Hibernians 1
Failla 87 pen;
Floriana 0
The luck of the draw meant that holders Floriana and Hibernians had to lock horns in the quarter-finals of the FA Trophy competition, just a week after sharing the spoils in a BOV Premier League match.
The encounter in a certain way was reminiscent of last week’s clash and seemed to be heading for another draw and extra-time before a penalty three minutes from time gave the Paolities their ticket to the semi-finals.
On the night though, Hibernians proved to be worthy winners, considering that they were solid and compact in all departments, something they had failed to show last week.
Mark Miller was forced to tweak his team from last week, when Michael Woods neutralised the Paolites, reading their attacking tactics. The changes made by Miller to the team bore fruit yesterday.
Woods effected one change to the side that lined up last week against Hibs with Christian Cassar being given the nod to start instead of John Mintoff.
But the former Marsaxlokk midfielder lasted just 20 minutes when he had to abandon the field of play injured and watched the remaining of the match from the substitutes’ bench.
Bjorn Kristensen returned to the Hibernians’ fold at the expense of Steve Pisani with Marcelo Dias also included in the starting formation.
The Brazilian was deployed wide on the left of midfield. Such is the class of this striker that he infiltrated the Floriana defence on several occasions, reaching the by-line to deliver the cross or reaching the box and shooting.
Floriana soon adapted to these new threats with Joseph Borg sitting deep and doubling up Duncan Pisani’s efforts to deny Dias overlapping opportunities which had become a default strategy for the Greens.
On the half hour mark, Luis Edison’s footwork proved too much for the Floriana defenders but his diagonal effort skimmed the post.
In a quick break, Alandson raced on the left flank before delivering a cross in the box but the ball was punched away by goalkeeper Mario Muscat. The loose ball ran into Joseph Borg’s way but his shot finished just wide.
It was all Hibernians in the opening stages after the interval as Floriana’s rearguard was put under severe test.
In the 47th minute, Edison found himself one-on-one with Patrick Jansen but the Brazilian was thwarted by the Dutch goalkeeper who divided to his left to parry. In next no time, Jansen pulled off another save from Kristensen’s rising shot.
Seven minutes later, Borg failed to make a meaningful connection with Pablo Doffo’s teasing free-kick much to the frustration of the Floriana bench.
After 68 minutes, Hibernians would have taken the lead were it not for Jansen.
Clayton Failla crossed the ball towards Edison whose point-blank shot brought an excellent save from the Dutch goalkeeper. From the rebound, Aaron Xuereb saw his firm header cleared off the line by Manolito Micallef.
Hibernians were dealt an unexpected blow three minutes later when Dias picked up what looked like a serious injury after colliding with an opponent. The Brazilian was carried off a stretcher and into the waiting ambulance that took him to hospital.
Miller opted for Jason Vandelannoite to replace the Brazilian with Failla pushed up alongside Kristensen who was offering strength and tidiness in the middle as the influence of Doffo, by contrast, dwindled since Hibernians opted to condense the midfield.
Hibernians tore into Floriana and the Paolities applied the coup de grace three minutes from time.
Andrew Cohen hit a spectacular long-range pass towards the far post but the back-tracking Eric Akoto gave away a penalty in a bid to stop Edison, grabbing his shirt and wrestling him to the ground.
From the resultant penalty, Failla drilled his shot into the left-hand corner to send the Hibs fans into ruptures.
It was too late for Floriana to force an equaliser as Hibs held on for a deserved win.
Hibernians
M. Muscat, E. Herrera, J. Pearson, A. Xuereb, R. Soares, A. Cohen, C. Failla, B. Kristensen, J. Lima, M. Dias (71 J. Vandelannoite), L. Edison.
Floriana
P. Jansen, O. Bugeja, D. Pisani, P. Doffo, C. Caruana, I. Woods, M. Micallef, C. Cassar (20 T. Paris), J. Borg (74 R. Darmanin), E. Akoto, Alandson (87 A. Grabowski).
Referee: Marco Borg.
Yellow cards: Caruana, Dias, Akoto, Micallef, Woods, Kristensen.