Two penalties define lively encounter

Floriana 1
Hibernians 1

This was a strange encounter. Floriana had been by far the brighter side in the first half but headed for the half-time break trailing to Andrew Cohen's penalty.

Subdued and forced on the back foot for most of the opening 45 minutes, the Paolites were all over their opponents after the break but instead of rubberstamping their victory with a second goal, they let in one, also from penalty, to forfeit two points as the match ended 1-1.

Although this lively game was clearly imbued with the element of the unexpected, a draw was a fair result considering the Greens' spate of scoring chances in the first half and Hibs' superior performance in the second.

The point gleaned took Hibs onto the 12-point mark, only two ahead of Floriana who failed to bounce back from their 2-0 upset against Sliema Wanderers with a victory.

Having missed the Old-Firm derby because of suspension, defender Mario Caruana returned to Floriana's initial formation yesterday, replacing the unavailable Graham Bencini.

Floriana's struggles to make an attacking impact in last Saturday's derby prompted Willie Vassallo, the Floriana mentor, to hand a starting role to Manolito Micallef instead of Stephen Wellman while Christian Cassar filled the void left by the injured Shaun Bajada.

For Hibernians, Adrian Pulis resumed his central role at the back after serving his one-match ban in the 2-1 defeat of Lija Athletic. Malta U-21 international Andrè Schembri, the catalyst of Hibs' victory on Sunday after coming on in the second half, was preferred to Antoine Zahra.

Micallef threatened to leave an instant imprint on the game. Three minutes from the start had passed when Trevor Cilia, capitalising on a melee inside the Hibs box, passed the ball to the young Floriana striker but his rising effort was tipped away by Mario Muscat.

Cilia's purposeful running on the left flank was giving Hibernians a torrid time in the early exchanges. Andre Rocha Da Silva rose to meet a typical Cilia service from the left but the overworked Muscat stood firm.

Seven minutes later, Cassar supplied a pass towards Micallef who instinctively chipped the ball over Pulis with a deft touch but out came Muscat to block his path.

It was all Floriana in the opening 25 minutes, Muscat making another fine save to turn away Nicolò Baldacchino's close-range volley after Cassar's service found him unchallenged in the Hibs' box.

The generous running of Cassar and Cilia ensured that Da Silva's midfield graft was not laid to waste.

Superior possession counts for nothing unless it is converted into hard currency i.e. goals as Floriana found out much to their disappointment.

Eight minutes of the first half remained when Da Silva was adjudged by referee Adrian Casha to have impeded Terence Scerri's run as he tried to reach a free-kick from Cohen who himself buried the resultant penalty home.

The Greens understandably felt hard done by Hibs' breakthrough after creating the better chances early on. A mass brawl nearly erupted in the centre-circle after hard words were exchanged between opposing players, most notably Ian Ciantar and Hibs' midfielder Essien Mbong who were booked for their misdemeanour.

Three minutes into the second half, Cilia breezed through the Hibs defence only to rifle high from the edge of the area but it was the Paolites who almost doubled their lead moments later. And what a goal it would have been.

The energetic Peter Pullicino started the quickfire move when powering his way through the middle before threading a pass to the speeding Scerri. Following through the action, Pullicino was on the right spot to receive Scerri's return pass but his first-time scorcher cannoned off the crossbar.

Gauci, the Floriana goalkeeper, then deflected away an effort from Roderick Baldacchino as Hibs began the second half in much livelier fashion.

Schembri was unlucky not to increase his team's lead when his chip, after being sent clear by Scerri, ricocheted off the top of the far post.

From the vivid possibility of becoming his side's hero, Schembri turned villain midway into the second half.

In a seemingly harmless Floriana attack, he pushed Clifton Ciantar off the ball. The foul appeared to have been committed on the edge of the area but referee Casha signalled a penalty.

Da Silva, who had been his team's villain after conceding the first-half penalty from which Cohen put Hibs in the driving seat, redeemed himself when planting the ball past Muscat.

Hibs hit back almost instantly but Scerri's drive came off the post. Fifteen minutes from the end of normal time, Cohen's low free-kick flashed wide of the far post.

Late in the game, Mbong was sent off by referee Casha for a second bookable offence... a late tackle on Da Silva.

The Brazilian midfielder should have won the points for the Greens when picked out by Ian Ciantar but his mishit effort ended wide.

Floriana: R, Gauci-7, R.M. Gango-Rtsa-6, M. Caruana-6, I. Azzopardi-6, I. Ciantar-6, C. Ciantar-6 ('77 S. Wellman), T. Cilia-7, A. Rocha Da Silva-7, N. Baldacchino-5 (R. Darmanin-90), C. Cassar-7, M. Micallef-6.

Hibernians: M. Muscat-8, K. Spiteri-5, A. Xuereb-6, R. Mintoff-6, A. Schembri-6, E. Mbong, P. Pullicino-7, A. Pulis-7, T. Scerri-6 ('82 A. Zahra), R. Baldacchino-6, A. Cohen-8.

Referee: Adrian Casha.

Scorers: Cohen 38 Pen.; Da Silva 67 Pen.

Yellow Cards: Pulis; Muscat; Mbong; Ciantar.

Red Card: Mbong 90.

Player Of The Match: Andrew Cohen (Hibs).