Balzan 1
Vujacic 90;
Hibernians 1
Jorginho 57;

Alexandar Vujacic came off the bench to stop Hibs from starting their title defence with a win as he fired home a stoppage-time equaliser for Balzan last night.

It was an unexpected outcome to a match which had seen the Paolites well on their way after the break after Jorginho had put them ahead with an opportunistic strike.

However, the champions were unable to close out the game with a second goal and that failure came back to haunt them as Balzan threw caution to the wind and their efforts were rewarded when Vujacic pounced on some hesitant Hibs defending to fire home the equaliser.

Hibs coach Branko Nisevic will feel his team could have held better control of the match after taking a deserved lead but his players took a casual approach after Jorginho’s opener and in the end they were made to settle for a point.

Nisevic made no changes to the team that beat Birkirkara 2-1 in the Super Cup last week as he looked to keep his side on the winning trail.

Oliver Spiteri, the Balzan coach, handed new signing Alfred Effiong his debut after the Malta striker completed his move from troubled Qormi FC on Friday.

Effiong was handed a central striking role in the absence of injured forward Bojan Kaljevic. Ryan Fenech was forced to miss out as he is currently recovering from a groin injury.

Effiong was soon in the thick of the action for his new club when he pounced on a poor clearance from goalkeeper Jurgen Borg, turned past his marker but fired his shot just over.

Hibs hit back soon after when Marcelo Dias exchanged passes with Gilmar before hitting a fierce drive that flashed just wide.

On 11 minutes Jorginho tried to force his way through the Balzan defence but his run was blocked by Elkin Serrano Valero with the ball falling to Andrew Cohen whose low shot whizzed past the upright.

Hibernians protested for a penalty on 18 minutes when Jorginho fell following a tackle by Serrano Valero but referee Adrian Azzopardi waved play on.

Balzan finally responded on 29 minutes when Lydon Micallef made space for himself on the edge of the area but his effort flew wide.

Hibs remained in charge with their midfield trio of Cohen, Gilmar and Clayton Failla charging forward with quick forays as Balzan opted for caution, relying mainly on swift breaks by Effiong and Godwin Mensha.

Nine minutes from the break, Jorginho played in Failla who burst into the area before teeing up Cohen whose shot was blocked by a timely tackle from Samir Arab.

Balzan stepped up their game after the half-time break and on 53 minutes they had a golden opportunity to take the lead when Effiong played in Micallef who with only goalkeeper Borg to beat saw his drive smack against the upright before the Paolites defence cleared.

That proved to be a costly miss for Spiteri’s team as in the next opportunity at goal Hibernians struck.

The clock marked 57 minutes when Cohen fed Jorginho with a precise pass and the Brazilian forward again underlined his lethal characteristics when he fired a low drive past the diving Valerio Senatore.

Jorginho almost struck again five minutes later. This time he seized possession on edge of the area but his dipping shot just missed the upright.

Spiteri tried to revive his charges when he withdrew Arab and Micallef and roped in Terence Agius and Vujacic.

Twenty minutes from time Borg had to be alert to tip over Mensha’s curling free-kick.

With Balzan increasing the pressure on Borg’s goal in search of an equaliser, Nisevic introduced Jurgen Degabriele, Johann Bezzina and Jorge to keep his team in shape.

But Balzan’s efforts were rewarded in time added on and with virtually the last kick of the match.

They won a free-kick at mid-pitch and Terence Agius sent a dipping cross into the area that was not cleared by the Hibernians defence.

In came Vujacic who blasted his shot into the net to the delight of the Balzan fans.

Balzan
V. Senatore-6, S. Bezzina-6.5, C. Brincat-5, E. Zarate-6.5, L. Micallef-5.5 (67 A. Vujacic-7), S. Arab-5 (67 T. Agius-6), G. Mensha-5.5, A. Effiong-6, E. Serrano Valero-6.5, D. Grima-5.5 (84 R. Darmanin), J. Grioli-6.

Hibernians
J. Borg-5.5, R. De Gracia Gomes-6, J. Lima-6, R. Soares-6, M. Dias-6, A. Cohen-7.5 (85 J. Bezzina), B. Kristensen-5.5, C. Failla-6, A. Agius-6, Gilmar-6 (90 J. Degabriele), Jorginho-6.5 (77 Jorge).

Referee: Adrian Azzopardi.

Yellow cards: Jorginho, Brincat, Grioli, Zarate, Grima, Kristensen, Cohen.

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

Attendance: 1,015.

Standings

  P W D L F A Pts
Birkirkara 1 1 0 0 4 0 3
Valletta 1 1 0 0 3 0 3
Tarxien 1 1 0 0 2 0 3
Mosta 1 1 0 0 2 1 3
Pembroke 1 1 0 0 2 1 3
Balzan 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
Hibernians 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
Qormi 1 0 0 1 1 2 0
Floriana 1 0 0 1 1 2 0
Sliema 1 0 0 1 0 2 0
St Andrew’s 1 0 0 1 0 3 0
Naxxar 1 0 0 1 0 4 0

Next fixtures

Friday (August 28)
Hibs Stadium
Naxxar Lions vs Balzan - 18.30
Hibernians vs Floriana - 20.30

National Stadium
Tarxien vs Birkirkara - 18.30
Valletta vs Sliema - 20.30

Saturday (August 29)
Victor Tedesco Stadium
Pembroke vs St Andrew’s - 18.30
Mosta vs Qormi - 20.45

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