Hibs back on track after 2-0 win

Hibernians 2
Herrera 45; Soares Borges 56
Floriana 0

Hibs' recent slump came to an end yesterday when the Premier League leaders eased past Floriana in a one-sided encounter at the National Stadium.

A damaging 2-1 defeat to nearest rivals Valletta and a subsequent 2-2 draw with Marsaxlokk had seriously dented the Paolites' ambitions of winning the Premier League title as they saw a six-point lead whittled down to just one.

So, victory over Floriana was a must for Mark Miller's men to relaunch their title bid and the Paolites duly answered the call with a polished display that saw them score a goal in each half to bag a deserved win. Now, they are four points clear of Valletta who face Birkirkara tomorrow.

Andrew Cohen was the catalyst behind Hibs' victory yesterday as he worked relentlessly to unlock Floriana's defence as Zeferino Soares Borges and Clayton Failla tormented the Greens with their runs.

Miller was boosted by the news that striker Terrence Scerri had passed a late fitness test as winger Failla returned from suspension.

Ben Camilleri failed to recover from injury and was replaced by Elkien Cauchi. Adrian Pulis is still out with hamstring trouble but Aaron Xuereb was on the bench.

Floriana coach Tony Alamango had a shortage of strikers as Ryan Darmanin and Christian Caruana were both ruled out by injury with Orosco Anonam pushed forward in a lone advanced role.

The match started on a scrappy note with both sides showing little creativity when pushing forward and the only scoring opportunity in the initial stages came on 13 minutes.

Scerri unmarked Soares Borges with a crisp backheel but the Portuguese forward fired wide.

Floriana's response arrived on 28 minutes when Pablo Doffo's thumping effort from outside the area was saved by Mario Muscat, the Hibs goalkeeper.

Three minutes later the woodwork denied Hibs an opener.

Failla's drive surprised Glenn Zammit but luckily for the keeper the ball smashed against the upright before finishing out of play.

Hibs remained the more enterprising side and nine minutes from half-time Soares Borges tried his luck from the distance but his rising shot finished just over.

Two minutes from the break, Cohen was again the provider when his pin-pointed cross found Scerri but his dipping header finished just over.

Hibs' persistence finally paid off on 45 minutes when Failla's inswinging cross was nodded down by Scerri towards Edward Herrera who beat Zammit from close range.

Floriana almost grabbed an instant equaliser when in time added on Mauro Brincat's volley was pushed over the bar by the well-positioned Muscat.

Hibs looked to strengthen their grip on the match after the break and poured forward in search of a second goal.

That duly arrived on 56 minutes when from a Failla corner, Soares Borges was first to the ball, his firm header giving Zammit no chance.

Soares Borges almost struck again on the hour when he was picked by Failla just outside the area but his shot was somehow stopped by Zammit.

Floriana were clearly with backs against the ropes as they struggled hard to come out of their defensive shell. Hibs' pressure was intensifying with every minute that passed.

Alamango looked to inject fresh confidence in his midfield when he withdrew Duncan Pisani and sent on the more offensive Dylan Zarb.

On 70 minutes, Failla should have killed off Floriana when in a swift break he ran through the Greens' defence but saw his shot palmed away by the young Floriana goalkeeper.

Eight minutes from time it was Jonathan Caruana who almost hit a third goal for Miller's team when Zammit failed to hold Failla's grounder but the Hibs defender fired wide from routine distance.

The only sour note for the Paolites was the knee injury sustained by Jean Paul Farrugia just before the final whistle. The upcoming forward had just come on for Christian Callejas.

Hibernians
M. Muscat-6, J. Caruana-6.5, J. Pearson-6, E. Herrera-7, C. Failla-7.5, C. Callejas-6.5 ('86 J.P. Farrugia, '90 T. Caruana), T. Scerri-6, A. Cohen-7.5, R. Galabov-7, Z. Soares Borges-6.5, E. Cauchi-6.

Floriana
G. Zammit-5.5, O. Bugeja-5, S. Eboh-5, J. Briffa-5.5, C. Camoin-5.5 ('82 V. Brincat), P. Doffo-6, M. Briffa-6, J. Borg-5 ('75 J. Brincat), M. Brincat-5.5, D. Pisani-5 ('69 D. Zarb-5), O. Anonam-5.

Referee: Paul Caruana.

Yellow cards: Bugeja, Failla, Briffa, Doffo.

BoV player of the match: Clayton Failla (Hibernians).