Barbara strikes late to kickstart Stripes' party

Birkirkara 1
Hibernians 0

'Time to party' read one banner amidst the sea of flags and balloons in the Birkirkara side yesterday. You bet it was.

News that Birkirkara had been crowned champions on Saturday without kicking a ball courtesy of Sliema's failure to see off Msida St Joseph, certainly served to further fuel the enthusiasm of the Stripes' fans.

Thousands of them, kitted out in yellow and red colours and carrying flags, made their way to the National Stadium hours before Birkirkara's encounter with Hibernians was due to kick off. The players, coaches and officials were given a heroes' welcome as they trudged out of the tunnels and onto the pitch.

This being the Stripes' first official outing since their rise to the throne, occupied by Sliema for the past three seasons, the champions' chief priority was to avoid defeat.

Not so for Hibs whose sights were firmly set on the three points to remain with a chance of finishing third.

Shutting out the vociferous atmosphere inside the stadium, Hibs produced the more forceful football but with the game seemingly heading for a goalless draw, Birkirkara fans were given more reason to celebrate.

Etienne Barbara procured and converted a penalty four minutes from time to kickstart Birkirkara's title party in style.

While Birkirkara were in seventh heaven, Hibs' spirits sank to a very low ebb as defeat yesterday rules them out of contention for third place, their only remaining target in these closing weeks of the Premier League trek. The Paolites stay on 28 points, five less than Marsaxlokk whom they meet on Saturday.

Birkirkara coach Stephen Azzopardi will surely have breathed a huge sigh of relief the moment referee Lorry Sammut signalled the end of Sliema's meeting with Msida with the score tied at 3-3.

With the Premier League title in the bag, Azzopardi had the liberty of sparing those key players who were ranked doubtful because of injuries.

A glance at Birkirkara's starting line-up showed that Azzopardi had two young players, Ryan Mifsud and Patrick Borg, under starters' orders.

Matthew Calascione and Emil Yanchev were listed as substitutes while a host of other leading personnel, the likes of George Mallia, Roderick Briffa, Precious Monye and Jonathan Holland had to watch from the stands.

For the first time in several months, Robert Gatt, the Hibs mentor, could choose his first team from a wide selection of players.

Goalkeeper Mario Muscat was back after a two-match ban while centre-half Aaron Xuereb recovered from the injury that precluded him from Hibs' 0-0 draw with Msida St Joseph.

Five minutes into the game, David Simon had to rush out of goal to block a menacing run from Terence Scerri. Within two minutes, Etienne Barbara went on a typically powerful run down the inside-left channel but his strong, rising drive drew a commendable save from Muscat.

Midway into the first half, the Hibs defence looked uncomfortable in the face of a twisting run by Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza who managed to seep a through-pass towards Michael Galea but Edmond Agius averted the danger by deflecting the ball away.

On the half hour, a thunderous free-kick from William Camenzuli flew tantalisingly close to the far post.

Barely two minutes later, skipper Galea had to abandon the field after picking up an injury, Calascione coming on to replace him.

Hibs, deployed in a 3-5-2 formation in which Andrew Cohen was granted a floating role behind the striking duo of Haruna Doda and Scerri, had an edge in terms of ball possession but their attacking endeavours, mostly coming from right-wing crosses from David Williamson, did not unduly stretch the Birkirkara defence.

The first half was in its dying stages when Hibs threatened to seize the lead. Scerri did well to get round the backtracking Birkirkara defence as he fastened onto a pass from Cohen. The robust Hibs striker swept past the advancing Simon but in doing so, he strayed too wide of goal with the result that his final effort was easily blocked by Lino Galea.

Seconds before referee Adrian Casha's half-time whistle, Simon was nearly surprised by a swerving Cohen free-kick but he dived in time to stop the ball from crossing the line.

Less than five minutes into the second half, Scerri squandered a gilt-edged chance to put Hibs ahead when Cohen's free-kick found him unmarked at the far post. Much to Hibs' frustration, Scerri's soft header bounced wide of the post.

The second half started along the same lines as the first with Hibs showing more urgency and purpose in their game against a Birkirkara side who refused to forego their hit-them-on-the-counter strategy.

Just past the hour, it was the Stripes who nearly broke the deadlock when Mifsud Triganza's well-flighted cross from the right saw Calascione glancing a powerful header which sailed just over the bar.

Suddenly, the frequency of Birkirkara's raids on the Hibs' rearguard picked up, Mifsud Triganza blasting wide after another teasing run of his had unhinged the Hibs' defenders.

With Calascione fast emerging as an influential performer thanks to his link-up play between midfield and attack, Birkirkara were now giving the Hibs' back line more food for thought.

Barbara used his physical and explosive power to switch from an angled position on the left side, right through the middle of Hibs' penalty area but his grounder was tamed by Muscat. This chance came either side of unconvincing penalty appeals by both teams.

Birkirkara seemed content to settle for a draw but there was a collective eruption of joy when, with five minutes of the game remaining, they sensed that victory was theirs for the taking.

This came about after Mifsud Triganza guided a clever pass to Barbara whose attempt to power his way through to goal was foiled by Muscat's intervention. As the Birkirkara striker fell to the turf, referee Casha pointed to the penalty spot from which, Barbara despatched a firm drive past Muscat. Cue delirious celebrations among the Birkirkara players and fans.

Before the end of hostilities, Birkirkara survived a scare when Yanchev, on for Mifsud in the second half, headed away a Cohen free-kick but the ball ricocheted off Camenzuli with Simon out of position.

The final whistle set off wild celebrations which continued at the valley in Birkirkara.

Celebrations will reach a climax next Sunday when Birkirkara are presented with the league trophy.

Birkirkara: D. Simon-6.5, M.A. Bonnici-6, L. Galea-7, R. Sammut-6.5, W. Camenzuli-6.5, E. Barbara-7, M. Galea-5.5 ('32 M. Calascione-7.5), P. Borg-6, K. Scicluna-7, R. Mifsud-6 ('72 E. Yanchev), J.P. Mifsud Triganza-7 ('90 L. Stivala).

Hibs: M. Muscat-6.5, D. Camilleri-6, A. Xuereb-6.5, R. Mintoff-6.5, E. Mbong-6, T. Scerri-6, A. Cohen-7.5 ('90 L. Desira Buttigieg), D. Williamson-6.5 ('73 J. Vella), C. Failla-6 ('70 R. Baldacchino), E. Agius-6, H. Doda-6.

Referee: Adrian Casha.

Scorer: Barbara 86 Pen.

Yellow Cards: Mifsud; Sammut; Agius; Barbara; Failla.

BoV Player Of The Match: Jean P. Mifsud Triganza (Birkirkara).

Remaining matches:

Friday - 6 p.m. Mosta vs Floriana; 8 p.m. Msida vs Valletta.

Saturday - 3 p.m. Pietà vs Hamrun; 5 p.m. Marsaxlokk vs Hibernians.

Sunday - 4 p.m. Sliema vs Birkirkara.