Late penalty saves Hibernians' blushes

Dingli 1
Okonkwo 50
Hibernians 2
Galabov 4; Cohen 75 pen

Hibernians were aided by a controversial goal from Rumen Galabov on their way to a hard-fought 2-1 win over Dingli Swallows at the Hibs Stadium yesterday.

The Bulgarian midfielder's fourth-minute header was adjudged to have gone over the Dingli goalline even though TV replays suggested that the intervention by defender Shaun Tellus had prevented the ball from crossing the line.

It was a low-key performance from Hibernians who despite taking an early lead failed to click into gear.

Instead it was Dingli who, inspired by the strong running of Joseph Okonkwo, threatened to turn the match in their favour.

The game looked to be taking a positive turn for Mark Miller's Hibs when they forged ahead after only four minutes, albeit in controversial circumstances.

Galabov was first to Adrian Pulis cross and the Bulgarian headed the ball towards goal only to see his effort cleared off the line by Tellus. However, assistant referee Philip Agius felt sure that the ball had crossed the line and referee Marco Borg awarded the Paolites the goal much to the frustration of the Dingli players.

However it was Dingli who came out of the blocks sharper in the second period. Inside 10 minutes after the restart, Kurt Formosa slipped a superbly-weighted pass into Okonkwo's path as the Nigerian striker tried his luck from long-range and his swerving shot proved too hot for Mario Muscat to hold before the ball hit the post and went off the keeper's back.

In between these goals, the match entered a lull with little in the way of shots as it cried out for goalmouth action with Hibernians lacking conviction in the attacking third but stood firm at the other end as Dingli turned the screw.

The only noteworthy episode was a Galabov shot that flew over the bar after 40 minutes.

After the interval, Dingli cleverly manoeuvred the ball with a purpose with the hold-up play of striker Okonkwo proving a regular base from which to launch attacks.

But although Hibs spent a spell on the back-foot, they still forced Farrugia into a smart save when the Dingli keeper had to claw away an Oleg Malasenoks header on the hour mark.

The champions eventually started to pile on the pressure on Dingli and stopped giving them the time and space to work their passing moves.

On 75 minutes, Edward Herrera burst into the box and nipped the ball around Dylan Zarb, who was ruled to have tripped the defender as he lunged for the ball.

The Dingli players were incensed with Marco Borg's decision to award Hibs a penalty. But they were powerless to stop Andrew Cohen to score from the spot-kick.

Five minutes from time, substitute Haruna Doda, who came on for Etienne Farrugia, had the opportunity to shock Hibernians but he dragged his effort too wide after being set up by Zarb.

Hibernians, however, will be buoyed by a victory that was achieved when they were well below their best.

Dingli
J. Farrugia-6, R. Briffa-5, S. Tellus-6, K. Formosa-6.5, V. Fiteni-5, ('88 C. Caruana), C. Muscat-6, D. Cachia-5, E. Farrugia-6 ('80 H. Doda), J. Okonkwo-6.5, K. Borg-6 ('85 C. Azzopardi), D. Zarb-6.

Hibernians
M. Muscat-5, J. Caruana-5, E. Herrera-6.5, A. Pulis-6.5, A. Xuereb-5, J. Pearson-5, B. Camilleri-6, C. Camilleri-5 ('59 Y. Cauchi-5), A. Cohen-7, O. Malasenoks-6 ('86 E. Cauchi), R.Galabov-6 ('59 T. Caruana-5.5).

Referee: Marco Borg.

Yellow cards: Pearson, B. Camilleri, Okonkwo.

BoV player of the match: Andrew Cohen (Hibernians).