Hibs hopefuls eclipse Cruyff and co.

Hibernians 2
Cvetic 14; Abelilah 40
Valletta 0

These are still early days but champions Hibs have already given their rivals Valletta a lesson on teamwork and tactical discipline.

The spotlight at the start of last night's Euro Cup meeting between the two main protagonists in the Premier League last season was on Valletta's high-profile newcomers - coach Ton Caanen and Dutch signing Jordi Cruyff. However, it was Hibs who earned the plaudits of their fans and the few neutrals after beating the Citizens 2-0.

The Paolites had several new faces in their team but they still played with more cohesion than their disjointed opponents with Andrew Cohen catching the eye with his polished footwork.

New signing Ryan Camilleri had a positive debut at centre-half.

Mark Miller was intent on using this warm-up to gauge the credentials of three players currently having a trial with Hibs.

Ouichou El Houssaine, who has a Dutch passport, partnered Serbian Milan Cvetic in attack while Taki Abelilah, also from the Netherlands, played off the two strikers.

Cruyff was assigned an advanced midfield role while Leon Kantelberg and Sendley Bito, both from the Netherlands Antilles, played to the left and right of Ian Zammit, Valletta's target man in attack.

Just over 13 minutes had elapsed when Hibs nosed ahead.

Cvetic, who was on the books of Gozo's Kerċem Ajax last season, dispossessed Justin Grioli on the left, drifted into the box and despatched a low shot past Nicky Vella.

It took Valletta a while to get going but close to the 19th minute they almost equalised.

Captain Gilbert Agius unleashed a gem of a volley from the distance but his effort ricocheted off the post.

Valletta threatened again on the half hour when Bito advanced on the right before crossing into the six-yard box where Cruyff managed to get a touch to the ball but the Hibs defenders snuffed out the danger.

After a sluggish start, Cruyff came more into the picture. The same applied to Bito who began to pose more problems for Hibs with his incursions on the right.

Cruyff hit a dangerous piledriver but Daniel Balzan, yesterday deputising for Mario Muscat, flung sideways to smother the ball away.

But, five minutes from half-time, Hibs doubled their advantage.

Cvetic picked out El Houssaine who nipped behind the backtracking City defence before crossing low for Abelilah to tap the ball home.

On the brink of half-time, Valletta screamed 'penalty' when Zammit appeared to have been caught by Balzan's outstretched hand but referee Alan Mario Sant allowed play to continue.

Caanen reshaped his team at half-time. Kantelberg was pushed up front and Dyson Falzon, who replaced Zammit, took up marauding duties on the left wing.

Twelve minutes into the second half, Falzon crossed for Bito at the far post but the latter volleyed wide.

One expected Valletta to make a strong rally in the second half but this failed to materialised as the Citizens looked rusty and devoid of inspiration. Hibs, however, stayed focused and sought to hit their opponents on the counter.

Twenty minutes from time, the Paolites were unlucky not to extend their lead when Abelilah, profiting from some soft defending by the Citizens, set up Cvetic who beat Vella but the ball came off the base of the post.

In stoppage time, Balzan denied Valletta a consolation goal when tipping away Edmond Agius's shot.

Hibernians
D. Balzan, R. Mintoff, A. Xuereb, R. Camilleri, A. Pulis ('46 J. Pearson), A. Cohen, M. Cvetic ('75 L. Grech), R. Galabov, O. El Houssaine, T. Abelilah, J. Caruana ('84 G. Inguanez).

Valletta
N. Vella, J. Cruyff ('69 R. Briffa), S. Bito, L. Kantelberg, G. Agius, I. Zammit ('46 D. Falzon), J. Grioli, S. Bezzina, S. Giglio ('46 E. Agius), L. Dimech, K. Scicluna.

Referee: Alan Mario Sant.

Yellow cards: Caruana; G. Agius; Cohen.

Fixtures (Centenary Stadium)

Tomorrow - 7 p.m. Sliema vs Hibs; 9 p.m. Valletta vs Birkirkara.

Friday - 7 p.m. Sliema vs Valletta; 9 p.m. Birkirkara vs Hibs.