Hibernians 3
Birkirkara 2
"Unbelievable" screamed an ectastic Mark Miller in the VIP zone as Hibs defied the odds yesterday, coming back from two goals down with ten men to beat Birkirkara 3-2 in a gripping encounter.
The Stripes, keen to banish the memories of a 6-0 hiding to Hibs in the first round, looked home and dry after Kiril Dimitrov-Mihaylov put them 2-0 ahead on 54 minutes.
Having gained a lifeline when Ben Camilleri reduced the deficit midway through the second half, Hibs looked to have suffered a blow when Rumen Galabov was sent off but Terrence Scerri came good in the final quarter as he hit a double to leave Birkirkara stunned... Hibs secured pole position ahead of the Championship Pool.
Birkirkara captain Michael Galea was back in the starting XI. His return meant that Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza had to settle for a place on the bench as coach John Buttigieg kept faith with Dimitrov-Mihaylov up front.
Mauro Di Lello started in his favoured centre-half position as Ivalio Sokolov was absent from Birkirkara's squad.
Miller, who was serving the second of a two-match touchline ban, tasked Jonathan Pearson with the responsibility of replacing the injured Aaron Xuereb in defence.
Hibs had a torrid start as they found themselves behind after barely seven minutes. It was a somewhat fortuitous goal as defender Jonathan Caruana inadvertently hit Shaun Bajada's cross into his own net.
One-nil down, the onus was on Hibs to step up their efforts in search of an equaliser. For their part, Birkirkara seemed content to operate on the counter with quick vertical balls to their striking duo.
Scoring chances were proving hard to come by in a dull first half.
Hibs were a trifle unlucky not to make it one-all when, with 12 minutes left before half-time, Callejas's set-piece cross from the right was met by the leaping Terrence Scerri but his backheader caressed the post.
Buttigieg was forced into his first substitution three minutes from the break after Jonathan Holland limped off the pitch. His place was taken by Angus Buhagiar.
Relying on their sound tactical organisation and quick counter-thrusts, Birkirkara not only drew the sting out of Hibs' attacks, they came close to doubling their lead just before half-time. Dimitrov-Mihaylov fired a scorcher from the edge of the box but the ball finished wide.
Sensing Scerri's difficulties to get the better of Di Lello, Miller instructed his chief scorer to move to the right of Hibs attack in the second half. Caruana was pushed to midfield with Galabov taking his position at centre-back.
On one occasion, Scerri managed to charge clear of Zerafa before crossing for Ben Camilleri but Di Lello darted backward to head the ball away for a corner.
Birkirkara made another significant step towards victory when they increased their lead nine minutes into the second half.
Galea's astute pass from the left caught the Hibs' defence off guard as the ball rolled to the Dimitrov-Mihaylov who shot past Muscat.
On the hour mark, Borg, the Birkirkara goalkeeper, thwarted Hibs when palming Cohen's dipping effort over the bar. The ensuing corner, taken by Cohen, wreaked havoc in the Birkirkara box as Galabov swooped at the far post but his flick looked to have been hooked off the line by Ron Hartvig.
Hibs did gain a lifeline 21 minutes from time when Camilleri burst through to bundle Edward Herrera's right-wing cross past Borg.
Birkirkara complained that Camilleri had struck the ball with his arm but the referee ignored their appeals.
More drama ensued as in no time Hibs were reduced to 10 men when Galabov was shown a straight red card for headbutting an opponent in an off-the-ball incident.
It looked like a deadly blow for the Paolites who had just been awarded a free-kick but their optimism soared again after Scerri blasted home after receiving from Cohen to level the score.
Two-all but with an extra man on the pitch, the pressure was now on Birkirkara to make their numerical advantage count.
But, two minutes from time, the unthinkable happened as Hibs took the lead for the first time in the match, Scerri glancing his header past Borg following a perfectly-flighted corner from Failla.
Paul Fenech almost grabbed a last-minute equaliser for Birkirkara but his shot dropped inches wide of the far post.
Hibernians
M. Muscat-5, E. Herrera-6.5, A. Pulis-5.5, J. Caruana-5, J. Pearson-5, B. Camilleri-5 ('83 E. Cauchi), C. Failla-5, C. Callejas-6.5, T. Scerri-7, A. Cohen-7 ('90 L. Grech), R. Galabov.
Birkirkara
O. Borg-6.5, S. Bajada-6.5 ('87 M. Anastasi), T. Cilia-5, R. Hartvig-6.5, J. Zerafa-6, J. Holland-5 ('42 A. Buhagiar-5), P. Fenech-6, M. Di Lello-6.5, G. Mallia-7, M. Galea-6.5, K. Dimitrov-Mihaylov-6.5 ('76 J.P. Mifsud Triganza).
Scorers: Camilleri 69; Scerri 75, 88 (Hibs), Caruana 7 og; Dimitrov-Mihaylov 54 (B'Kara)
Referee: Adrian Azzopardi.
Yellow cards: Zerafa; Cilia.
Red card: Galabov (Hibs) 74.
BoV player of the match: Andrew Cohen (Hibs).