HIBS-2, ĦAMRUN SPARTANS-1
Hibs booked their place in the final of the U*Bet FA Trophy after beating Ħamrun Spartans in this evening's semi-final at the National Stadium.
Mindful not to suffer the same fate of their fierce rivals Valletta, who were surprisingly knocked out by Qormi on Sunday, Hibs dominated the Spartans for long spells, taking a 2-0 lead before a penalty goal for Ħamrun set up a tense finale.
But, Hibs held firm to protect their lead and secure their berth in Sunday's final.
A mistake by Spartans defender Roderick Fenech almost gifted Hibs a goal inside the opening two minutes. Fenech, back to first-team action after recovering from cruciate surgery, stumbled as he tried to block a run by Edward Herrera who had burst into the box. The ball fell invitingly to Andrew Cohen who hit wide from an inviting position.
With Luis Edison 'Tarabai' serving suspension, Cohen was Hibs' main striker in a 4-1-4-1 formation.Eight minutes into the game, Omar Borg, the Ħamrun goalkeeper, pushed away a tricky Jackson Lima drive from a long-range free-kick.
The Paolites continued to show the better ideas. When Borg failed to hold a seemingly harmless shot by Herrera, the Spartans feared the worst as Cohen swooped but the Spartans goalkeeper did just enough to unbalance the Hibs forward.
The hitherto subdued Spartans came close to breaking the deadlock on 15 minutes but Ronnie Hartvig headed over from Kevin Sammut's corner.
At the other end, Cohen's swerving free-kick came off the near post.
Close to the half-hour mark, Hibs went ahead. Jackson Lima's set-piece cross from a deep position sailed dangerously into the Spartans box and Rodolfo Soares jumped highest to direct a header over the on-rushing Borg.
Grima, who had conceded the free-kick from which Hibs took the lead, tried his luck with a long-range drive that forced Mario Muscat to push the ball away for a corner.
Outplayed by the intelligent Hibs forwards, Ħamrun were restricted to long balls in the hope of finding Anderson and Dene Shields. From one of these crosses, Anderson ended on the turf after coming in contact with Jonathan Pearson but referee Fyodor Zammit waved play on.
The Spartans clearly had to up their game if they were to improve their chances of getting an equaliser.
Five minutes into the second half, Fenech's header, from Sammut's corner, was blocked.Ħamrun's spirits rose when Gianluca Calabretta, who had just come on as a substitute, won a free-kick in an inviting position after being felled by Pearson but Grima's swerving effort was nodded away by Cohen.
Marcelo Dias should have made it 2-0 for Hibs when, put through by Bjorn Kristensen, he burst past two defenders but his grounder was blocked by Borg.
The Paolites looked to have sealed the issue when Steve Pisani sped clear of Matthew Gauci and prodded past Borg 17 minutes from time but Ħamrun pulled one back. Ryan Camilleri floored Anderson in the box and Dene Shields made no mistake from the spot.
Before the Spartans reduced the deficit, Hibs had spurned an excellent chance to wrap up their win as Dias set up Pisani but the latter's close-range attempt was blocked by Borg.