Jorginho hit the Greens with a late KO blow when he scored from the spot, to end his side’s four-match goal drought and raise the spirits of the Hibernians fans.
Very little was seen in the opening minutes not so much for good defensive play as for lack of effective moment by the strikers.
Despite territorial dominance from Hibs, early on, there was no hot action in front of Floriana’s goal.
Andrew Hogg was first of the two extreme defenders to be called to significant duty when turning grandly to stop a header by Enzo Ruiz from a corner by Arthur Oyama on cusp of half-time.
On the other side, a well-taken free-kick from Jackson Lima beat the Greens’ wall but finished just over the bar.
The Paolites pushed forward with vigour and vision to keep the Greens on the receiving end after the change of ends.
On 70 minutes, Mark Miller effected his first change, bringing on debutant Giorgi Gorozia for Bjorn Kristensen.
The Georgian midfielder made an instant impact when he was first to a loose ball after Ini Akpan flapped as he tried to clear Joseph Mbong’s dangerous.
The goalkeeper barged into the Hibs midfielder and referee Glen Tonna pointed to the spot after consulting the additional assistant referee Alan Mario Sant. From the ensuing penalty, Jorginho dispatched his spot-kick home.
Floriana were forced to redress the imbalance as Vella’s long punt into the Hibs’ penalty area unsettled the Hibs defence, with Jurgen Pisani heading goalwards but his effort was hooked off the line by Jorginho.
Hibernians, although being forced to pull down more men inside their own half, kept showing signs of vitality when in possession.
Six minutes from time, Kreuzriegler ran unimpeded towards the Greens box before squaring for the unmarked Jurgen Degabriele who hit a fierce shot which finished on Alex Cini’s arm. This time, the referee waved play on.
Sadly, a keen-contested match was somehow overshadowed by some ugly scenes at the end when the Hibs bench clashed with some Floriana players after Ruiz made a desperate late lunge on Degabriele.