A goal behind and a man down after just 25 minutes, Hibernians were up against it on Saturday.

Confronted by a Naxxar Lions team who have confounded critics with their bold early-season performances, the Paolites clearly faced an uphill battle to preserve their unbeaten record but they refused to lie down in the face of adversity.

Their optimism will have been lifted immeasurably by their strong comeback as Hibernians, making light of Jonathan Pearson’s early dismissal, hit four goals to secure the spoils and top spot at the end of the first round, three points clear of champions Birkirkara.

Hibs’ remarkable start to the season certainly casts a positive light on the work of Branko Nisevic who last summer left his post as Malta U-19 and assistant national coach to take up his first senior job at a club where he made a name for himself as a strong, uncompromising defender.

“We are satisfied with our first-round performances,” Nisevic told Times of Malta.

“I would say merit for this should go to the players because they have shown the will to work hard and fight, especially in games when we were 1-0 down. They have always managed to turn the situation around.

“Besides the last game against Naxxar, we had also fallen behind against Rabat and Valletta but we recovered to win. I believe this is a very good sign.”

Saturday’s match posed an even bigger challenge for Hibs, given that they lost Pearson to a red card after just 25 minutes, but the response of the players strengthened Nisevic’s belief that his team have what it takes to win the title this season.

“Champions must have character,” Nisevic said.

“We started the game against Naxxar on a good note, producing three shots in the opening 15 minutes but that (Pearson’s red card) was like the trigger to bring the best out of my players.

“When the going got tough, my players showed great character.”

Long regarded as one of the brightest coaches in Maltese football, Nisevic’s towering impact on a Hibernians squad full of established and experienced players has enhanced his credentials.

Hiring a coach who sets great store by discipline and hard work was initially seen as something of a gamble by Hibs, moreo as Nisevic’s appointment was confirmed only a few days after Michael Woods, his predecessor, had guided the team to FA Trophy success, but the Serbian is clearly vindicating the club’s trust.

“A new coach brings his own ideas and philosophy,” Nisevic said.

“Every coach also has a set of values. The biggest thing in my early days as Hibs coach was to convince the players what are the values and characteristics I wanted my team to be identified with.

“That is what I tried to implement. I didn’t change a lot of things as far as the team’s playing style is concerned because they did well last season. I tried to build on that.”

When the going got tough, my players showed great character

Although Hibs have been challenging regularly for the major honours in the last few seasons, their lack of transfer activity in the summer instilled some doubts about their title potential.

Such scepticism was further fuelled by the seemingly unstinting efforts of their rivals, Birkirkara and Valletta, to reinforce and refresh their squad with the signing of new foreign players whereas Hibs essentially kept faith with the squad they had last season.

Nisevic was not too concerned though.

“One of the biggest values in club football is the ability to retain the same squad for a considerable period of time, not for too long perhaps because things can become monotonous,” the Hibs coach observed.

“Keeping last season’s squad intact was a big plus for the team and the club.”

With the start of the January transfer window fast approaching, most of the coaches have already started to assess their options with a view to fine-tuning their squads.

Drastic changes are not on Nisevic’s agenda.

“In January, we will possibly try to sign one player,” he said.

Asked which position he was looking at, Nisevic replied: “Defence or midfield. We will see.”

Having dropped only four points during an 11-match unbeaten run, Hibs have good reason to be satisfied with their progress so far but league titles are won in April and May, especially in a country where the points of the Premier League teams are halved at the end of the regular second round.

“The format is meant to keep teams alert until the final stages,” Nisevic said.

“Our aim is to collect as many points as possible until the end of the second round.

“I reckon that this season, the winning team would need 50 points whereas last term, the top teams finished with 45 points. This was due to the fact that the contenders dropped points against the smaller teams but this season, the leading sides have been more consistent.”

