HIBERNIANS 1

Kristensen 45

BALZAN 0

Hibernians returned to winning ways with a victory over Balzan, this afternoon, although they found it hard to penetrate Balzan’s defensive lines despite having most possession.

After 41 minutes, Jackson Lima swung in a cross from the left flank but Edison’s header soared over the bar.

Balzan failed to heed the alarm signals and Kristensen fired home just before half-time. Failla’s delivery this time from a right wing corner, found the U-21 midfielder unmarked in the box to guide a downward header past Cipriott.

That advantage gave the Paolities belief that openings were there to be exploited and Branko Nisevic’s men continued to dictate matters after the break.

With Balzan labouring to stage a reaction, the buoyant Hibs tried to strengthen their grip on the game and in the 50th minute, Cohen’s angled drive drew a fine save by Cipriott. Few minutes later, the Balzan goalkeeper produced a superb one-handed save to push Cohen’s looping drive over the bar.

In the 65th minute, Micallef broke Hibs’ dominance after a mazy solo run through the defence before Mario Muscat made the only noteworthy intervention of the afternoon as he leapt to his left to paw away.

Yet, Hibs looked certain to add a second, seven minutes from time, when Jackson Lima, all-action in midfield, produced a brilliant first-time shot from the distance but his effort cannoned off the crossbar.