Hibernians 5
Obiefule 9, 15; Edison 10, 90; Lima 48;
Qormi 3
Terribile 2; Effiong 57; Grech 86;

Eight goals, a plethora of yellow cards and a series of penalty appeals were the legacy of this end-to-end encounter which saw Hibs overcome a spirited Qormi side.

It was a game of fluctuating fortunes, much in keeping with the two teams’ campaigns so far, as Hibs, with a host of youngsters in their side, looked to be coasting to an easy win after racing into a 4-1 lead early in the second half but Qormi regrouped to claw their way back into contention before a stoppage-time goal by Luis Edison ‘Tarabai’, with a big helping hand from Lady Luck, rubberstamped the Paolites’ win who have now trimmed the gap on leaders Birkirkara to nine points.

Despite Qormi’s lowly position in the table, this was always going to be a tricky clash for Hibs, what with the suspended duo of Clayton Failla and Bjorn Kristensen and the injured Andrew Cohen missing, but their understudies, Scott Chircop, Timothy Tabone Desira and Brandon Muscat, produced solid displays.

Hibs were inspired by a sprightly performance from Edison but their failure to put away a host of chances left the result in the balance as Qormi, showing the kind of determination that augurs well for their fight against the drop, refused to give up.

It was back to basics for Hibs coach Branko Nisevic as he opted for 4-4-2 with Obinna Obiefule and Edison up front.

Goalkeeper Daniel Balzan was awarded a chance to stake his claim for the no.1 shirt following Mario Muscat’s loan switch to Vittoriosa.

Qormi coach Karel Zeman gave a debut to new signings Simone Quintieri, who took up the holding midfield role in the absence of Triston Caruana, suspended, and Giorgio Gianola who partnered Roderick Sammut in the heart of defence.

The tactical module was 4-1-2-3 with Leighton Grech and Alfred Effiong playing either side of Lucas Cantoro.

Qormi stunned Hibs when taking the lead inside the opening two minutes. Quintieri’s first contribution was a telling one as his pass released Christian Terribile who rammed past Balzan.

Matthew Bartolo almost equa-lised but he miscued his shot.

The score became even on nine minutes. Obiefule powered his way into the box and outmuscled Gianola before poking the ball into the net.

Obiefule’s goal rattled Qormi who conceded again barely a minute later. Capitalising on some hesitant defending by Qormi, Edison pulled clear of the back-tracking defenders before rifling past Farrugia.

The flurry of goals continued.

The Paolites increased their lead on 15 minutes, Obiefule beating Farrugia with a clinical finish after latching on to Jackson Lima’s perfect through-ball.

Two goals down after going ahead so early in the match, Qormi looked shell-shocked.

They came close to narrowing the deficit on 25 minutes when Grech picked out Cantoro but the Argentine’s grounder was kept out by Balzan.

At the other end, Obiefule burst past two defenders but his attempt was deflected towards Edison who blasted over from point blank.

Ten minutes from half-time, Qormi appealed for a penalty when Jonathan Pearson looked to have pushed Terribile as the two contested a high ball but referee Marco Borg was unimpressed.

Borg then waved away Hibs’ claims for a penalty after Edison’s shot came off Gianola’s right hand.

The game remained lively with Qormi unlucky when Cantoro’s whipping free-kick cannoned off the crossbar.

Lima added to Qormi’s woes when scoring Hibs’ fourth goal three minutes into the second half after combining with Edison. The latter then served Obiefule in the box but the Nigerian was denied by Farrugia.

Qormi should have revived their hopes when Grech’s cross from the right sailed towards Cantoro who headed over.

Twelve minutes into the second half, Qormi reduced the arrears. Duncan Pisani delivered a fine cross from the right and Effiong controlled the ball with his chest before prodding home.

An open game continued to produce scoring chances intermittently.

Farrugia thwarted Bartolo, saving the Hibs winger’s close-range effort after Lima’s cut-back.

Hibs really should have killed off when, 12 minutes from time, Bartolo slipped the ball to Edison who dragged in a menacing cross-shot which just eluded Obiefule.

Johann Bezzina, on as a substitute, almost scored with his first touch but his shot was parried away by Farrugia.

Boosted by Farrugia’s bravery, Qormi trimmed the deficit to one goal.

Effiong flicked the ball forwards as Grech ran past his marker and drilled a perfect shot past Balzan.

At the other end, Jurgen Degabriele, another second-half substitute, skied his shot over the bar but Hibernians sealed it with a fortuitous goal in stoppage time.

Farrugia came out to anticipate the on-rushing Edison but his clearance ricocheted off the Brazilian who raced through and tucked the ball into the empty net.

Hibernians
D. Balzan-6, T. Tabone Desira-6.5, R. Camilleri-6.5, J. Pearson-6, J. Lima-6.5, S. Chircop-6.5, B. Muscat-6 (74 J. Degabriele), Z. Levnaic-6, M. Bartolo-6.5 (83 J. Bezzina), Luis Edison-7.5 (90 Z. Scerri), O. Obiefule-7.

Qormi
M. Farrugia-6, A. Effiong-6.5, R. Bajada-6, C. Terribile-6.5 (90 L. Gabrieli), G. Gianola-6, L. Cantoro-6.5, S. Quintieri-6.5 (81 D. Pirotta), E. Vella-6, D. Pisani-6, R. Sammut-6, L. Grech-7.

Referee: Marco Borg.

Yellow cards: Bajada; Terribile; Levnaic; Effiong; Lima; Quintieri.

BOV player of the match: Luis Edison (Hibs).

Standings

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Birkirkara	21	17	2	2	47	18	53
Valletta	21	16	2	3	51	14	50
Hibernians	21	14	2	5	54	27	44
Sliema W.	21	11	7	3	41	23	40
Mosta	21	11	2	8	43	35	35
Balzan	21	8	4	9	24	30	28
Naxxar Lions	21	8	3	10	27	36	27
Floriana (-6)	21	8	3	10	28	34	21
Vittoriosa S.	21	5	3	13	23	43	18
Tarxien R.	21	4	4	13	27	45	16
Qormi	21	4	3	14	26	43	15
Rabat Ajax	21	1	3	17	16	59	6