Superior Hibs cruise to victory

Hibernians 3
Msida St Joseph 0

Hibernians made a significant step towards retaining their top-flight status yesterday following a 3-0 win over Msida St Joseph in their opening Relegation Pool match in Corradino.

Victory enabled Robert Gatt's team to open a five-point gap on the Saints and a staggering eight on second-from-bottom Pietà Hotspurs with five matches to go before the end of the campaign.

Hurt by their failure to make the cut with the top six, Hibernians have their sights set on reaching Premier League safety with as many weeks in advance as possible.

Yesterday's win was certainly the ideal start for the FA Trophy holders who are more accustomed to chasing a place in European football than battling it out with the relegation strugglers.

A brisk start saw Hibernians establish a two-goal lead inside the opening 36 minutes as Msida's strike-force of Doding Priso and Pedro Dos Santos failed to pose danger to the sturdy Paolites rearguard.

Clearly, Msida sorely felt the presence of the suspended Tyrone Farrugia. They had created the first notable move of the match inside the first two minutes. Priso passed to Patrick Borg who delivered a cross towards the far post where defender Timothy Fleri Soler was quick to block the surging Roderick Baldacchino and boot the ball away to safety.

If this was meant to be an indication of the Saints' attacking prowess, it faded away into oblivion in a matter of minutes as Hibs soon gained a stronghold on the proceedings.

Hibs' first decent attempt came after 10 minutes when Andrew Cohen and Pablo Doffo combined well to set up Terence Scerri just inside the penalty area. The lanky striker rifled a powerful shot that sailed over the bar.

Past the first quarter, Cohen won a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area after Borg impeded the striker from darting into the box.

Cohen executed a near perfect kick which stretched goalkeeper Manuel Bartolo to his limits as the Msida no.1 palmed the effort away for a corner.

The pressure on Msida continued from the ensuing flag-kick. Cohen swung a menacing cross and Scerri towered into the air with a dipping header that was well saved by Bartolo.

Hibs coach Gatt must have been pleased with his players' performance at that stage. Midway through the first half, Cohen was once again put through but his shot narrowly missed the target.

The Paolites' supremacy finally paid off almost on the half-hour mark, courtesy of a gem of a goal from Doffo after a quick counter-attack. His shot from outside the penalty box had so much power that it flew past the frantic dive of Bartolo who tried desperately hard to save his lines.

Hibs added a second inside the last 10 minutes of the first half. The Msida rearguard was slow to react as Cohen's corner was met by Jonathan Caruana's thundering header which rebounded off the woodwork. Ben Camilleri was first to the rebound and chested the ball over the line.

Hardly a minute into the second half, Scerri served the unmarked Edmond Agius in the Msida box but the latter only managed a feeble attempt that was easily smothered away by Bartolo.

Brazilian Dos Santos had a sniff at goal on 53 minutes as he curled a free-kick from the edge of the penalty area that sailed over the defensive wall but a whisker away from goal.

Msida were forced to turn to reserve goalkeeper Matthew Camilleri close to the hour as Barolo suffered an injury and hobbled off the pitch.

Priso then thought he had done enough to hand Msida a lifeline as he drifted inside the penalty area from the left flank and whipped a low shot from close range that was somehow repelled by the defence.

Sixteen minutes from time, Adrian Mifsud was standing on the touchline, waiting to come on for Scerri when Agius lofted the ball upfield towards the lanky Hibs striker. Scerri beat the offside trap, left Clive Brincat in his wake and beat Camilleri with a perfect lob for Hibs' third goal.

Ironically, that was Scerri's last contribution to the match as he was replaced by Mifsud seconds later.

The last quarter was devoid of any drama as Hibernians controlled their advantage without exerting too much energy.

Hibernians: M. Muscat-6.5, A. Pulis-6, T. Fleri Soler-6, A. Xuereb-6, J. Caruana-7, U. Edafe-6 ('58 A. Fish-5.5), E. Agius-7 ('82 J. Pearson), P. Doffo-7.5, T. Scerri-7 ('74 A. Mifsud), A. Cohen-7.5, B. Camilleri-6.5.

Msida: M. Bartolo-6.5 ('58 M. Camilleri-5.5), P. Sciriha-6, S. Grima-5.5, C. Brincat-5.5, K. Spiteri-6, D. Cachia-6, P. Borg-6, A. Farrugia-6 ('79 L. Mizzi), R. Baldacchino-5.5 ('46 G. Dos Santos-5.5), P. Dos Santos Calcado-6, N.P. Doding-6.

Referee: Andre Arciola.

Scorers: Doffo 29; Camilleri 36; Scerri 74.

Yellow Cards: Borg; Pulis; Brincat; Scerri.

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