Hibernians 1
Failla 32 pen;
Birkirkara 3
Herrera 56; Vukanac 67; Z. Muscat 73;

It’s been a hard, nerve-wracking journey but Birkirkara have reached the promised land.

Their title decider against Hibs yesterday churned out up enough twists and turns to represent Birkirkara’s season in miniature.

Memories of the heartbreaking finale in their previous clash with their title rivals looked to have come back to haunt Birkirkara as with just over half-an-hour gone, Clayton Failla, the Hibs winger who had converted the stoppage-time penalty to keep his team in the title race, was again on target from the spot.

That and Hibs’ first-half supremacy prompted whispers that Birkirkara, so resilient this season, may have run out of steam but the rising scepticism was emphatically swept away in the second half.

Buttressed by Paul Zammit’s tactical adjustments, the Stripes came roaring back to pin Hibs in their own half.

So lively and vibrant in the first half, the Paolites unravelled as Birkirkara broke forward, their sheer determination epitomised by the unflappable Rodrigo Pereira, the rejuvenated Edward Herrera who rediscovered his sparkle after switching flanks, and the enterprising Shola Haruna, who had entered the fray in the first half to replace the injured Jhonnattann.

Herrera levelled the tie, albeit in contentious circumstances, before two goals in quick succession knocked the fight out of Hibs and put Birkirkara in the driving seat, a position they defended with relative ease until the final whistle.

As referee Alan Mario Sant signalled the end of the match, euphoria gripped the players who embraced each other amid indescribable scenes of joy. Scores of euphoric supporters ran onto the pitch to celebrate with the players, in the process delaying the presentation by several minutes.

There was mayhem on the pitch but once a semblance of calm had been restored, all eyes shifted to the stage in the middle of the field as the Birkirkara players received their championship medals before captain Gareth Sciberras held aloft the trophy to chants of “We are the champions”.

The sight of hundreds of flag-waving fans walking towards the National Stadium an hour-and-a-half before kick-off was testament to the high level of interest for this showdown.

The atmosphere inside the stadium was electric with the hordes of Birkirkara fans transforming their enclosure section and a large part of the North Stand into a sea of yellow and red. Not to be outdone, the Hibs faithful, clad in the club’s traditional black and white colours, also turned up in huge numbers.

As several dignitaries, including Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Simon Busuttil, the newly-elected PN leader, took their seats in the VIP area, the supporters raised the volume before belting out a huge roar as the two teams emerged from the dressing rooms.

The unusual presence of so many VIPs was to be expected, given the significance of the occasion, but the allure of the decider transcended the local landscape as two German journalists were also in attendance.

The formations of both teams contained some notable surprises.

A hamstring problem looked to have put paid to Marcelo Dias’s hopes of starting the game but the Brazilian winger was duly named in Michael Woods’s initial XI.

Jackson Lima was also handed a starting role at the expense of Zoran Levnaic. The inclusion of Lima, a crafty midfielder, ahead of the more defensive-minded Levnaic was indicative of Woods’s resolve to fully exploit the attacking resources at his disposal.

Deprived of Joseph Zerafa due to suspension, Paul Zammit had been expected to deploy Ryan Camenzuli on the left wing but the Birkirkara coach had a different option in mind.

The onus of replacing Zerafa fell on Zach Muscat while Jhonnattann, used mostly as an impact player in Birkirkara’s last few games, was given the green light to spearhead the forward line alongside Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza.

There was no change in Birkirkara’s tactical approach as they stuck with 3-5-2, Muscat manning the right wing as Edward Herrera switched to the left.

Herrera, yesterday gunning against the club he left last summer, had to contend with Dias, another fast player, as Clayton Failla stayed on the left in Hibs’ 3-5-2 formation. In attack, Luis Edison ‘Tarabai’ was flanked by Jean Paul Farrugia.

Inside the opening five minutes, Lima produced a deft touch to make headway on the right before releasing Dias who passed to Farrugia but the latter skewed his shot high and wide.

Lima’s movement lit up the early stages of this encounter.

A long ball by Herrera disconcerted the Hibs defenders as Jhonnattann raced through but Ryan Camilleri cleared the danger.

Hibs would have taken the lead on 18 minutes but for a stunning save by Justin Haber who pawed away Andrew Cohen’s close-range header from Failla’s corner.

