Hibs turn tables on Stripes

Hibernians 3
Birkirkara 2

Not for the first time this season, entertaining football was the order of the day at the National Stadium as Birkirkara, the reigning Malta champions, clashed with Hibernians, last season's FA Trophy winners.

Here were two attacking-minded teams storming into each other, both hellbent on claiming victory to respond to the early pressure exerted by the likes of Msida St Joseph and Marsaxlokk.

Twice punished for poor defending in set-pieces inside the opening 18 minutes, Hibs atoned for their tentative start with a superb display of attacking football that saw them turning the tables on a spirited but error-prone Birkirkara. Hibs thus made it three victories on the trot but Birkirkara have now lost two of their opening four matches.

Robert Gatt, the Hibs coach, confirmed the 11 players who took to the field for the start of the previous league outing against Marsa, a match the Paolites won 3-1.

Birkirkara were also emphatic 4-0 winners against St George's last weekend but that did not deter Stephen Azzopardi from making some alterations to his initial line-up.

Central defender Kenneth Scicluna earned an instant recall to the starting formation after missing the St George's rout due to suspension. Italian midfielder Angelo Paradiso, who watched the best part of Birkirkara's last victory from the subs' bench, was promoted to the first team yesterday, replacing the injured Jonathan Holland.

A minute from the start of the game had elapsed when a teasing corner by the versatile Hatim Sbai caused consternation in the Hibs box as the ball whizzed across the face of goal before dropping wide.

The Paolites' failure to heed the alarm signals was punished just a minute later when another dipping corner from Sbai sailed into the path of Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza at the far post. The Birkirkara striker finished the move with typical aplomb, glancing the ball past Mario Muscat to give his team an early lead.

A Hibs' foray sparked a goalmouth melee before the ball was cleared but the Paolites' first genuine chance came after 12 minutes.

Terrence Scerri, drifting wide on the right to evade the Birkirkara defenders, supplied Ndubisi Chukunyere inside the box and the Nigerian swiftly laid the ball back for the unmarked Andrew Cohen. The Hibs skipper hit the ball first time but his low shot flashed just wide of the far post.

Birkirkara heaved a sigh of relief but not for long. Before the game had reached its 15th minute mark, Hibs had equalised, Aaron Xuereb popping up in Birkirkara's box to nod the ball home from a Cohen free-kick.

In no time, Birkirkara had their noses back in front. Hibs' difficulties to deal with set-piece crosses returned to haunt them as another right-wing corner from Sbai swirled past a sea of hesitant defenders and into the net off Muscat.

A frenetic start to an open match featured two teams pressing forward with abandon. Hibs' three-man defence betrayed signs of uneasiness in the face of Birkirkara's incursions, particularly along the flanks but at the other end, the Stripes' rearguard was finding it hard to cope with the guile of Cohen, Chukunyere and Udo Nwoko, not to mention the towering presence of Scerri.

The score became 2-2 after 25 minutes when Argentine midfielder Pablo Doffo, rising at the far post to meet a floating Cohen free-kick, nodded the ball back to Chukunyere who controlled it with his chest before arrowing a shot that took a decisive deflection off the stretching Lino Galea on its way into the net.

On 34 minutes, Chukunyere raced through on goal but was impeded when in the act of shooting by Sbai, yesterday given the unenviable task of marking the reinvigorated Nigerian. Hibs' shouts for a penalty looked legitimate but referee Adrian Azzopardi was unmoved.

On the stroke of half-time, Mifsud Triganza's header from a Bonnici cross landed wide of the far post.

The first episode of note in the second half came after five minutes when Bledzewski pushed away a Cohen free-kick.

Birkirkara had two penalty claims - one after Galea went down after colliding with Edmond Agius and the other for a 'foul' on Bonnici - turned down by Azzopardi.

Their frustration increased when Hibs surged ahead for the first time, Chukunyere sending the ball past Bledzewski with a diving header after a perfect cross from Cohen. The move had been initiated by Doffo, a prominent performer in Hibs' midfield, who picked out Cohen with a long-range pass.

Chukunyere should have completed his hat-trick on 64 minutes but his rasping drive rattled the crossbar.

With Hibs now enjoying a clear territorial edge over their opponents, Azzopardi introduced Etienne Barbara, who was making his first appearance of the season, for Paradiso.

Xuereb then had a header saved by Bledzewski and for Birkirkara, a tame effort by Mifsud Triganza ended wide.

Inevitably, given the high tempo of the opening half, the frequency of scoring chances diminished as the final whistle approached.

Birkirkara tried to mount a late charge but they had little energy left in their tanks. Camenzuli was wide with a low free-kick.

In stoppage time, Hibs' substitute Matthew Bartolo dragged his shot wide from an inviting position.

Hibernians: M. Muscat-5.5, K. Cassar-6.5, R. Briffa-6, A. Xuereb-6.5, P. Doffo-7.5, N. Chukunyere-8.5, T. Scerri-6 ('79 M. Bartolo), A. Cohen-7.5 ('88 T. Caruana), U. Nwoko-6.5, E. Agius-6, C. Failla-6 ('82 A. Pulis).

Birkirkara: A. Bledzewski-5, M.A. Bonnici-6, L. Galea-6.5 ('85 G. Gallovich), R. Sammut-6, W. Camenzuli-5.5, M. Calascione-6, J.P. Mifsud Triganza-7, H. Sbai-7 ('74 P. Borg), K. Scicluna-7, A. Paradiso-6.5 ('66 E. Barbara-6), G. Mallia-7.5.

Referee: Adrian Azzopardi.

Scorers: Mifsud Triganza 2; Xuereb 15; Sbai 18; Chukunyere 25, 59.

Yellow Cards: Bonnici; Nwoko; Chukunyere; Sbai; Paradiso; Camenzuli; Muscat.

BoV Player Of The Match: Ndubisi Chukunyere (Hibs).