Honours shared in entertaining match

Marsaxlokk 2
Templeman 4; Effiong 7;
Hibernians 2
McManus 17; Cohen 30;

Marsaxlokk were the better side in an entertaining match but had to settle for a point against the misfiring Hibernians.

The draw will have annoyed all the Marsaxlokk clan as a win would have put the Southseasiders at the top of the table, joint with Valletta.

Four goals in the opening 30 minutes made for a pulsating start after Marsaxlokk took off brightly, with Trevor Templeman and Alfred Effiong giving them a two-goal lead earlier on.

But, as is so often the case, Paul McManus and Andrew Cohen came to Hibernians’ rescue when they came back from two goals down. Anything more than a point for Hibs would have been undeserved after what was an extremely poor display by their late standards.

The same players in the same formation will deliver the same goods against Marsaxlokk, Mark Miller must have thought as he put the same starting XI for the fourth game in a row.

His counterpart’s decision to include Dylan Kokavessis to fill the void left by Emil Yanchev necessitated some positional switches, with Rumen Galabov dropped back to centre-half alongside Clive Brincat. Patrick Curmi fielded Effiong ahead of Kokavessis and Ruben Guerreiro detailed to provide support from the wings.

For a team with just one goal –from the penalty spot – in six hours of Premier League football, it was difficult to imagine that Marsaxlokk would score twice in the opening seven minutes yesterday.

Effiong still has to fully convince Curmi about his real potential after leaving him on the bench for half the time this season, but on the evidence of his performance he is now likely to be finding more space in the starting line-up.

On four minutes, the Nigerian took a quick free-kick towards Templeman that completely cut the Hibernians defence. Without brea-king stride, the nippy midfielder hit the ball past Mario Muscat.

After displaying the art of his passing skills, Effiong was soon on the scoresheet as he stroked the ball past the hapless Muscat following an exquisite Kokavessis pass.

But if Marsaxlokk thought they were heading towards a comfortable victory, they were completely wrong.

Hibernians hit back 10 minutes later, Malcolm Licari gave the ball away to McManus who was allowed a free run on goal before he dispatched a sweet strike into the bottom left-hand corner.

And through a combination of Cohen’s trickery and McManus’s quick feet, Hibernians were soon level. On the half hour mark, the Scotsman found the inspirational Cohen who deftly tucked his shot into the corner.

The equaliser served to lift the Paolites’ confidence but a spell of pressure brought no reward as Triston Caruana was denied by Reuben Gauci after 34 minutes.

Effiong had a chance to add to his tally but lashed wide after he had collected Julio Alcorse’s scuffed shot.

Curmi’s half-time talk helped the game swing back into Marsaxlokk’s favour.

The Southseasiders looked most menacing when they played the ball quickly through midfield. In one such spurt, Muscat showed his sharp reflexes when he palmed away a crisp header by Effiong.

From the ensuing corner, a downward header from Carlo Mamo was saved by the Hibs skipper.

Just past the hour, Alcorse really should have given Marsaxlokk the lead. Guerreiro’s quick feet provided him with space but with the goal at his mercy, the Argentine rushed his finish, blazing his shot against the bar.

On 71 minutes, substitute Jean Paul Farrugia’s timed run allowed him to latch on to Cohen’s pass but his shot rippled the Marsaxlokk side-netting rather than the goal.

In stoppage time, Caruana twice made his attacking presence felt, getting in a shot on goal after Gauci had stopped Farrugia’s effort in two attempts and then he almost reached a Cohen cross.

Marsaxlokk
R. Gauci-6, C. Mamo-6.5, G. Sciberras-6.5, M. Deanov-5.5 (75 A. Spiteri), M. Licari-5, A. Effiong-7.5, C. Brincat-6, R. Galabov-6.5, T. Templeman-6.5, D. Kokavessis-5 (21 J. Alcorse-5), R. Guerreiro Gravata-6.5 (89 S. Eboh).

Hibernians
M. Muscat-7, R. Camilleri-4.5 (26 M. Tabone-5), M. Clarke-5, A. Xuereb-5 (‘77 B. Kristensen), A. Pulis-5, E. Herrera-5.5 (63 J.P. Farrugia-5), Z. Levniac-5, A. Cohen-6, T. Caruana-5.5, P. McManus-6.5, R. Hart-5.

Referee: Chris Lautier.

Yellow cards: Levniac, Brincat, Mamo, Hart, McManus, Herrera, Guerreiro.

BoV player of the match: Alfred Effiong.

Attendances: 1,720.

Playing today

Tedesco Stadium: 6 p.m. Vittoriosa vs Sliema; 8 p.m. Qormi vs Tarxien.