Birkirkara 0
Hibernians 2
The ferocious wind and driving rain threatened to reduce the second round encounter between Birkirkara and Hibernians into an ugly scrap yesterday afternoon.
Ball control and passing suddenly became complicated tasks but the Paolites relied on the creative qualities of their forward personnel and the graft of their men in the middle to make light of the difficult conditions as they chalked up a deserved 2-0 victory over the stuttering Stripes.
Second-half goals by Ndubisi Chukunyere and Terence Scerri rewarded Hibs' superiority but the catalyst of their success yesterday was Andrew Cohen who set up his side's first goal and tormented Birkirkara with his movement and neat touches.
Scerri and Adrian Pulis, both left out of Hibs' starting XI for last week's 2-2 draw with Hamrun, were named in Robert Gatt's team yesterday.
In the absence of Danish defender Ron Hartvig, ruled out by a one-match ban, John Buttigieg, the Birkirkara coach, handed a recall to Lee Lombardi.
Constructive football was hard to come by in the early stages as the two sets of players struggled to get to grips with the weather conditions.
Midway into the second half, Scerri burst into the Birkirkara box to collect a pass from Cohen. The grounder by the Hibs forward was repelled by Bernard Paris, the Birkirkara goalkeeper, but the loose ball broke to Cohen whose strong drive took a deflection off Emil Yanchev and onto the base of the post.
A heavy downpour made life more difficult for the two teams but Hibs were, by and large, the more enterprising team going forward. Five minutes past the half-hour, Scerri rose to meet a Cohen's cross from a corner but his header sailed over the bar.
Moments later, Buttigieg was forced to make his first substitution, Thomas Paris coming on for the injured Martin Anastasi.
With Birkirkara looking disjointed and devoid of any flair and creativity, Hibs continued to call the tune but the stalemate prevailed until half-time.
Early in the second half, a seemingly harmless shot by Shaun Bajada from the left trickled into the Hibs box but Pulis cleared away.
Hibs goalkeeper Mario Muscat effected his first save eight minutes after the restart when he did well to beat away a dangerous corner by Alan Tabone.
At the other end, Hibs could and should have put their noses in front when Scerri picked out the unmarked Ndubisi Chukunyere in the opposite side of the box. The Nigerian quickly squared to Failla who lifted the ball over the bar from close range.
Birkirkara sighed with relief but theirs was a temporary reprieve as, 13 minutes into the second half, Hibs went ahead. Latching to a through pass from Cohen, Chukunyere used his speed and physical power to take the ball past Emil Yanchev, Roderick Sammut and Paris before depositing the ball into an empty net.
Hibs maintained their ascendancy and Cohen's cross-shot dropped just wide of the far post.
One expected Hibs' opener to sting Birkirkara into action but the latter's reaction was sterile.
Paul Fenech fired wide from an angled position but Birkirkara's best chance of an equaliser came in the shape of a cross-shot by Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza which whistled across the face of goal.
Any hopes Birkirkara might have had of salvaging a draw were dashed when Hibs doubled their lead seven minutes from the end. Doffo was the provider with an outswinging free-kick from the right and Scerri anticipated friend and foe to send a firm header past the flailing Paris.
Hibs could now afford to ease up and saunter through the remaining minutes of the game as victory yesterday moved them on the 16-point mark, one ahead of their vanquished opponents.
Birkirkara: B. Paris-5, L. Galea-5.5, R. Sammut-5.5, P. Fenech-5 ('74 J. Zerafa), J.P. Mifsud Triganza-4, A. Tabone-4, M. Anastasi-4 ('36 T. Paris-4), L. Lombardi-4 ('84 A. Ciantar), S. Bajada-6, G. Mallia-5, E, Yanchev-6.5.
Hibs: M. Muscat-6, A. Xuereb-6, J. Caruana-6, A. Pulis-6.5, C. Failla-6.5 ('86 B. Camilleri), U. Edafe-7 ('89 J. Pearson), P. Doffo-7, N. Chukunyere-6.5 ('71 J. Alcorse), T. Scerri, A. Cohen-7.5, E. Agius-6.
Referee: Adrian Azzopardi.
Scorers: Chukunyere 58; Scerri 83.
Yellow cards: Doffo; Tabone; Mallia; Agius.
BoV player of the match: Andrew Cohen (Hibs).