Bonello lifts Blues

Sliema Wanderers 1
Hibernians 0

An early goal and a saved penalty were the defining moments of a low-key match that saw Sliema Wanderers book their place in the semi-finals of the FA Trophy at the expense of Hibs.

Ivan Woods's breakthrough laid the platform for the Blues but the outcome of the tie might have been different were it not for a string of fine interventions from Sliema keeper Henry Bonello who also saved a penalty in the second half.

Sliema coach Stephen Azzopardi rang the changes after his team's 1-0 defeat to Tarxien.

Ian Ciantar, Noel Turner, Daniel Saverino and Jeffrey Chetcuti were drafted into the first team as Matthew Bartolo and Victor Coto were relegated to the bench.

Branko Nisevic was absent after failing to shake off a knock he suffered and Italian defender Sam Siro Furfaro was left out of the squad.

With Aaron Xuereb sidelined and Jonathan Caruana named among the subs, Hibs coach Mark Miller assigned the two centre-half roles to Rumen Galabov and Jonathan Pearson.

A miscued clearance by Bonello almost gifted Hibs an early opener as Clayton Failla pounced on the keeper's mistake and rifled an angled shot but the Sliema no.1 saved to atone for his mistake.

Sliema's response was quick and productive as Turner floated a cross into the path of lone striker Woods who, having evaded the offside trap, advanced before driving a low shot past Mario Muscat.

Having failed to make much of an attacking impact in the opening stages, Hibs tried to up the tempo of their game but their efforts were easily dealt with by Sliema.

For much of the remainder of the first half, both teams toiled to infuse a semblance of creativity into their play with the result that scoring chances were few and far between.

Three minutes from half-time, Christian Callejas whipped in a dipping free-kick but Bonello tipped the ball over the bar.

Inside the opening two minutes of the second half, Muscat fisted away an inswinging corner by Saverino. Failla's twisting run, at the other end, unnerved the Sliema defenders as the pacey winger set up Cohen whose shot was blocked by Bonello.

Hibs then had a golden opportunity to draw level in the shape of a penalty after Ian Azzopardi bundled Cohen over inside the box. However, Scerri's spot-kick was stopped by Bonello.

It took Hibs a while to get going again after that missed penalty. Failla's free-kick sailed just wide and Alexis Mbongo had a shot blocked by Azzopardi.

The Paolites had another penalty claim when Lucian Dronca appeared to clip Cohen's heel but referee Marco Borg was unmoved.

Matthew Bartolo, on for the injured Mark Scerri, blasted high after receiving from Bajada as the counter-attacking Sliema threatened to put the result beyond Hibs.

On the stroke of time, the Hibs keeper kept his team in the game when saving Muscat's grounder with his legs.

Sliema Wanderers
H. Bonello, A. Muscat, I. Azzopardi, N. Turner, M. Scerri ('72 M. Bartolo), J. Chetcuti, I. Woods, L. Dronca, D. Saverino ('75 V. Coto), I. Ciantar, R. Bajada ('90 J. Vella).

Hibernians
M. Muscat, A. Pulis, R. Galabov, J. Pearson ('79 J.P. Farrugia), E. Herrera, A. Mbongo, C. Callejas, C. Failla, A. Cohen, T. Scerri, B. Camilleri ('54 J. Caruana).

Scorer: Woods 11

Referee Marco Borg.

Missed penalty Scerri (H) 59.

Yellow cards Saverino; Failla; Galabov; Bajada; Scerri; Muscat.