Valletta 2
Toure 45+ pen; Briffa 90;
Hibernians 3
Failla 38, 45; Edison 66;
This tetchy, engrossing semi-final encapsulated Valletta’s rollercoaster season.
It had everything, five goals, two penalties and three red cards but at the end of 90 scintillating minutes, the Valletta players and fans left the stadium feeling dejected and cursing their ill-luck.
Driven on by the inspirational Ryan Fenech, Valletta had been the brighter side for much of the first half, storming into Hibernians whose self-belief and confidence looked to have been irreparably damaged by their upset to Birkirkara in the title decider the previous week.
The FA Trophy represented the only hope of silverware for these two contenders but, for much of the opening 37 minutes, Valletta showed more hunger and desire to reach the final only for their efforts to be undone by a lapse in concentration at the back and the ensuing incidents in three minutes of sheer madness.
Jason Lee Vandelannoite and goalkeeper Manuel Bartolo were banished to the stands by referee Clayton Pisani for different offences and the erstwhile low-key Hibs made the most of their luck by taking the lead, Clayton Failla stroking the ball home after Bartolo had partially saved the penalty.
The City fans were livid.
They briefly urged their players to leave the field before their spirits sank further when the Paolites doubled their lead.
The match looked out of reach for the nine-man Citizens as Hibs threatened to run riot.
Yet, their momentum was jolted when their goalkeeper Mario Muscat was also expelled for a last-man foul and Valletta resurrected their flailing hopes when Demba Toure converted the ensuing penalty.
A goal and a man down, City were up against it in the second half.
To their credit, they made a fist of it, pressing forward in search of an equaliser but, in so doing, they left themselves susceptible to Hibs’ fast breakaways.
Luis Edison shattered Valletta’s hopes when putting Hibs 3-1 up midway into the second half and, despite a late goal by the deposed champions, the Paolites held their nerve to keep their FA Trophy defence on track.
To retain the title, Hibs must overcome Qormi on Wednesday in a repeat of last year’s final.
Hibs coach Michael Woods limited himself to one change from the 3-1 defeat to Birkirkara in the title decider, Zoran Levnaic getting the nod ahead of Jackson Lima.
The speedy Marcelo Dias was tasked with patrolling the left flank with Failla on the other side as Woods stuck with 3-5-2. In attack, Woods kept faith with Luis Edison and Jean Paul Farrugia.
Mark Miller, the Valletta coach, opted for experience as he awarded the no.1 jersey to Bartolo at the expense of Yenz Cini.
Striker Michael Mifsud, a second-half substitute in the league defeat to Hibernians, started ahead of Dyson Falzon.
Mifsud was deployed at the tip of Valletta’s 4-2-3-1 formation in front of the attacking midfield trio of Fenech, Denni and Toure.
Bartolo made his first intervention after four minutes, diving to his left to block Bjorn Kristensen’s header from Failla’s free-kick.
A prolonged City raid saw Vandelannoite, who started at right-back, charge into the box to pounce on a loose ball but his effort was warded off by the Hibs defenders.
By and large, the opening stages were short on entertaining fare as both teams took a while to get going.
While the Valletta fans were in full voice, those of Hibs were subdued, their mood reflecting their lingering disappointment at their team’s loss in the last week’s title showdown.
Their spirits would have been further dampened were it not for the woodwork as Toure’s piledriver cannoned off the crossbar after the Senegalese forward had received from Mifsud.
Hibs were quick to respond.
Kristensen, showed more adventure than of late, made headway on the right before directing a teasing cross towards Edison but Jonathan Caruana leapt to head the ball away from the Hibs forward.
After an interlude of scrappy football, Valletta should have seized the lead on 26 minutes when Fenech veered into the box from the left but, instead of shooting, he opted to cut the ball back towards Denni. Andrew Cohen slid in to deflect the ball away for a corner.
As Valletta upped the pressure, Hibs were forced to defend grimly, twice effecting last-minute blocks on shots by Mifsud and Denni.
