City knock Hibs off their perch

Valletta 2
G. Agius 5; Priso 45
Hibernians 0

Champions Valletta squared up to erstwhile leaders Hibs in the first heavyweights' tiff of 2009 last night.

Having surprised one and sundry with their terrific start to the season, Hibs were widely tipped to pose a threat to Valletta's 11-match unbeaten run and strengthen their credentials as genuine title contenders.

Cometh the hour, Mark Miller's troops failed to rise to the challenge, their march halted by the ruthlessly efficient Citizens who again banked on collective experience, cohesion and the deadly instincts of their forwards to see off their rivals and take their place at the summit of the standings.

In a combative encounter that produced a flurry of yellow cards and two dismissals, Valletta struck in the opening half as Hibs failed to show their usual flair despite seeing more of the ball.

The Paolites' prospects were then hit hard by Terrence Scerri's red card early in the second half.

Sebastian Monesterolo, back in City's fold, was assigned a starting role but Paulo Massaro was absent from the squad. Valletta have yet to rubberstamp the Brazilian's registration due to a delay in the arrival of his documents.

With left-back Steve Bezzina laid low by flu and defender Josef Mifsud failing to shake off a knock he suffered last weekend in Ancona, Paul Zammit was obliged to tweak his back four.

Dyson Falzon was asked to fill in for Bezzina, Kenneth Scicluna flanked Luke Dimech at centre-half and Justin Grioli took up the right-back position.

Miller refused to gamble with Andrew Cohen's fitness as the Malta forward is still recovering from flu. In his absence, Miller started with Scerri as a lone forward and handed a midfield role to young Jonathan Pearson.

Valletta's positive start stunned Hibs who conceded after only five minutes, Gilbert Agius having the better of Mario Muscat with a low, diagonal strike from the edge of the box.

Cajoled into action by the Citizens' early opener, Hibs might have gained an instant equaliser had Tekumu Mbong's effort not been parried in two attempts by Andrew Hogg.

Conscious that their opponents were relying on a makeshift left-back in Falzon, Hibs sought to penetrate Valletta's defensive lines from that side, mainly through Mbongo.

A flowing City move saw Agius direct a crossfield pass to Cleaven Frendo who cut in from the right but rifled his shot over the bar.

Midway through the first half, a power cut left the National Stadium in pitch darkness, prompting the fans to reach for their mobile phones to provide a bit of light. This created quite a sight on the terraces, reminiscent of music concerts.

When play resumed, the Paolites continued to pose Valletta problems on the flanks.

Scerri relied on his physical strength to get to the byline before pulling the ball back for Clayton Failla whose first-time sizzler had power but lacked accuracy.

A couple of unorthodox tackles warranted yellow cards but referee Alan Mario Sant opted for a verbal caution instead.

Towards the end of the first half, Rumen Galabov headed over from Christian Callejas's free-kick but it was the champions who doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time.

Receiving possession outside the box, Monesterolo advanced before switching the ball to the right where Frendo delivered a perfect cross and Doding Priso, unmarked, prodded past Muscat.

Hibs might have reduced the deficit when, with six minutes of the second half gone, Failla swung over a cross from a free-kick and the soaring Adrian Pulis headed firmly but the ball shook the bar.

But, Hibs' hopes all but ebbed away on 58 minutes when Scerri was shown a straight red card, presumably for use of foul language. His premature exit prompted Miller to introduce Cohen for the subdued Callejas and push Mbongo in attack.

Mbongo headed just wide from Failla's cross but at the other end, Ian Zammit, who had just replaced Monesterolo, threatened to put the result beyond Hibs when receiving a pass from Priso but his grounder was stopped by Muscat.

Danger loomed for Hibs when Failla lost possession close to his box but Frendo's shot was kept out by the Hibs keeper.

Six minutes from time, Valletta broke clear on the counter, Priso making headway before serving man-of-the-match Gilbert Agius who skied his shot high and wide.

In the dying stages, Edmond Agius was dismissed for swinging an arm at Galabov after the latter had fouled the City midfielder.

Valletta
A. Hogg-7.5, E. Agius, J. Grioli-6.5, L. Dimech-7, K. Scicluna-6.5, C. Frendo-6 ('76 S. Giglio), J. Pace-7 ('88 J. Bondin), G. Agius-7.5, D. Priso-7.5, D. Falzon-6, S. Monesterolo-5.5 ('70 I. Zammit-6.5).

Hibernians
M. Muscat-6.5, A. Pulis-6 ('70 J.P. Farrugia-5), J. Caruana-5.5, T. Mbongo-5.5, C. Callejas-5 ('58 A. Cohen-5.5), T. Scerri, C. Failla-5.5, J. Pearson-5 ('86 T. Caruana), R. Galabov-5, E. Herrera-6.5, A. Xuereb-5.

Referee: Alan Mario Sant.

Yellow cards: Callejas; Priso; Grioli; Cohen; Frendo; Zammit; Hogg; Failla; Galabov.

Red cards: Scerri (H) 58; E. Agius (V) 90.

BoV player of the match: Gilbert Agius (Valletta).