Hibernians 1
Failla 90+ pen;
Birkirkara 1
Haruna 90;

The title race is still wide open.

Just for a few minutes yesterday, it looked as though the pendulum had swung decidedly in Birkirkara’s favour after Shola Shodiya Haruna, on a second-half substitute, fired them ahead in the first minute of stoppage time of their top-of-table showdown with Hibs.

Down to 10 men from as early as the 11th minute, Birkirkara had shown great tactical discipline and resilience to limit their opponents to a couple of half-chances.

Haruna’s goal, after Hibs had Rodolfo Soares dismissed for two yellow cards, looked to have rewarded Birkirkara for their brave showing but what followed almost defied belief.

The game had been a slow-burning affair but it produced an enthral-ling, controversial finale as Hibs grabbed a last-gasp leveller from a debatable penalty which inflamed the Birkirkara players and fans.

The tone of this cagey match had been set in the early stages when Marco Borg dismissed Birkirkara defender Alejandro Mendoza for committing what in football is generally referred to as a last-man foul, and ended in the same vein as, after Clayton Failla’s equaliser, midfielder Paul Fenech was also given his marching orders.

Inevitably, this sequence of events led to tempers flaring up as, at the final whistle, Birkirkara goalkeeper Justin Haber almost came to blows with Failla before other players joined in the melee while the Stripes faithful showed their indignation towards Borg as they felt aggrieved by his decisions.

The tension spilled outside the stadium as a group of Birkirkara fans gathered outside the gate of the VIP area to show their appreciation for their team’s performance but the mood was further soured by some scuffles. A female Birkirkara fan was reportedly assaulted by a group of Hibs fans while the police arrested a man for his involvement in a disturbance.

Having shown character in the face of adversity, Birkirkara viewed this as two points lost rather than one won while Hibs, who had lacked the flair and invention to make their numerical advantage count, will have been relieved that they rescued a point at the death as they stayed in the title hunt, just two points adrift of the leaders with only three matches left. The stalemate also favoured Valletta as the champions are now five behind Birkirkara.

Birkirkara had taken to the field with their best team.

Gareth Sciberras was duly restored to the starting formation after shaking off the injury that forced him out of the 1-0 win over Sliema. The Malta midfielder was preferred to Ryan Scicluna as coach Paul Zammit called upon his most experienced elements.

Another boost for Birkirkara was the availability of Rowen Muscat who was rated doubtful. The other changes in the Stripes’ initial XI saw Brazilian defender Rodrigo Pereira and Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza replace Zach Muscat and Shola Shodiya Haruna respectively.

Two of the alterations in Hibs’ line-up had been envisaged as goalkeeper Mario Muscat and striker Jean Paul Farrugia were back in the frame after seeing out a one-match ban. Daniel Balzan and Adrian Pulis made way for the returning duo while Marcelo Dias received Michael Woods’s nod ahead of Brazilian compatriot Jackson Lima.

Dias’s pace probably swayed Woods’s decision in his favour as the Brazilian was deployed in a wide position on the right of midfield in a 3-5-2 formation with Farrugia and Luis Edison ‘Tarabai’ leading the line. It was clear that Woods’s ploy was to fight fire with fire as he countered the speed of Edward Herrera and Joseph Zerafa with two equally fast players in Failla and Dias.

Birkirkara hit the ground running. Just two minutes from the start of the game had elapsed when Mifsud Triganza advanced after winning possession deep into Hibs’ half and exchanged passes with Jhonnattann. In next to no time, Mifsud Triganza was steaming into the box to receive Jhonnattann’s pass but his effort was pawed away by Muscat.

Haber was also called into action to fist away Andrew Cohen’s swerving cross from a free-kick.

Borg had to deal with the first big episode after just 11 minutes when Mendoza clattered into the advancing Tarabai on the edge of the box after the latter had capitalised on a mistake by the Spanish defender.

Borg ran towards the Birkirkara centre-half and brandished the red card after ruling that Mendoza had denied Tarabai a clear scoring opportunity.

Clearly distraught, Mendoza raised his hands towards the Birkirkara fans to apologise as he made his way to the tunnel. From the ensuing free-kick, Cohen’s curler was stopped by Haber.

Hibs sought to take immediate advantage of their extra man but were foiled by Haber who saved a grounder by Tarabai, who had been sent clear by Cohen, and another effort from Dias.

In the meantime, Zammit instructed Sciberras to drop to defence and switched to 4-3-1-1 with Mifsud Triganza operating behind Jhonnattann.

Having weathered the siege that followed Mendoza’s dismissal, Birkirkara settled. They threatened to seize the lead on the half-hour mark when Herrera sped forward on the right before putting in a fine cross into the six-yard box but Jhonnattann’s half-volley sailed the wrong side of the near post.

