Hibs look to avenge first-round defeat to Floriana

Hibernians will be looking to restore some lost pride this afternoon at the National Stadium when they play Floriana in a clash between two teams involved in a hot race for Championship Pool places.

The Paolites, currently on 18 points in the Premier League standings, will be after valuable points and victory to join Msida St Joseph in second place, four points behind early pacesetters Marsaxlokk.

But, equally importantly, a clash against Floriana represents an excellent opportunity for the Paolites to make up for their humiliating 4-1 upset to the Greens on the opening day of the season.

On that occasion, a poor defensive first-half performance saw Hibernians conceding four goals inside the opening 40 minutes. That condemned Hibs to one of their worst starts ever to a league championship.

"That was a very disappointing result for us," Hibs coach Robert Gatt told The Times yesterday.

"When we played Floriana last August we were forced to field a make-shift formation. We had several first-team players out through injury as some other members in the squad were still feeling the exertions of our European campaign.

"But this time it will be different, we can guarantee you that. We have recovered all our players and everyone in the squad is brimming with confidence. Floriana will be a tough match but we have enough quality to bag another win that will keep us within touching distance of the top places."

According to the Hibs coach, it is still too early to brand this match as decisive for either side's aspirations for a Championship Pool place. Hibs are well placed for a top-six finish, he said, even though he conceded that their ambitions are far more challenging.

"I don't think that this match can be seen as a do-or-die affair for either side in the fight for Championship Pool places," said Gatt.

"There are still a lot of matches to be played and anything can happen. But, our target this season goes beyond reaching the Championship Pool... we want to challenge for the league.

"To fulfil our ambition we have to win as many points as possible. Marsaxlokk and Msida have been very consistent so far and we have to do the same and embark on a good run of results.

"That will help us to start the second phase in a high position in the standings."

At the moment, Floriana seem to have far less ambitious plans.

Coach Joe Grech's main target is to steer the team back to the Championship Pool after missing out last season.

"The match against Hibs marks the start of a decisive period for us," the Floriana coach said.

"In the space of 10 days we have three direct confrontations against Hibernians, Valletta and Sliema Wanderers. Failure to win points from these three matches will leave us with an uphill struggle. We did some hard training lately and the players were urged to show their true character because now it's time to perform."

Grech was heartened by his players' resolve in the 4-0 win over Pietà Hotspurs last week. They made sure of the points late in the match but the important thing was that the Greens were back to winning ways after a series of poor results in league and cup competition.

"We were happy with the res-ponse against Pietà," Grech said.

"Although Floriana dominated the match for long stretches we simply could not break down the Pietà defence. Luckily, the players maintained their cool and their persistence was finally rewarded.

"The match against Hibernians will be another challenging test for us," Grech added.

"We beat them in August but I'm not giving too much importance to our first-round win."

On that day Hibs had players like Andrew Cohen and Udo Nwoko missing but now they are back and making all the difference in the team.

Grech said: "We, too, have players who can leave their mark. We expect the team to perform on top of their game and get the right result and a morale booster ahead of the derby against Valletta."

Both teams are expected to be at full strength with Manolito Micallef returning for Floriana after missing the Pietà match through suspension.

First round result: Floriana vs Hibernians 4-1.

City eye more points

Valletta will be eager to extend their winning run to four matches when they play bottom-placed Pietà Hotspurs in today's opening match.

Victories against Sliema (1-0), Marsa (3-0) and Birkirkara (1-0) catapulted City to fourth place in the standings and in a good position to reach one of their pre-season objectives - Championship Pool football.

Valletta coach Paul Zammit is treating today's match as a must-win situation for his team as they start a decisive month that will see them facing Floriana, Marsaxlokk and Msida in the next few weeks.

In the corresponding first-round fixture, the Citizens thrashed the Hotspurs 5-0 with striker Sebastian Monesterolo scoring four goals. However, the Argentine will miss today's match after receiving a one-match ban for a fourth yellow card.

Pietà will be in no mood for favours as they are in great need of points to ease their relegation worries.

The Hotspurs showed good defensive organisation against Floriana, but coach Carmel Busuttil will expect better attacking play from his team if they are to finally chalk up their first win of the season.

Daniel Theuma, 35, will not be facing his old club today as a few days ago he decided to hang up his boots.

First round result: Valletta vs Pietà Hotspurs 5-0.

Today (National Stadium)
2 p.m. Valletta vs Pietà
4 p.m. Hibernians vs Floriana.

Sunday: (Hibs Ground)
12.45 p.m. Marsa vs St George's
2.45 p.m. Birkirkara vs Msida.