Stripes' late comeback stuns Hibs

Hibernians 2
Galabov 35; Malasenoks 72
Birkirkara 2
Cilia 84; Pulo 86

What promised to be a heartening win for Hibernians yesterday turned into a case of dejà vu as Birkirkara denied Mark Miller's team victory much as Qormi had done two weeks ago.

This time, Birkirkara wiped out a two-goal deficit in the final six minutes of an action-packed match to rescue a point.

Overall, Hibs were entitled to be pleased with the quality of their passing and movement which, until those final six minutes, looked to have set them on course for a much-needed victory after their defeat to Qormi.

For their part, Birkirkara, who won three matches in a row after their defeat to Valletta, demonstrated why they are flying high by staging an incredible comeback. Sporting an unusual maroon-coloured shirt, Birkirkara took the game to the champions in the early stages. Hibs had the excellent Mario Muscat to thank for keeping Birkirkara at bay.

Twice, the Hibs skipper came to his side's rescue. Muscat stopped a looping free-kick by George Mallia after just six minutes. Then, Birkirkara were awarded a penalty after Kevin Cassar made a clumsy challenge on George Mallia. Sylvano Comvalius took responsibility for the spot-kick but Muscat saved the Dutch striker's effort.

Mallia then advanced through the middle to get behind the backtracking Hibs defence and Michael Galea supplied the perfect pass. The midfielder met it on the run and steered the ball goalwards but he was foiled by a defender who cleared off the line.

The Malta midfielder tried to penetrate the Paolites' defence on three occasions and the tactic paid off each time. However, his 22nd-minute shot was blocked by Adrian Pulis who was returning after a lengthy absence because of injury.

Birkirkara were on top in the opening exchanges and it took Hibs a while to find their rhythm. But Miller's men demonstrated that classic hallmark of champions.

Despite not playing particularly well, Hibs delivered the first blow when, 10 minutes from half-time, Birkirkara failed to clear a cross by Olegs Malasenoks and Rumen Galabov pounced on the loose ball to score from close range.

Suddenly, the balance tilted in Hibs' favour. The Paolites surged forward and Omar Borg, deputising for the suspended Jorge Mora, was on the alert when Pulis swivelled to scissor-kick the ball over the bar.

Paul Zammit's half-time talk seemed to have had the desired effect as Birkirkara made a strong start to the second half.

A neat move involving Paul Fenech, Trevor Cilia and Galea opened up the Hibs defence but the Birkirkara striker arrived late to meet a cross by Cilia and only managed a feeble shot which went wide.

Chances came in quick succession for Birkirkara as Comvalius first flashed a cross-cum-shot across the face of goal and then Fenech's cross was acrobatically cleared by Jonathan Caruana.

Two minutes past the hour, Birkirkara suffered another blow when Thomas Paris was dismissed for two bookable offences. Hibs immediately exploited their numerical advantage when Latvian striker Malasenoks got the finest of touches to divert Christian Callejas's free-kick over Borg 18 minutes from time.

But, much to everyone's surprise the rest of the game was Birkirkara's. Six minutes from the end, Cilia handed Birkirkara a lifeline when rifling a shot low into the right-bottom corner.

Birkirkara capped their amazing recovery two minutes later when substitute Karl Pulo latched on to a headed assist from Galea and fired home from the edge of the box.

The final stages produced a cat-and-mouse affair as Hibs pressed forward in search of a winning goal. Callejas's free-kick flew just over the bar. In the closing moments, Etienne Barbara somehow dragged his effort wide from a few metres out.

Hibernians
M. Muscat-7, J. Caruana-6, E. Herrera-6, J. Pearson-5.5 ('60 L. Grech-5), A. Pulis-6.5, C. Callejas-7, R. Galabov-8, E. Barbara-5, O. Malasenoks-6.5, R. Camilleri-5 ('50 A. Xuereb-5), K. Cassar-5 ('73 E. Cauchi).

Birkirkara
O. Borg-6, T. Paris-5, B. Nisevic-5, N. Vukanac-5, P. Fenech-6.5, R. Muscat-6 ('84 J. Zerafa), S. Bajada-6, T. Cilia-7, G. Mallia-6 ('78 K. Pulo-6), S. Comvalius-5 ('76 A. Buhagiar), M. Galea-6.5.

Referee: Marco Borg.

Missed penalty: Comvalius (B) 13.

Yellow cards: Muscat; Paris; Galabov; Fenech.

Red card: Paris (B) 62.

BoV player of the match: Rumen Galabov (Hibs).