Zebbug’s Carlo Monti defending possession from Timothy Tabone Desira, of Hibs. Photo: Stephen GattZebbug’s Carlo Monti defending possession from Timothy Tabone Desira, of Hibs. Photo: Stephen Gatt

Hibernians 5
Jorginho 9; Soares 35; Pearson 56; Edison 80; Cohen 87;
Zebbug Rangers 2
Monti 3, 65;

A weekend that had seen Hibernians attract unprecedented publicity over their reported interest in Ched Evans, who has served time in prison for rape, ended on a positive note yesterday.

The Paolites restored their 15-point lead at the top of the Premier League after launching their 2015 commitments with a 5-2 victory over Zebbug Rangers.

Three points at the expense of the basement team had been regarded as a formality but this was not ordinary weekend for the Paolites.

At first glance, the scoreline might suggest that Hibs had a straightforward afternoon but they had to fight hard for the points as the Rangers produced a gutsy performance with Carlo Monti leading the way with two well-taken goals.

It looked as though the Evans controversy and the absence of Rui De Gracia Gomes had unsettled Hibs who struggled to hit their stride but in the end, their attacking ammunition proved too much for Rangers whose hopes had been dashed by the second-half dismissal of debutant Kurt Zammit.

Andrew Cohen produced a captain's performance while strikers Jorginho and Luis Edison 'Tarabai' had their bright moments with the latter raising his game after a quiet start.

Jackson Lima filled the void left by the suspended Bjorn Kristensen while Jonathan Pearson deputised for De Gracia Gomes who has travelled to Equatorial Guinea to join up with the country's national squad ahead of the Africa Cup.

Rangers coach Alfonso Greco handed a debut to midfielder Zammit who has joined from Mosta. With the club releasing a host of foreigners last month, there were recalls for goalkeeper Jeffrey Farrugia and Melvin Farrugia.

The start of the game made a mockery of pre-match forecasts as Zebbug seized the lead after just three minutes. Monti, put through by Mauricio Britto, outmuscled Tabone Desira and rifled past Henry Bonello.

The Rangers' breakthrough merely served to spur Hibs to raise their game. They needed only six minutes to level matters as Andrei Agius's pass from his own half split the Rangers' defence wide open with the ball landing invitingly at feet of Jorginho who prodded past Farrugia.

Fifteen minutes into the game, Hibs threatened to go ahead when Tabone Desira's cross was met by Tarabai in the six-yard box but his header was blocked by Farrugia.

There was a minor scare for Hibs when Bonello fumbled Monti's cross-cum-shot from a free-kick but the defenders cleared the danger.

Cohen was tightly marked by Farrugia but the Hibs captain managed to evade his marker on 25 minutes before laying the ball to Johann Bezzina but the young midfielder drove wide.

While Hibs clearly struggled to find their usual rhythm with most of their players looking subdued, the industrious Rangers started to make inroads in attack.

They would have gone ahead close to the half-hour but for a fine intervention from Bonello who stopped Bartolo's close-range shot.

Reprieved, the Paolites took the lead 10 minutes from half-time. Edison's free-kick came off the Zebbug wall but the ball dropped to Soares who guided his shot past Farrugia.

A quick interchange involving Edison, Jorginho and Failla un-picked the Zebbug defence but the latter's drive was deflected away for a corner.

Farrugia then produced a fine save to keep out Cohen's shot after the Hibs livewire had cut in from the right.

Hibs coach Branko Nisevic brought on Joseph Mbong for Tabone Desira at the start of the second half.

Three minutes after the restart Bonello denied Zebbug an equaliser, tipping away Matias Muchardi's shot.

Danger loomed for Zebbug when Failla's cross soared into the box where Jorginho was unmarked but the Brazilian's glancing header was pushed away by Farrugia.

Zebbug defender Yessous Camilleri was booked for bringing down the steaming Edison just outside the box. From the free-kick, Failla arrowed his cross into the box and Pearson scrambled the ball home after his initial attempt had been blocked.

The game looked over as a contest but Zebbug had other ideas.

The scoreboard marked 65 minutes when Zebbug were awarded a free-kick outside the box. Monti marched forward before producing an inswinger that ripped past the diving Bonello.

Game on. Hibs might have restored their two-goal lead but Cohen's cross-shot rebounded off the crossbar and Tarabai's follow-on shot was cleared.

Rangers' hopes of an equaliser receded when, with 16 minutes remaining, midfielder Zammit was sent off for a second caution.

A delightful one-two between Jorginho and Tarabai had the Zebbug defence in a tangle as the latter tricked his way into the box but his effort was parried away by Farrugia. Borg slid in to nudge the ball away from the Brazilian.

Tarabai was not to be denied though as, 10 minutes from the end, he was on hand to poke the ball home at the far post from Failla's corner.

A man and two goals to the good, Hibs were cruising. Cohen almost added a fifth but was thwarted by Farrugia who distinguished himself again with another fine save to keep out Failla's humdinger.

Farrugia was beaten for the fifth time when Edison freed Cohen who hammered the ball home.

In stoppage time, Failla was unlucky not to add his name to the scorers as his piledriver grazed the crossbar.

Hibernians
H. Bonello-6, J. Pearson-6, R. Soares-6, T. Tabone Desira-5.5 (46 J. Mbong-6.5), A. Cohen-7.5, J. Lima-6, C. Failla-6.5, J. Bezzina-6, A. Agius-7 (87 K. Tanti), L. Edison-6, Jorginho-7 (82 J. Degabriele).

Zebbug Rangers
J. Farrugia-6, J. Borg-6, Y. Camilleri-5.5, L. Galea-5, T. Paris-5, C. Monti-7, M. Muchardi-6, M. Britto-6, M. Bartolo-6, K. Zammit, M. Farrugia-5.5 (54 M. Gauci-5).

Referee: Sandro Spiteri.

Yellow cards: Borg; Zammit; Camilleri; Muchardi; Britto; Bezzina.

Red card: Zammit (Z) 74.

BOV player of the match: Andrew Cohen (Hibs).

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.