Hibernians 2
Failla 37; Cohen 56 pen
Tarxien 0
Hibernians are back on top of the Premier League after they scored a goal in each half to ease past rivals Tarxien Rainbows in an interesting derby at the Centenary Stadium.
A gem of a strike from man-of-the-match Clayton Failla and a disputed second-half penalty from Andrew Cohen put the Paolites well on their way to a deserved win over rivals Tarxien as Mark Miller's team moved two points clear of second-placed Valletta and Birkirkara.
Despite the ailment weather and the raining lashing down on the stands, a good crowd turned up at the Centenary Stadium to witness this keenly awaited derby. The two sets of fans traded insults before the teams had even set foot on the pitch as rivalry between the two towns was renewed after an absence of several seasons due to the Rainbows playing outside the top flight.
Ticker tape and loud cheers greeted the players as they were led on the pitch by referee Chris Lautier.
Tarxien lined up with a compact 4-1-3-2 formation with Pio Sciriha and Ramon Schembri patrolling central defence with skipper Manuel Caruana deployed as a defensive midfielder. Up front, Warren Chircop and prolific striker Manuel Bueno led the Rainbows attack.
On ten minutes, Failla did well to evade two players before slipping a pass towards the right for the lanky Terrence Scerri to try and glide a cross across the area but his effort was blocked into a corner.
Goalmouth action came at a premium during the first half hour as play was restricted to the centre of the park with both sets of defenders blotting out any potential moves towards the penalty areas.
Ten minutes from half-time, Chircop slid a dangerous cross from the byline but with no blue and white shirted players at hand to hassle Muscat, the Hibernians custodian, calmly controlled the ball.
At the other end, Hibernians took the lead through a solo effort from Failla who galloped down the length of the left flank and appeared to have lost his footing before slicing a delightful shot that stunned Anthony Curmi in the Tarxien goal with the ball flying into the net.
Curmi was lucky to escape unscathed when he tried to dribble past Cohen and nearly lost the ball in the process but an outstretched leg quickly helped the Tarxien no. 1 to power the ball upfield and prevent the nippy striker from planting an effort into an empty net.
With three minutes of added time before the end of the first half, Mariano Bueno delivered a corner from the right and Grech whipped in with a glancing header which narrowly missed the target.
Tarxien changed their jerseys for the second half as Noel Coleiro's lads took to the pitch with blue shirts. The dry jerseys failed to inspire Tarxien to surge forward in search of an equaliser as Hibernians were more confident in their approach.
Five minutes into the second half, Failla curled a free-kick from the edge of the area with the ball picking up momentum and forcing Curmi to fingertip the effort over.
On 55 minutes, Hibernians were awarded a penalty as Curmi was deemed to have brought Scerri tumbling to the ground inside the area as the Paolites striker was making a run towards goal.
Cohen calmly converted the kick to hand Hibernians a two-goal lead as the Rainbows faced an uphill struggle.
Tempers started to flare on the stands as hostilities were renewed. With Miller's lads firmly in the driving seat, more drama was in store as a partial power failure ten minutes from time forced the ref to suspend play for some minutes.
When play resumed, Tarxien fashioned an isolated chance as substitute Grech served fellow substitute Kevin Borg whose shot failed to trouble Muscat.
It was one of the rare instances when the Rainbows ventured forward and threatened to upstage their opponents. But in the end it was the Paolites' who could celebrate another vital win.
Next fixtures
Tomorrow: (National Stadium) 2 p.m. Sliema Wanderers vs Ħamrun Spartans; 4 p.m. Floriana vs Birkirkara.
Sunday: (Hibs Ground) 12.45 p.m. Tarxien Rainbows vs Msida SJ; 2.45 p.m. Hibernians vs Qormi.
Hibernians
M. Muscat-6.5, E. Herrera-6.5, A. Pulis-6.5, A. Xuereb-6.5, J. Pearson-7, T. Mbongo-6, A. Cohen-6 ('83 J. Xerri), C. Failla-7.5, T. Scerri-7, C. Callejas-6, R. Galabov-7 ('88 L. Grech).
Tarxien
A. Curmi-5.5, M. Caruana-6, P. Sciriha-6, W. Chircop-5.5, M. Tanti-5.5, A. Decesare-5.5 ('85 M. Zammit), R. Schembri-6, L. Vella Critien-5.5, D. M. Bueno-6, R. M. Cariaga -5.5 ('72 O. Grech), R. Grech-6 ('46 K. Borg-5.5).
Referee: Chris Lautier.
Yellow cards: Decesare, Curmi.
BOV player of the match: Clayton Failla (Hibernians).