Hibernians’ scoring prowess has turned out to be a deciding factor in the Paola club march towards a 12th league title success.

With 64 goals scored in 33 matches – an average of almost two goals per match – Hibernians heavy ammunition upfront turned out handy in their quest to finish above more-quoted opponents in the shape of Balzan, Birkirkara and outgoing champions Valletta.

Yet, at the start of the season, many questioned Hibs’ competitivity when the Paolites lost the services of Brazilian duo Edison Tarabai and Gilmar Ribeiro who both went to pursue their careers in the oil-rich country of Saudi Arabia while Malta international Jean Paul Farrugia moved to Sliema Wanderers for a second stint.

Coach Mark Miller refused to panic and keeping with the club’s traditions he happily gave young striker Jurgen Degabriele the chance to play a leading role for Hibernians upfront alongside Jorginho and veteran Andrew Cohen while bringing in Argentine forward Juan Manuel Varea.

At first, things didn’t look like working as planned as the Paolites struggled for consistency in the first half of the season with an unexpected defeat to newcomers Ħamrun Spartans and then going down to title contenders Balzan.

Still, Miller and his assistant Josef Mansueto refused to panic and kept working hard with their players.

The season turnaround arrived in January when Miller let Varea, who had just one goal to his name in 16 appearances, and veteran Cohen seek pastures new while managing to bring back to the club Gilmar on loan from Naxxar Lions.

Gilmar’s inclusion in the team’s starting formation proved decisive as the burly Brazilian provided Hibernians with that much-needed spark upfront that transformed the team into a well-oiled attacking machine.

One of the players to thrive in this new scenario was Degabriele who proved his critics wrong as despite his young age he fully fulfilled his role of one of the chief target man for the club, netting an impressive 16 goal tally that propelled his team to the league title.

“For me, it’s not just important to play regularly but in my position I have to score goals on a regular basis,” Degabriele, scorer of a hat-trick in Hibs’ 6-1 demolition of neighbouring rivals Tarxien Rainbows on Saturday, told the Times of Malta.

“This has been a great collected effort. We’ve worked hard for this success and it is a real pleasure for me helping the club who brought me up in the way I did,” the club’s leading scorer added.

However, Hibs’ real force was in midfield where a crop of young and experienced players provided the tempo and stability to the team when needed.

Malta international Bjorn Kristensen endured an exceptional season, finding the net on seven occasions while providing numerous assists and it’s no surprise that he has been shortlisted for the MFA’s Player of the Year award.

His partner, Jackson Lima, was also pivotal for their cause, scoring six times.

“I am very happy to have secured this league title,” Lima said.

“Actually, I am lost for words as it was a very competitive league.

“But I’m pleased with my performances throughout the season. I worked really hard to get in shape and that proved decisive so that I could contribute with strong performances in key matches.

“Nonetheless, there is always room for improvement and I hope I can carry on helping this club.”

Club supremo

One person who deserves a lot of credit for Hibs success is president Tony Bezzina.

The long-serving club supremo said that the players deserve all the credit for profiting from their rivals slip-ups to win their second title in the space of three years.

“Our aim this season was to give more playing time to our young players so that they gain much-needed experience to be able to help our first-team in the near future,” Bezzina said.

“However, we found ourselves in a situation where other teams failed to capitalize on multiple occasions to open a further gap within us and therefore, we took our chances and the players deserve credit for that.”

As the season came to an end, Hibs will be looking at the future of the club with high hopes as a side that was considered to be in transition managed to clinch the title.

Surely with the addition of a couple of quality players, they can be a dominant force in the domestic scene for years to come.