Point apiece for Hibs, Floriana

Floriana 1
Doffo 14
Hibernians 1
Callejas 57

The opening match of the weekend saw Hibernians and Floriana share the spoils, a result that satisfied neither's side's immediate ambitions.

With both teams desperate for points in a congested upper half of the table, fighting for a berth in the Championship Pool, the Floriana coach would be happier than his counterpart having taken a point off the Champions.

The match could not have been more different from the last one they played at the Hibs Stadium.

Fans who braved the wintry weather in the hope of a repeat of the breathless goalfeast of last November, which saw Floriana triumph 3-2, were to be sadly disappointed.

Zoran Popovic sprung two major surprises when he started with Russian striker Victor Zlydarev on the bench. He gave a full debut to Serbian midfielder Stefan Lijeskic, who was recruited as the club's third foreigner after missing out on former Hibernians midfielder Rumen Galabov who opted to join Division One side Marsaxlokk instead.

The Serbian came in the starting formation along with defender Brian Said who was back in the fray after missing the 2-1 defeat to Birkirkara through suspension. Clifton Ciantar started on the bench.

Galabov's exit at Hibs paved the way for Brazilian forward Elton Morelato to sign for the Malta champions and partner Portuguese striker Miguel Lopes De Pina up front with Andrew Cohen and Etienne Barbara revelling in the spaces behind the attacking duo.

Hibs's forwards were involved in the first noteworthy episode of the match as both Morelato and De Pina had successive attempts blocked by Floriana keeper Bernard Paris in the opening exchanges.

Hibernians dominated the early stages, but were stunned when their former player Pablo Doffo scored an absolute screamer after 15 minutes.

The hard-working Argentine cut in from the right and sent a swerving shot into the top left hand corner from almost 30 metres out.

A goal-line clearance from Jonathan Pearson prevented Floriana from doubling their advantage a few moments later when the defender blocked Ryan Darmanin's dipping drive that looked destined for the net.

Hibernians' momentum had been halted by the goal, but there was a fleeting glimpse of Morelato's aerial abilities a few minutes before the break, when he rose to meet Cohen's cross but his effort was off target.

After the interval, Hibernians began to play with an increased sense of urgency and equalised straight away.

Cohen picked up the ball on the left flank. His pace took him past a Floriana defender as Christian Callejas arrived at the back post to head home the skipper's deep cross.

Here, Miller, perhaps sensing a change in fortunes, replaced Ryan Camilleri with Triston Caruana as he looked to add more steel to his team's attacking drive.

But for all their firepower up front, Hibernians created very few scoring chances as the quality of play deteriorated as the match wore on.

On 64 minutes, with the Floriana defenders caught with their backs to goal, Barbara dragged his effort wide from a tight angle.

Crucially, however, Floriana's best chance fell to two of their defenders. Instead of seeing the ball dispatched between the posts, substitute Clifton Ciantar and Brian Said miscued their attempt at goal and the opportunity was wasted.

Floriana
B. Paris-6.5, B. Said-6, S. Grima-6 (66'Briffa J-5), O. Anonam-5, R. Darmanin-5, S. Lijeskic-6, P. Doffo-8, C. Caruana-5, S. Borg-6 (76'Zlydarev), J.Borg-5 (61' Ciantar-5), O. Bugeja-5.

Hibernians
D. Balzan-5, J. Caruana-6, E. Herrera-6, A. Pulis-6, J. Pearson-7, R. Camilleri-5 (60' Caruana T), C. Callejas-7, A. Cohen-7.5, M. Lopes De Pina-6, E. Morelato-6 (79'Camilleri B), E. Barbara-6.

Referee: Andrè Arciola.

Yellow cards: S. Grima.

BoV player of the match: Pablo Doffo (Floriana).