Alexander Vujacic earned Balzan a dramatic point as they held champions Hibernians to 1-1 draw at the National Stadium yesterday.

Balzan handed new signing Alfred Effiong a place in the starting formation and the Malta striker almost left an instant mark as on four minutes he pounced on a poor clearance from goalkeeper Jurgen Borg, turned past his marker but fired his shot just over.

Hibs responded three minutes later when Marcelo Dias exchanged the ball with Gilmar before hitting a fierce angled drive that flashed just wide.
Balzan threatened on 29 minutes when Lydon Micallef made space for himself on the edge of the area but his effort flew wide.

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.

On the restart, Balzan seemed to step up their game and on 53 minutes they had a golden opportunity to take the lead when Effiong played in Micallef who with only goalkeeper Jurgen Borg to beat he saw his firm drive come off the upright before the Paolites defence cleared.

That proved to be a costly miss for the Reds as in the next opportunity 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 when this time he picked possession on edge of the area and his dipping shot just missed the upright.
Spiteri tried to revive his charges when he withdrew Samir Arab and Lydon Micallef and roped in Terence Agius and Alexandar Vujacic.

And their efforts were rewarded in time added on. They were awarded a free-kick at mid-pitch and Terence Agius sent a dipping cross into the area that was not cleared by the Hibs defence and in came Vujacic who blasted the ball into the net to the delight of the Balzan fans.