Statistics – Scorers and red cards

Balzan: Negrin 2 (1 pen); Agius, Scicluna, Aboulezz, Bezzina, Pereira, Darmanin, Sciberras, Spiteri.
Red cards: Agius (vs Vittoriosa Stars), Vignaroli (vs Sliema Wanderers), Aboulezz (vs Mosta), Falzon (vs Naxxar Lions), Grioli (vs Naxxar Lions).

Birkirkara: Jhonnattann 5; Haruna 4; Temile 3; Matheus 2; Toure, Zerafa.
Own goal: Camilleri (vs Valletta).
Red card: Bissi (vs Hibernians).

Floriana: Coronado 7; Muir 3 (1 pen); Bogdanovic 2, Pisani 2, Diogo 2.

Hibernians: Edison 7; Failla 6 (4 pens); Cohen 4, Lima 4; Soares 3; Obiefule 2; Levnaic, Farrugia, Kristensen.
Red cards: Pearson (vs Vittoriosa, vs Naxxar), Camilleri (vs Mosta).

Mosta: Piccione 4, Fernandes 4 (1 pen); Kaljevic 3 (1 pen); Grech 2, T. Farrugia 2; Brincat, Pereira, Micallef, Silva Faria.
Own goals: S. Gauci (vs Rabat), Bugeja (vs Qormi).
Red card: Ekani (vs Tarxien).

Naxxar Lions: Gilmar 4 (1 pen); Falzon 3; Rocha Da Silva 2 (1 pen), Thiago 2; Scerri, Buhagiar, Ani, Bonnici.
Red cards: Drago (vs Sliema Wanderers); Buhagiar (vs Tarxien Rainbows), Del Negro (vs Vittoriosa Stars).

Qormi: Effiong 4; Innocenti 2, Bajada 2 (1 pen.); Sammut, Bugeja, Grech, Jorginho.
Red cards: Bugeja (vs Floriana), Farrugia (vs Floriana).

Rabat Ajax: Carrillo 2, Licari 2; Pelaez, Avila Perez.
Red cards: Falzon (vs Mosta); S. Gauci (vs Qormi).

Sliema Wanderers: Ohawuchi 9; Much-ardi 4; Navarra 3, Bello-Osagie 3 (2 pens); Cilia, A. Muscat, Bianciardi.
Red cards: Gatt Baldacchino (vs Tarxien), Mintoff (vs Valletta).

Tarxien Rainbows: Ronallie 9 (2 pens); Jorge 4; Martinelli, Mamo.
Red cards: Potezica (vs Hibernians), Jorge (vs Sliema Wanderers), Lopes (vs Rabat Ajax), Vella (vs Valletta).

Valletta: Denni 8; Nafti 3; Mifsud Triganza 2, Nyang 2; Barry, Camilleri, Zammit, Romulo, Caruana, Fenech, Agius.
Red cards: Agius (vs Mosta), Denni (vs Hibs), Vandelannoite (vs Balzan).

Vittoriosa Stars: Guerrero 7 (1 pen.); Pereira, Teruel, Martin, Samir Arab.
Red card: Aguiar (vs Tarxien).

Next fixtures

Saturday, Nov. 23: Centenary Stadium − 14.00 Birkirkara vs Rabat; 16.15 Floriana vs Naxxar. National Stadium − 14.00 Balzan vs Vittoriosa; 16.00 Hibs vs Tarxien.

Sunday, Nov. 24: Hibs Stadium − 14.00 Qormi vs Sliema; 16.00 Mosta vs Valletta.

Standings

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Hibernians	11	9	2	0	29	11	29
Birkirkara	11	8	2	1	17	7	26
Valletta	11	8	1	2	22	8	25
Sliema	11	6	3	2	22	13	21
Mosta	11	5	1	5	21	18	16
Naxxar Lions	11	4	2	5	15	17	14
Floriana (-6)	11	4	3	4	16	14	9
Balzan	11	2	3	6	10	17	9
Tarxien	11	2	3	6	15	24	9
Vittoriosa	11	2	3	6	11	20	9
Qormi	11	2	2	7	12	21	8
Rabat Ajax	11	1	1	9	6	26	4