Looking jaded, the Paolites were being outrun and out-thought by their opponents.
In a rare foray, Edison volleyed over after Valletta had partially cleared a Failla free-kick.
The game then took a completely unexpected twist eight minutes from half-time.
A flowing move by Hibs saw Dias supplying a fine pass to Edison who charged clear on the left as Valletta were caught off balance. His perfect cross dropped to Failla whose first-time screamer was repelled by Vandelannoite.
Pisani pointed to the spot and brandished the red card to dismiss Vandelannoite, the second time he has been sent off against his former club. The ref deemed the Belgian had used his hands to stop Failla’s piledriver.
Failla’s penalty was stopped by Bartolo but the Hibs winger hit home from the rebound. Confusion ensued as a visibly incensed Bartolo appeared to hit Levnaic, prompting Pisani to send him off. This decision inflamed the City fans who rushed towards the perimeter fencing to voice their disapproval while a seat was thrown on to the pitch.
The commotion lasted a few minutes as the Valletta supporters called on their players to leave the pitch. Cini, Valletta’s reserve goalkeeper, came on for Barbosa as the game finally resumed.
Valletta’s predicament increased on the stroke of half-time when Failla doubled Hibs’ lead after being teed up by the overlapping Dias.
That looked that but it was not as, in first-half stoppage time, Fenech surged clear only to be brought down by Muscat.
Pisani again fetched for his red card to dismiss Muscat and Toure drilled his shot past the incoming Daniel Balzan to halve the deficit.
Early in the second half, Mifsud blasted over from inside the box as Valletta stormed out of the blocks but Hibs quickly served up a reminder of their counter-attacking threat. Edison laid the ball back for Cohen who drove wide.
Cini then thwarted Edison who threatened again with an angled shot that whizzed across the face of goal.
Valletta refused to buckle. Back they came to force three quick corners but Hibs survived.
Their efforts looked to have been rewarded when Fenech darted past Jonathan Pearson inside the box before dragging the ball back to Mifsud who mishit his effort. The ball fell to Toure but he terribly miscued his shot, to the evident dismay of the City fans.
Pearson then hurled his body in the way of another Mifsud strike as the game continued to ebb and flow. Lima was wide from the distance.
Despite being a man down, Valletta were swarming forward with abandon as they searched an equaliser but their hopes were dashed when Hibs restored their two-goal lead midway into the second half.
Caruana was at fault as he tried to dribble his way out of defence only to be robbed of the ball by Edison who advanced before hitting past Cini.
Hibs’ third goal was a massive setback for Valletta. Mifsud had a weak effort saved by Balzan before making way for Abubakar Bello-Osagie.
With seven minutes remaining, Dimech barged into the advancing Dias and Cohen’s free-kick hit the post. Hibs should have added a fourth goal in the dying stages when, in a counter-attack, Dias released Obinna Obiefule, who had come on for Edison, skewed his attempt.
Valletta gained a glimmer of hope when, in stoppage time, Roderick Briffa narrowed the deficit, his shot taking a deflection on its way home. Their spirits rose further when they were awarded a free-kick out on the left as Miller instructed Cini to go up in attack. However, Dimech’s poor delivery failed to reach the box.
Valletta
M. Bartolo, J. Caruana, I. Azzopardi, R. Fenech, M. Mifsud (75 A. Bello Osagie), R. Briffa, W. Barbosa (40 Y. Cini), D. Toure, Denni, J.L. Vandelannoite, L. Dimech.
Hibernians
M. Muscat, R. Camilleri, J. Pearson, R. Soares, A. Cohen, B. Kristensen, M. Dias, C. Failla, Z. Levnaic (58 J. Lima), L. Edison (80 O. Obiefule), J.P. Farrugia (45 D. Balzan).
Referee: Clayton Pisani.
Yellow cards: Azzopardi; Pearson; Caruana; Dimech.
Red cards: Vandelannoite (V) 37, Bartolo (V) 39; Muscat (H) 45+.
Attendance: 1,560.