Hibernians 4
Jorge 13; Denni 53; Jorginho 89; Failla 90;
Naxxar Lions 1
Ossou 42;
Denni enjoyed a bittersweet debut for Hibs as he was given a straight red card after putting his new team ahead early in the second half but, even with ten men, the champions were too strong for Naxxar Lions.
The final 4-1 scoreline offered a genuine reflection of Hibs’ supremacy but it was only in the dying minutes that the Paolites were able to translate their dominance into goals.
Before Jorginho struck their third goal to knock the fight out of Naxxar, Hibs were betraying signs of vulnerability, largely due to Denni’s expulsion.
As was to be expected from a side that had lost their opening two games, the battling Lions had shown little attacking ambition but did well to make the most of their luck as they equalised against the run of play on the stroke of half-time.
Denni’s exit lifted their optimism but, in retrospect, it also proved to be their undoing as coach Stefano Grima committed more men forward in search of an equaliser only to be hit twice on the counter at the death.
Hibs coach Branko Nisevic had preferred Denni to Gilmar who was not in the squad for this game against his parent club. The Paolites started in 3-5-2 fashion with Jorginho and Jorge in attack and Denni floating behind.
Jackson Lima was suspended.
With goalkeeper Juergen Borg ruled out with injury, Rudy Briffa started in goal with Matthew Towns providing cover.
Grima was without defender Moses Gnenegbe, injured, while Serbian newcomer Sead Hadzibulic was on the bench.
Scoring chances were something of a rarity at first but Hibs put their noses in front after 13 minutes.
There seemed to be little danger to Naxxar when the ball landed in the path of Jorge but the Brazilian’s ferocious drive took a deflection as the ball sailed past the diving Julian Azzopardi in the Naxxar goal.
Hibs remained in control.
Ryan Gilmour Cassar’s deflection from Cohen’s free-kick skewed the ball towards the upright but Azzopardi managed to push it on to the post.
The game failed to ignite as Hibs lacked fluency despite seeing more of the ball.
Close to the half-hour mark, Naxxar’s Blazo Rajovic was high from a long-range free-kick.
Denni had a decent chance but his shot, from a central position, was off target. More pressure from the champions yielded an opening for Dias after Naxxar could only half-clear a cross from the left but the Brazilian mishit his first-timer.
To make matters worse for Dias, he terribly miscued a backpass from the halfway line, giving away a corner. Naxxar, who had hardly had a glimpse of Briffa’s goal until then, seized the chance as Emiliano Lattes’s delivery was met by Sidoine Oussou who headed home.
Hibs threatened to regain an instant lead but Bjorn Kristensen lifted his shot over the bar after Naxxar had partially cleared Clayton Failla’s cross. The Malta wing-back then created a scoring chance as his powerful charge on the left took him clear of the Naxxar defender but Azzopardi rushed out of goal to close the angle.
The Lions were lucky to go in for half-time on level terms but they fell behind eight minutes after the restart.
A swift, delightful interchange involving Denni and Jorginho had the Naxxar defence in a tangle as the new signing sprinted into the box to collect the return pass before hitting past Azzopardi from close range.
The champions raised the ante. Cohen’s dipping cross-shot from an angle ended just wide and Failla was denied by Azzopardi.
A generally incident-free game turned ugly 20 minutes from time when Denni’s elbow appeared to catch Armando ‘Mandinho’ in the face after the latter had resorted to persistent fouling to try and stop the Brazilian.
Rajovic quickly made his feelings known to Denni who raised his foot in retaliation. Referee Malcolm Spiteri booked Mandinho before dismissing Denni.
A man to the good, Naxxar ought to have gained courage but it was Hibs who nearly put the game to bed. Jorginho cut in from the right but his low drive was repelled by Azzopardi.
With six minutes remaining, Ossou missed a great chance to level matters for the Lions as he blasted wide after a good incursion by Angus Buhagiar.
Cohen should have sealed it for Hibs but his rising effort was marginally wide. Hibs then protested for a penalty after Cassar appeared to bring down Cohen but the referee was not impressed.
As Naxxar threw more men forward, Hibs were finding more gaps in attack. The Paolites quickly took advantage as Jorge advanced unchallenged on the right before picking out Jorginho who prodded past Azzopardi.
Failla made it 4-1 with a stinging drive after being teed up by the lively Jorginho.
Hibernians
R. Briffa-5, R. Da Gracia Gomes-6, Denni, R. Soares-6 (83 J. Pearson), M. Dias-5, A. Cohen-6.5, (90 J. Degabriele), B. Kristensen-6.5, C. Failla-6, A. Agius-6.5, Jorge-6, Jorginho-7.
Naxxar Lions
J. Azzopardi-6, B. Rajovic-5.5, A. Scicluna-6.5, R. Cardozo-4 (73 S., Hadzibulic), M. Del Negro-4 (60 D. Falzon-6.5), S. Ossou-6.5, R.G. Cassar-5.5, D. Fenech-5.5, A. Buhagiar-5.5, E. Lattes-6, Ar-mando-6 (86 J. Debono).
Referee: Malcolm Spiteri.
Yellow cards: Armando; Falzon.
Red card: Denni (H) 70.
BOV player of the match: Andrew Cohen (Hibernians).
Attendance: 548.