Spurred on by their bright start, the Paolites continued to show the better ideas with their hard-running players bossing midfield.

Most teams have struggled to cope with Herrera’s overlaps this season but for much of the opening half-hour, it was the Birkirkara wing-back who had difficulty containing the powerful Dias.

Midway into the first half, Haber stopped a header by Rodolfo Soares from another Failla corner.

Just past the half-hour, the game produced its first defining moment as referee Alan Mario Sant awarded Hibs a penalty after Failla’s diagonal drive came off Gareth Sciberras’s outstretched arm.

Failla stroked his penalty past the diving Haber to send the Hibs fans into delirium.

Birkirkara only had 10 men on the pitch when Hibs had countered to win the penalty as Jhonnattann was carried off on a stretcher. Haruna came on for the Brazilian.

A goal down and second best for much of the preceding 34 minutes, the Stripes stirred.

Alejandro Mendoza’s header, from Paul Fenech’s free-kick, was stopped by Mario Muscat before Jonathan Pearson hurled his body in the way of Haruna’s effort.

Birkirkara then protested for a penalty when Haruna went down inside the box but their pleas were ignored by the referee, to the dismay of the fans who have felt hard done by a series of decisions by the match officials this season.

Three minutes from half-time, the erstwhile quiet Mifsud Triganza headed just wide.

When the game resumed after the half-time break, Birkirkara showed greater intent as they tore out of the blocks in search of an equaliser.

Subdued in the first half, Herrera reverted to his usual right-wing position with Pereira patrolling the left flank. The move paid spectacular dividends as, 11 minutes into the second half, the scores became level.

Mifsud Triganza strode forward on the left and, as the Hibs players appeared to stop after seeing that the ball had strayed past the byline, the Birkirkara forward centred for Herrera who rammed home.

Replays showed that the ball had clearly crossed the line when Mifsud Triganza delivered the decisive pass for Herrera to make it one-all.

Having earlier caught the attention after scuffles broke out in their section, the Birkirkara supporters were suddenly screaming with joy.

It was now Birkirkara’s turn to apply the pressure. Haruna capitalised on a mistake by Camilleri to race into the box but his tame shot was easily dealt with by Muscat.

The force was with Birkirkara who seized the lead midway into the second half.

They were awarded a free-kick for a foul on Rowen Muscat and Pereira’s set-piece cross was missed by the on-rushing Muscat who was outjumped by Nikola Vukanac. The Serbian’s looping header soared above a host of players and dropped into the net.

Birkirkara’s joy increased when, with 17 minutes remaining, they extended their lead.

From a corner, Haruna laid the ball to Rowen Muscat who dinked an inviting pass into the box with Zach Muscat applying the final touch.

This was the cue for Woods to retouch his approach as Adrian Pulis and Obinna Obiefule came on for Farrugia and Soares respectively.

But Hibs looked stunned.

They tried to summon a reaction, Lima blasting over from the distance after being teed up by Dias, but Birkirkara stayed in charge to secure their fourth Premiere League title.

Match statistics

	Hibernians	Birkirkara
Corners	7	3
Shots on target	4	3
Shots off target	11	3
Free-kicks	7	6
Offsides	3	5
Fouls committed	24	23

Hibernians
M. Muscat-5, R. Camilleri-6, J. Pearson-6, R. Soares-6 (74 O. Obiefule), M. Dias-7 (85 A. Kardeck), A. Cohen-6, B. Kristensen-6, Jackson Lima-6.5, C. Failla-6.5, Luis Edison-4, J.P. Farrugia-5 (74 A. Pulis).

Birkirkara
J. Haber-7, Z. Muscat-6.5, N. Vukanac-7, A. Mendoza-7, R. Pereira-7, P. Fenech-6.5, G. Sciberras-7, R. Muscat-7 (84 R. Scicluna), E. Herrera-6.5, J.P. Mifsud Triganza-6 (78 R. Camenzuli), Jhonnattann-5 (34 S. Haruna-7).

Referee: Alan Mario Sant.

Yellow cards: Haber; Herrera; Edison; Kristensen.

BOV player of the match: Rodrigo Pereira (Birkirkara).

Attendance: 9,252.