Hibernians 5
Edison 3; Jorginho 8, 52; Failla 43; Cohen 66;
Floriana 0

The Hibernians’ juggernaut shows no signs of slowing down.

Having effectively swept all before them in the first round, collecting 10 wins and a draw from 11 matches, the Paolites delivered another five-star performance to outplay Floriana, winning to the tune of 5-0 and extending their lead at the top to 13 points.

This had been billed as a potentially tricky fixture for the runaway leaders after Floriana had up-staged Birkirkara 2-1 before the international break but two goals inside the first eight minutes banished the prospect of a tight encounter.

The gulf between the two teams not only served to delineate the collective strength of Hibs, it also provided a scathing assessment of the form of the other title rivals, especially Birkirkara who had been made to look ordinary by the same Floriana side that yesterday were outclassed by the leaders.

News that Birkirkara had gone down to the Hotspurs had further raised the spirits of the vocal Hibs fans who made merry as strikers Luis Edison ‘Tarabai’ and Jorginho tore the Floriana defence apart.

While the skills and guile of Hibs’ deadly duo have been central to their remarkable unbeaten run so far, their showing yesterday underlined their all-round brilliance.

Clayton Failla tormented Floriana with the sheer quality of his passes and crosses, Johann Bezzina and Bjorn Kristensen dovetailed nicely in midfield and their back three rarely put a foot wrong.

Yet, the game might have panned out differently had the Greens converted an early chance.

Vito Plut slipped a through-ball to Conor Borg whose flick grazed the base of the far post.

The leaders hit back with vengeance. Failla’s cross from a corner wreaked havoc in the box, Rodolfo Soares only made minimal contact with the ball but Tarabai was on hand to stab home for his 12th goal of the season.

Five minutes later, Hibs doubled their lead. Bezzina lofted the ball into the box where Tarabai had escaped the attentions of the Floriana defenders before squaring to Jorginho who scrambled the ball into the net.

Hibs lined up in a 3-4-1-2 formation with captain Andrew Cohen behind the strikers while Floriana stuck with 4-3-3.

Coach Giovanni Tedesco had Matteo Piciollo and Amadou Samb pushing up the wings in support of Plut, the central figure in Floriana’s attack.

Midway into the first half, Jorginho’s reverse pass picked out Failla but the latter’s shot was easily dealt with by Valerio Senatore after taking a deflection.

Henry Bonello made his first intervention on 28 minutes, fisting away Steve Pisani’s set-piece cross-shot.

Hibs were quick to transfer the ball forward as Failla played in Tarabai but his tame lob was saved by Senatore.

Tarabai had the ball in the net on 33 minutes but the Brazilian had strayed offside as he latched onto Bezzina’s pass.

The Greens ought to have reduced the deficit before half-time.

Breaking on the counter, Plut advanced through the middle and played in the overlapping Andre Scicluna who managed to squeeze a low cross into this six-yard box but Clyde Borg skewed his attempt and Bonello saved.

The Paolites all but wrapped up their win two minutes from half-time.

Fastening on to Tarabai’s forward pass, Failla roared into the box, holding off the stuttering Douglas who failed to clear the ball. Senatore repelled Failla’s initial shot but the Malta wing-back rammed the ball home from the rebound.

Tedesco made a double substitution at half-time, Marcelina and Brooke Farrugia coming on for Douglas and Clyde Borg respectively.

But Hibs only took seven minutes of the second half to hit their fourth goal.

Jorginho, teed up by Tarabai following a cross from Marcelo Dias, turned adroitly to evade his marker before hitting past Senatore for his second of the game.

The Greens created a glimmer of a chance when Pisani’s set-piece cross was met by Conor Borg but his header was saved by Bonello.

Hibs struck their fifth on 66 minutes, Cohen getting in on the act with a close-range header from Failla’s free-kick.

In a rare attack, Samb cut in from the right but his effort was repelled by Rui de Gracia Gomes.

Two minutes from time, Floriana shouted penalty when Samb went down after being challenged by defender Andrei Agius but referee Trustin Farrugia Cann was unimpressed.

Hibernians
H. Bonello-6, R. De Gracia Gomes-6.5, R. Soares-6.5 (80 J. Pearson), M. Dias-6 (70 J. Lima-6), A. Cohen-6.5, B. Kristensen-7, C. Failla-7.5, J. Bezzina-7, A. Agius-6.5, L. Edison-8, Jorginho-8 (70 J. Dega-briele-6).

Floriana
V. Senatore-4, A. Scicluna-5.5, Douglas-4 (46 Marcelina-4), S. Pisani-5, Clyde Borg-4 (46 B. Farrugia-4), V. Plut-5 (74 G. Galea), M. Piciollo-5, Conor Borg-6.5, E. Briffa-6, A. Samb-5.5, S. Bonnici-5.

Referee: Trustin Farrugia Cann.

Yellow cards: Clyde Borg; Soares; Douglas; Samb.

BOV player of the match: Luis Edison (Hibernians).

Attendance: 751.

Standings

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Hibernians	12	11	1	0	37	6	34
Birkirkara	12	7	0	5	21	14	21
Valletta	11	6	1	4	19	7	19
Balzan	12	4	5	3	16	17	17
Sliema W.	12	4	4	4	12	13	16
Mosta	11	5	1	5	11	20	16
Qormi	11	4	3	4	13	13	15
Floriana	12	3	5	4	17	25	14
Tarxien R.	12	2	6	4	14	16	12
Pietà H.	12	3	3	6	11	20	12
Naxxar L.	11	2	4	5	13	17	10
Żebbuġ R.	12	0	5	7	13	29	5