Despite being a man down, Birkirkara’s readiness to cover acres of ground was making life difficult for Hibs.

On 35 minutes, Muscat fisted away a set-piece cross from Jhonnattann before Nikola Vukanac could inflict further damage.

Bjorn Kristensen’s volley from outside the box ended wide but scoring chances were proving hard to come by.

A minute from half-time, the Birkirkara fans protested vociferously after Dias, who had just been cautioned, escaped another booking after fouling Fenech in midfield.

Dias didn’t reappear for the second half as he was replaced by Jackson Lima who flagged his intent to make an impact with a pulverising drive that sailed just wide.

There was also a change in Birkirkara’s ranks as Scicluna, who is renowned for his work ethic and versatility, came on for Mifsud Triganza.

Lima went close five minutes into the second half with a powerful piledriver that sailed over the bar.

The Stripes’ foremost priority was to keep their opponents at bay but they didn’t forsake their attacking intentions. In Herrera, Jhonnattann and Scicluna they had players who could pose problems to Hibs on the counter.

Vukanac flicked the ball wide of the near post after getting on the end of Jhonnattann’s corner.

Close to the hour, Hibs had a glorious opportunity to nose ahead when Farrugia raced into the box from the right but his strike was repelled by the alert Haber. The loose ball squirmed towards Tarabai who blasted over.

Sensing his team’s difficulties to penetrate Birkirkara’s rearguard, Woods brought on another striker, Nigerian Obinna Obiefule, for Zoran Levnaic.

Zammit responded by throwing on Haruna for Jhonnattann.

As the minutes trickled by, Hibs upped their pressure, forcing a couple of corners, but their efforts foundered on the solid Birkirkara rearguard.

With 12 minutes remaining, Woods played his last card, bringing on Pulis for Farrugia. Pulis took up the left-back role as Failla moved upfield.

Tempers became frayed when Obiefule barged into Zach Muscat, who had just come on for Muscat. After a bout of pushing and shoving, Borg cautioned Obiefule.

As the game drifted into the final stages, the Birkirkara fans raised the volume to ramp up their support for their players. They had further cause to cheer when, with less than three minutes remaining, Hibs defender Soares was red-carded after incurring a second caution for a foul on Fenech as Birkirkara broke on the counter.

Pereira’s free-kick was off target but, in the first minute of stoppage time, Birkirkara struck. Hibs were again caught out as Birkirkara launched a quick breakaway. Haruna served Fenech whose strong shot was beaten away by Muscat but Haruna hit home from the rebound.

Everyone inside the stadium thought that was that but it was not to be, as a few moments later Hibs were awarded a penalty after Vukanac was deemed to have pushed Obiefule inside the box, to the evident dismay of the Birkirkara players and fans.

Failla kept his cool as he drilled his penalty shot past Haber.

A nailbiting final ended on a sour note when Fenech was red-carded after his flailing leg caught Failla.

Hibernians
M. Muscat-6.5, R. Camilleri-6.5, J. Pearson-6, R. Soares, A. Cohen-5, B. Kristensen-5.5, C. Failla-6, Z. Levnaic-6 (60 O. Obiefule-4.5), M. Dias-5 (46 J. Lima-6), Luis Edison-5, J.P. Farrugia-6 (78 A. Pulis).

Birkirkara
J. Haber-7.5, E. Herrera-8, N. Vukanac-6.5, A. Mendoza, J. Zerafa-6, G. Sciberras-6.5, P. Fenech, R. Pereira-6.5, R. Muscat-6.5 (83 Z. Muscat), Jhonnattann-5.5 (67 S. Haruna), J.P. Mifsud Triganza-6 (46 R. Scicluna-6).

Referee: Marco Borg.

Yellow cards: Soares; Dias; R. Muscat; Pereira; Farrugia; Obiefule.

Red cards: Mendoza (B) 12; Soares (H) 88; Fenech (B) 90+.

BOV player of the match: Justin Haber (Birkirkara).

Attendance: 3,035.

Standings

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Birkirkara	29	17	8	4	60	22	38
Hibernians	29	18	4	7	61	31	36
Valletta	29	16	8	5	66	25	33
Sliema	29	14	6	9	38	25	30
Tarxien	29	14	6	9	49	43	29
Mosta	29	11	1	17	44	62	17
Floriana	29	11	10	8	42	36	31
Qormi	29	13	4	12	50	45	28
Balzan	29	8	9	12	44	50	20
Rabat	29	4	9	16	28	57	16
Ħamrun	29	6	5	18	33	74	15
Melita	29	3	8	18	24	69	10