Scerri's hat-trick topples Vittoriosa

Hibernians 3
Scerri 6, 71, 88
Vittoriosa Stars 0

Hibernians found little difficulty in booking their place in the quarter-finals after they eased past a resilient Vittoriosa Stars yesterday.

A hat-trick from prolific striker Terrence Scerri did the trick for Mark Miller's side as the gulf in class between the two sides was evident at the Centenary Stadium and had it not been for some fine goalkeeping from Vittoriosa's Alexander Camilleri, the Paolites' winning margin would have been bigger.

Hibernians were practically at full strength with the exception of Uruguayan Christian Callejas as coach Mark Miller gave the nod to Andrew Cohen and Terrence Scerri to spearhead the Paolites attack.

On their part Vittoriosa have assembled a competitive squad in a bid to challenge for promotion to the top flight. With the likes of ex-Hibernians striker Kenneth Abela and Anthony Eviparker in attack, the Stars were not to be taken lightly. Added to that the potential of another ex-Hibernians player, Ndubisi Chukunyere, who made a late appearance in this cup tie but failed to make a lasting impression on the proceedings.

An early goal gave the erroneous impression that Hibernians were going to do light work of their opponents but as the match progressed, Vittoriosa proved to be a resilient side.

Hibernians were already ahead after six minutes as Cohen slipped the ball towards the unmarked Scerri who calmly controlled before stabbing a low shot into the net.

On 12 minutes, the first division outfit nearly levelled matters. Lagana's corner created havoc in the Hibs' area as Abela towered to meet the ball with his header being cleared off the line by Jonathan Pearson.

The match fizzled out as the first half progressed although the Paolites did manage to test Camilleri towards the end of the first half through Cohen's fierce shot which was tipped to a corner by the Vittoriosa netminder.

Hibernians kickstarted the second half in full swing and should have increased their lead inside the opening two minutes had it not been for two reflex saves by Camilleri who first repelled Scerri's fierce shot and then palmed away Jean Paul Farrugia's rebound.

On 56 minutes, Cohen put his free-kick skills to the test as he curled a brilliant shot from the edge of the penalty area and again Camilleri came to his side's rescue with another good save as he diverted the ball to a corner.

Muscat, the Hibernians goalkeeper, may have experienced a rather quiet first half but after the interval the Paolites skipper had to rely on his years of experience to deal with a powerful shot from Calleja which he turned away to a corner.

Hibernians were by far the better side and Scerri could have put away a second on the hour as he had the time and space inside the area to coordinate his shot but yet again Camilleri was up to the challenge with another fine save.

Camilleri finally wilted on 71 minutes as a moment of wizardry from Cohen proved to be the Stars' undoing as the diminutive striker muscled his way inside the area and smacked a low shot which Camilleri only managed to repel and Scerri flashed in to tap home from the rebound.

The goal was a harsh blow to the Cottonera side which had just introduced Chukunyere in a bid to add more striking power upfront to try and restore parity.

Trailing by two goals proved too much for George Faure's side even though Calleja again tried his luck with a menacing shot eight minutes from time that had Muscat again turning the ball to a corner.

Inside the last two minutes, substitute Cachia floored Scerri inside the area and Hibernians were awarded a penalty.

With a hat-trick up for grabs, Scerri slotted the ball past the Vittoriosa goalkeeper to add a gloss to his side's performance.

Hibernians
M. Muscat, A. Xuereb, J. Pearson, E. Herrera, R. Galabov ('77 J. Xerri), J.P. Farrugia ('60 T. Caruana), J. Caruana, A. Cohen ('86 E. Cauchi), T. Scerri, C. Failla, T. Mbongo.

Vittoriosa
A. Camilleri, K. Abela, J. Spiteri, S. Privitelli ('70 N. Chukunyere) P. Aquilina, D. Gauci, A. Eviparker, S. Calleja, K. Zammit ('85 C. Cachia), J. Camilleri, L. Lagana.

Referee: Saviour Tanti.

Yellow Card: Lagana.