Doffo's gem seals it for Hibernians

Hibernians 2
Mqabba 0

Without a single win before kick-off, Hibs were widely seen as favourites to open their account against lowly Mqabba, themselves without a point after three outings among the big boys of Maltese football.

Inspired by an excellent Andrew Cohen and the midfield graft of Pablo Doffo, Hibs were all over their battling opponents but for all their supremacy, Robert Gatt's troops were finding it hard to put away their scoring chances.

For a short period in the second half, it looked as if Hibs' wastefulness would come back to haunt them before Doffo struck with a superb goal to secure their first three-pointer of the season.

Malta goalkeeper Mario Muscat was a conspicuous absentee from the Hibs' squad after failing to recover from the facial knock he suffered early in his side's 1-1 draw with Valletta on Monday.

The return from suspension of Clayton Failla moved coach Gatt to restore the Malta U-21 speedster to the starting formation at the expense of Adrian Pulis. Mqabba were boosted by the return of Brazilian forward Marcelo Pereira.

Early on, Kris Calleja, the Mqabba goalkeeper, blocked a strong but central drive from Cohen.

In no time, Cohen was weaving his way past a clutch of defenders in the Mqabba box before going down when approached by Claudio Calleja. "Penalty" shouted Hibs but referee Andrè Arciola signalled play on.

The Paolites' early dominance should have reaped dividends after 11 minutes when the unmarked Julio Alcorse squared to Scerri. The Hibs striker failed to make contact with the ball but Failla was next in line only for his effort to be deflected away for a corner.

Set in a 4-3-3 formation, Hibs dictated the pace but lacked the killer touch in those early exchanges. Twice Cohen sent Scerri through but his first attempt was saved by Calleja and, minutes later, he drove wide.

The Paolites' barrage persisted, Scerri having a powerful header, again from a Cohen delivery, deflected away for a corner.

Cohen's outward ball from the flag-kick sailed towards Doffo who would have scored a scorcher had his first-time volley not crashed against the base of the post.

Mqabba threatened to take a surprise lead on 32 minutes when, from a counter-attack, Fabio Silva was quick to pass the ball to Pereira whose grounder was warded off by Alex Camilleri.

Eight minutes from half-time, another prolonged Hibs raid ended with Edmond Agius's shot taking a deflection off a Mqabba defender.

Just when it seemed that Mqabba would go into the half-time break on level terms, Hibs finally broke the deadlock.

Cohen showed excellent footwork as he waltzed his way forward down the inside-right channel before releasing Scerri who headed firmly past Calleja.

Mqabba coach Joey Falzon made a double substitution at half-time as Matthew Cocks and Mauro Bonnici came on for Dylan Zarb and John Paul Muscat.

Hibs' first attempt of the second half came via a Cohen free-kick which ended just over. A rising header from Scerri, following a corner by Failla, was almost on the mark.

Although the Paolites remained the better side, Mqabba increased the frequency of their attacking moves. Twelve minutes into the second half, they had a claim for a penalty turned down after Gatt Baldacchino's angled volley came off Mintoff.

Scerri, running on to Failla's lofted pass, closed in on Mqabba's goal but his tame effort was stopped by Calleja. The Mqabba then held out a fierce Uzeh Edafe drive.

Within seconds, Calleja produced a top-notch save when diving to his right to keep out Alcorse's header.

Calleja's fine handling and Hibs' profligacy kept the tie in the balance as a one-goal lead was surely too slim to give the Paolites any sense of security.

With 19 minutes of the game remaining, Pereira could have added to Hibs' frustration when he created space for a shot inside the box but skewed his effort high and wide.

Gatt's first substitution saw Ndubisi Chukunyere come on for Alcorse who was visibly angered by the coach's decision to haul him off.

But a great Doffo goal helped to settle Hibs' nerves 13 minutes from time. The Argentine hit an unstoppable first-timer into the top corner of the net after Mqabba had cut out a dangerous run by Chukunyere.

Calleja then prevented Scerri from increasing the lead, twice rushing out of goal to push the ball away from the Hibs striker's feet.

Substitute Cocks might have pulled Mqabba back into the game had his header from close range been more calibrated.

Less than two minutes from time, Scerri flicked the ball over Calleja and the bar after receiving from Cohen while, at the other end, Camilleri denied Briffa.

Hibs: A. Camilleri-6, C. Failla-6.5, J. Caruana-6, K. Cassar-6 ('90 K. Formosa), R. Mintoff-6, E. Agius-6.5, P. Doffo-7.5, T. Scerri-6.5, A. Cohen-8, U. Edafe-6.5 ('88 J. Vella), J. Alcorse-6 ('73 N. Chukunyere).

Mqabba: K. Calleja-7, A. Busuttil-5.5, I.D. Nogueira-4.5, M. Briffa-6.5, F. Silva-5.5, M. Pereira-6.5, C. Calleja-4 ('80 J. Mintoff), J.P. Muscat-4 ('46 M. Bonnici-4), C. Gatt Baldacchino-6, L. Galea-4.5, D. Zarb-4 ('46 M. Cocks-5.5).

Referee: Andrè Arciola.

Scorers: Scerri 45; Doffo 77.

Yellow cards: Cohen; Scerri.

BoV Player of the match: Pablo Doffo (Hibernians).