Drazen Besek has complained that Birkirkara are being penalised by refereeing blunders this season after a controversial penalty consigned them to an undeserved 1-0 defeat to Hibernians on Sunday.

The score was still goalless when, with 14 minutes remaining, Jorginho accelerated past Nikola Vukanac but the latter responded by bringing down the Hibs striker.

Referee Trustin Farrugia Cann pointed to the spot after ruling that the foul had occurred just inside the box but TV replays clearly showed that Jorginho was tripped outside the penalty area.

Clayton Failla drilled his spot-kick past keeper Miroslav Kopric to hand Hibs an important win that lifted them above Birkirkara into second place, three points behind Balzan.

Besek insisted that the penalty incident on Sunday was not the first time his team had been undermined by a refereeing error.

“After 10 league games, we have lost four points because of refereeing mistakes,” the Croatian coach told Times of Malta.

“This is not a good thing for football. The fans know how Birkirkara play and of course we are a bit disappointed that, after a good performance on the pitch, we failed to gain something from the game because of an error.

“I know that referees can make mistakes but it’s not good that, most of the time, their mistakes are affecting only one team, Birkirkara FC.”

Sunday’s reverse was surely hard to fathom for Birkirkara not only because of the penalty episode but also because, in the opening half in particular, they were the better team.

Besek was pleased with his team’s performance in what he described as a high-intensity game.

“In the first half, we were excellent,” Besek, who succeeded Giovanni Tedesco last December, said.

“We played great football. At the start of the second half, we also had one good chance as we created a 4vs2 situation in attack but we didn’t make the most of it.

“Hibs also had a couple of chances. But, overall, I’m happy because the performances of both teams was on a good level and if we have more games like this, Maltese football will improve.”

The Birkirkara players looked visibly distraught as they left the pitch on Sunday but Besek has no doubts that this setback will not derail his team’s progress ahead of what promises to be another tough game against Floriana on Friday.

“My players are very confident and we don’t have any problems,” Besek remarked.

“The hard work we did during the summer has helped us a lot. My players know their qualities.

“We do everything to win our games but Floriana also have quality. We must go into Friday’s match ready to give our all and fight to improve our position in the table.”

Mark Miller, the Hibs coach, admitted that his team found the going tough in the first half but lauded his players’ character.

“We didn’t play very well and we know that but sometimes you have to grind out results,” Miller said.

“We had to change a lot of things on Sunday because we had many players injured.

“The players who have been there every game again stood out. Our defence is settled as, apart from Clayton (Failla) who had been sidelined with injury, the rest have played week in week out.

“Having a solid backline helped us a lot and covered for the mistakes we made in midfield and up front, especially in the first half.

“We had a chat at half-time and corrected certain things and we got it right in the second half.

“We got a bit lucky with the goal but we’ve had penalties against us this season which weren’t.

“It’s a full circle, it goes back and forth, and you lose some and you win some.”

Title contenders

Miller, who is in his third spell at the helm of Hibs after replacing Branko Nisevic in the off-season, endured a torrid start to the championship after a difficult summer.

A first-day 3-1 defeat to newly-promoted Ħamrun Spartans deepened the early scepticism about Hibs’ top-three prospects but things are looking up for them after climbing to second in the standings.

“Today, yes,” Miller replied when asked if the win over Bir-kirkara proves that Hibs should be considered as title challengers.

“Today we have more hope but we need to change a few things. It might be a wake-up call for everyone but we have pieces in the jigsaw that are still missing.

“Our players have shown loads of character but we need more support. There is a little bit of light and sometimes in this country when you have success it wakes people up when it should be the other way round.”

The win over Birkirkara will have enhanced Hibs’ morale ahead of their derby against Tarxien on Saturday but Miller urged caution.

“Absolutely, we’re not getting carried away,” Miller said.

“Our next game is the derby which will be as tough if not tougher than the Birkirkara match. Also, we have a couple of new injuries to add to the list.

“Games against teams behind you in the table are more difficult because it’s usually up and down and the main concern lies in not getting caught on the counter.”