The sharing of spoils after a goalless draw was a natural outcome of a duel which never really lifted off in terms of enterprising fare and goalmouth action.

As a result, both Hibernians and Ħamrun conceded two points and consequently conceded valuable ground in their bid to keep in touch with the front-runners.

Jorginho was soon in the thick of things, who made a typical surging run down the left flank before hitting just wide off the far post.

A whiff of anticipation swept through the Ħamrun fans after 10 minutes when Tiago charged forward when Andrew Hogg’s desperate dive to palm away Tiago’s effort saw that ball falling kindly into the feet of Davide Succi who was denied by Rui Da Gracia Gomes a certain goal when the lanky defender hooked his effort off the line.

On 20 minutes, Hogg blocked Lydon Micallef’s shot and had to arch backwards to tip Micallef’s second attempt over the bar.

On the other side, Kreuzriegler floated in an inviting ball and Moreira darted in with a flying header which went just wide.

Hibs pushed forward vehemently. Ħamrun almost punished their flat-out approach with a quick counter-attack but Galea’s header was dealt with by the alert Hogg.

A second bookable offence by Tiago in the dying minutes saw the Spartans finishing with a man less.