Hibernians 1
Jorge 18;
Birkirkara 1
Camenzuli 45;
The clash between Hibernians and Birkirkara ended all square yesterday, a result that favoured Valletta who stayed top of the Premier League after erstwhile leaders Balzan crashed to Floriana in the opening game.
Regarded as the plum fixture of the weekend, the Hibs-Birkirkara match was a tale of two halves with the champions the more enterprising side in the first half only for the Stripes to rise to the challenge after the break.
The heat had been on the Paolites after their unexpected defeat against Mosta was followed by a last-minute win over Qormi.
For most of the first half, Hibernians, whose coach Branko Nisevic had also been called into question after the Mosta rout, looked to have rediscovered their best form.
They took an early lead through Jorge but Birkirkara managed to find the energy to pull level through Ryan Camenzuli just before half-time.
Drawing inspiration from Camenzuli’s equaliser, Giovanni Tedesco’s team surged forward with renewed verve after the break but it was Hibernians who almost won it at the death only to be denied by Joseph Zerafa who miraculously blocked Jackson Lima’s point-blank effort.
Birkirkara were bolstered by the return of Serbian defender Nikola Vukanac, who replaced Cain Attard.
This was not the only change in Tedesco’s initial XI as Camenzuli and Emerson Marcelina were awarded starting slots, having both been left out of the team in the 3-1 win over Sliema Wanderers.
The deployment of Marcelina as holding midfielder was instigated by the need to have a defence-minded player shadowing Gilmar, who was preferred to Denni.
The other change in the Hibs team from the Qormi win saw Jonathan Pearson come in for the injured Rodolfo Soares.
Nisevic kept the same tactical shape as the attacking trident of Marcelo Dias, Gilmar and Jorge shifted positions with two pushing forward and the other staying behind, thus giving the Birkirkara defence no point of reference.
Hibs suffered an early scare when Fabrizio Miccoli’s inswinger came off Andrei Agius’s arm with referee Marco Borg running towards the penalty spot only to wave play on.
With Andrew Cohen and Lima dictating matters from a deep position and Dias and Jorge running at Birkirkara’s flank defenders, Hibs were the more menacing side early on.
Their efforts paid off on 18 minutes when Cohen supplied a through-pass to Jorge who made the most of Vukanac’s mishit clearance as the Brazilian ran through before firing the ball past Birkirkara goalkeeper Justin Haber.
Galvanised by their opener, Hibs continued to surge forward but the exchanges were short of creative football as the two teams struggled to make inroads up front.
Nisevic was forced to make his first substitution just before half-time after Jorge picked up a thigh injury. He was replaced by Denni.
To make matters worse for Hibs, Birkirkara equalised just before half-time.
Argentine defender Mauricio Mazzetti’s cross from the left was fumbled by Jurgen Borg but the young Hibernians goalkeeper reacted immediately to push away Liliu’s shot from close in.
The loose ball fell to Camenzuli who buried the ball behind the hapless goalkeeper.
Nisevic had to make another change, Joseph Mbong replacing Clayton Failla who was stretchered off in the second minute of the second half.
Three minutes later, Zach Muscat flashed his header just over after getting first to a corner by Miccoli.
There was no evident change in the complexion of the game as Birkirkara persisted in playing the ball through the middle, mainly in the direction of the roaming Liliu and Miccoli while Hibs relied on Gilmar and Denni to provide spark up front.
Denni produced Hibernians’ first notable shot after the break, on 71 minutes, but his central effort was blocked by Haber.
The introduction of Juan Barraso, who came on for Miccoli 75 minutes from the end, improved Birkirkara’s attacking potential.
The Hibernians rearguard were having a torrid time trying to tame the Spaniard, repeatedly resorting to fouls and conceding a number of free-kicks in key areas.
With Marcelina now marshalling the midfield and often finding the likes of Paul Fenech and Rowen Muscat, who both stepped up their game after the break, Hibs had every reason to worry that they could finish empty-handed.
Fenech advanced unchallenged on the left, 10 minutes from time, but the Birkirkara captain elected to shoot from a tight angle rather than square the ball to the unmarked Vito Plut.
In stoppage time, Hibernians had a great chance to snatch the winner.
Young winger Jurgen Degabriele, who had replaced Cohen, delivered a pass that reached Lima inside the box but the latter’s low strike came off the sliding Zerafa, to the relief of the Birkirkara players.
Hibernians
J. Borg-6, R. Da Gracia Gomes-6, J. Pearson-6, J. Lima-6.5, M. Dias-6, A. Cohen-6.5 (84 J. Degabriele), B. Kristensen-6.5, C. Failla-5 (47 J. Mbong-5), A. Agius-6, Gilmar-6.5, Jorge-6 (45 Denni-5).
Birkirkara
J. Haber-6, Z. Muscat-6, N. Vukanac-5, M. Mazzetti-6, J. Zerafa-7, Liliu-6 (73 V. Plut), F. Miccoli-6 (75 J. Barraso), R. Camenzuli-7.5, R. Muscat-6.5, Marcelina-6.5, P. Fenech-6 (83 E. Agius).
Referee: Marco Borg.
Yellow cards: Mazzetti; Dias; Z. Muscat; Lima.
BOV player of the match: Ryan Camenzuli (Birkirkara).
Attendance: 2,028.
Standings
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Valletta | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 7 | 21 |
| Balzan | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 5 | 20 |
| Birkirkara | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 22 | 9 | 18 |
| Hibernians | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 10 | 18 |
| Floriana | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 10 | 16 |
| Mosta | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 10 | 16 |
| Tarxien | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 8 | 15 |
| Sliema | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 13 |
| Pembroke | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 10 |
| Qormi | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 4 |
| Naxxar Lions | 9 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 26 | 3 |
| St Andrew’s | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 24 | 0 |