If ever there were any doubts about Hibernians’ resolve to win the Premier League title, these were swept away in emphatic fashion in Sunday’s pulsating 3-2 win over Sliema Wanderers.

A man and two goals down with only 22 minutes remaining, the long-time leaders showed great character to turn defeat into victory with captain Andrew Cohen completing a stunning comeback with a last-gasp winner.

Hibs coach Branko Nisevic reckons Sunday’s win will linger in the memory of the club’s fans for many years to come.

“Certainly our game against Sliema will be remembered for a long time,” Nisevic told Times of Malta.

“In 10 or 20 years’ time, if you talk about Hibs’ 2014-15 season, you will recall this match.

“The game showed that our players are hungy and willing to make their mark this season.

“We are very optimistic but we are not taking anything for granted.

“Floriana are a valid team who have had a good season so far. We know that we have to pull our sleeves to win this match.”

Nisevic will be without two key players for tomorrow’s game at the National Stadium (4pm) as Cohen, widely regarded as one of the top candidates for the MFA player of the year this season, and Equatorial Guinea defender Rui De Gracia Gomes are suspended.

Cohen was in midweek handed a one-match ban for four yellow cards but Gomes was hit with a three-match suspension following his red card for headbutting Sliema striker Mateus last weekend.

Hibernians yesterday filed an appeal against Gomes’s ban.

“They are two important players for us,” Nisevic said of the absence of Cohen and Gomes.

“But our squad is not made up of 11 players only. I’m confident that whoever will replace them will do a good job for us.”

Nine points clear of Valletta with four games left, Hibs will wrap up the title if the Citizens drop points in their tricky fixture against Sliema this evening and the Paolites have the better of Floriana tomorrow.

No doubt, Hibs will be relishing the prospect of sealing their title success sooner rather than later but Nisevic insisted that he’s only focusing on his team’s match.

“To be honest, I’m not thinking about it,” Nisevic replied when asked if he was hoping in a Valletta slip-up against Sliema.

“It’s not good to think about Valletta might do.

“I’m just concentrating on my team. We need four points from our next two games to secure the title.

“There are no ifs and buts.”

While Hibs’ morale is sky-high, Floriana’s top-four hopes suffered a blow last weekend after their 1-0 defeat to rivals Valletta left them four points adrift of Balzan who won 4-1 against Żebbuġ on Monday.

Giovanni Tedesco’s task has been further compounded by injuries and suspension to key players as Italian forward Matteo Piciollo received a one-match ban following his dismissal in the derby and midfielders Clyde Borg and Conor Borg are sidelined with injuries.

Amadou Samb was yesterday hit with a hefty six-match ban after he elbowed Ian Azzopardi in the face on Sunday but the Senegalese forward had been ruled out for the rest of the season anyway after fracturing his foot in the derby.

Relying on video evidence after the incident, which left the Valletta left-back with a broken nose, was missed by the match officials, the Malta FA found Samb guilty of a grievous bodily harm offence and subsequently banned him for six games.

Despite these difficulties, Tedesco is adamant that Floriana will end the season on a high as, by his own admission, a stuttering finish would put a damper on their ertswhile positive campaign.

“We need to stay focused because if we fail to do that, we will risk ruining our entire season in the last four games,” Tedesco said.

“The game against Valletta was not a spectacle but a derby is always a difficult match.

“I thought that my team was up for the challenge.

“My players must go out on the pitch and fight for every ball.

“We know that we’re facing a strong team. Hibernians deserve to win the title because they have a great squad with many excellent players.”

Floriana’s chances of finishing in the top four may have receded after last weekend’s events but Tedesco has called on his players to keep up the fight until the very end.

“We must continue to give our 100 per cent until the very last minute of the last league game, even if we are out of the race for Europe,” the Italian stressed.

“We must finish well. At the moment, we are concentrating on recouping our psychological and physical energies after the Valletta derby.”

On the plus side, defender Douglas Cobo is back for Floriana after serving a one-match ban.

Previous results: Hibernians vs Floriana 3-0, 5-0.

Current standings

  P W D L F A Pts
Hibs 29 25 4 0 90 19 49
Valletta 29 20 2 7 67 23 40
Birkirkara 29 18 6 5 55 27 39
Balzan 29 14 8 7 40 42 33
Floriana 29 11 10 8 48 44 29
Sliema  29 9 8 12 38 45 22
Mosta 29 9 5 15 33 61 20
Naxxar 29 7 8 14 33 43 18
Qormi 29 5 9 15 30 48 15
Tarxien 29 5 9 15 28 54 14
Pietà H. 29 5 7 17 25 52 12
Żebbuġ  29 5 6 18 34 73 12

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