Ryan Porteous' long free kick and squared the ball across goal.

But while Hibs were strong in spells, they were never convincing throughout.

Motherwell got back into the game when a simple long ball was missed by Hibs' makeshift right-back Josh Campbell, allowing half-time substitute McKinstry to stroke the ball past David Marshall.

A that point the home side looked likely to find an equaliser as Hibs grew nervy, and defender Sondre Solholm Johansen cracked the bar with a header, as his centre-back partner Ricki Lamie had done in the first half.

But a minute after Johnson made some changes and put Porteous into midfield, the centre-back won the ball and put Campbell free down the right, and Nisbet brilliantly tucked away his cross to claim his hat-trick and what looked likely to be a comfortable win for Hibs.

However, substitute Tierney swept home Motherwell's second in the 90th minute, which caused panic in the Hibs' ranks, and Porteous had to make a last-ditch intervention to stop Kevin van Veen tapping in an equaliser at the death.

Johnson spoke about how much he was looking forward to seeing Nisbet, McGeady, and Kyle Magennis starting together, having all been injured for most of the season. It made such a difference to their attack.

Nisbet grabbed his second Hibs' hat-trick on just his fifth game back after nine months out with an ACL injury, and his finishing ability could make all the difference for Hibs.

McGeady was also fantastic, setting up the first goal and generally showing he still has great technical ability even if, at 36, his pace is not what it was.

While there were attacking positives, Hibs still showed their flaky side. Defensively and in midfield they still look too flimsy, and on another day Motherwell could well have claimed at last a point.

But instead, it was groundhog day for them. They failed to take their chances despite plenty of good play, and their penalty box defending was poor.

Nisbet was totally unmarked and left in acres of space for his first goal, managed to get in front of Johansen easily for his third, and Matt Penney completely switched off from a long free kick for the second.

Something has to change, which means January recruits are urgently needed. The negative momentum at Fir Park could prove hard to stop unless they turns things round quickly. The boos at full-time said it all.

Motherwell manager Steven Hammell:"It's just a snapshot of what has our season's been. We weren't at our best but had moments within that that we could've made more of.

"And the goals we concede are of a poor nature. It's not based on the style, formation, or information I'm giving the players, it's just doing the basics."

Hibs striker Kevin Nisbet:"I think it's something to build on but we can't get too far ahead of ourselves. Its only one win and we have a lot of big games to come - two in the league and one in the Scottish Cup."

Motherwell face what must now be a relegation scrap with bottom side Ross County at Fir Park next Saturday, while Hibs host Dundee United at the same time (15:00 GMT).