Hibernians' pace too fast for Pietà
Hibernians 2Pietà Hotspurs 1\nHibernians came back from a goal down to secure their second win of the season after beating Pietà Hotspurs by the odd goal in three. The Paolites fully deserved to take the points as they were the better side for most of...
Hibernians 2
Pietà Hotspurs 1
\nHibernians came back from a goal down to secure their second win of the season after beating Pietà Hotspurs by the odd goal in three.
The Paolites fully deserved to take the points as they were the better side for most of the match, creating numerous scoring chances which were either fluffed by their forwards or neutralised by Andrew Hogg in the Hotspurs' goal.
When Pietà took the lead early in the second half, the Hibs fans must have feared that their team would suffer the same fate of Birkirkara last week when the Stripes were punished for their profligacy in front of the Pietà goal.
But Hibs' response was awesome as they hit two quick goals that turned the match in their favour and despite finding themselves with a man less with 18 minutes to go they still managed to administer their lead to record a useful win at this early stage of the season.
Pietà were rarely in the match and had it not been for Hogg they could have found themselves at the end of a heavier defeat. The absence of striker Ivan Woods made all difference as they lacked a much-needed punch in attack.
Nigerian striker Udo Nwoko was named in the Hibs squad for the first time this season as he was among the substitutes. But, Ndubisi Chukunyere is still sidelined with a knee injury.
Pietà coach Georgi Deanov kept faith with the young players who had impressed against Birkirkara with defender David Camenzuli again catching the eye after another solid display.
Hibs were the livelier side at first and after four minutes Andrew Cohen was put through by Andre Schembri but the nippy Hibs forward was blocked by Hogg.
On 20 minutes, Terence Scerri almost put Hibs ahead. The impressive Cohen again produced some delightful work on the right before sending towards Scerri who headed just over.
The speed of the Hibs forwards was creating great problems to the Pietà defence. In the 25th minute, Scerri was released by Schembri but his shot was too central to bother to Hogg.
Pietà's first attempt at goal arrived on the half-hour when Malcolm Abdilla profited from a poor clearance but completely miscued the ball from a good position.
Deanov was clearly unhappy with his team's attacking play and on 33 minutes he introduced Stefan Zahra in place of Anatole Debono.
The Hotspurs had to resort to some extreme defending to keep a clean sheet six minutes from the break. Mbong made his way into the area and after some deft footwork he released Cohen whose shot was partially saved by Hogg. The ball fell to Scerri and the latter's drive was somewhat blocked by Andrew Spiteri on the goal-line.
Deanov's half-time talk must have left its effect on the players as the Hotspurs made an explosive start to the second half taking the lead inside the first minute. Ortas Sanin dribbled his way through before hitting past Mario Muscat in the Hibs goal.
The goal failed to demoralise the Paolites who took only four minutes to redress the imbalance. Schembri raced through after a Cohen pass but was upended in the area by Hogg. The referee pointed to the spot and Cohen hammered the ball home.
Buoyed by that rapid equaliser, the Paolites continued to surge forward and on 55 minutes they went 2-1 up. Cohen picked Scerri from a free-kick and the Hibs forward scrambled the ball past Hogg.
Hibernians almost hit goal no.3 on 62 minutes when Cohen beat the offside trap but his effort was blocked by Hogg. From the rebound, Cohen was again denied by Spiteri.
Hibs' hopes suffered a blow on 72 minutes when they were reduced to ten men after defender Adrian Pulis committed a second bookable offence.
Edward Azzopardi replaced forward Scerri as Hibs looked to preserve their narrow advantage. They had the best chances to seal the issue but Cohen, first, and then Zahra failed to find Hogg's net.
Hibernians: M. Muscat-6, P. Pullicino-6, A. Pulis, A. Xuereb-7, R. Mintoff-6, A. Schembri-7, E. Mbong-7, T. Scerri-6 ('75 E. Azzopardi), K. Spiteri-6 ('53 A. Zahra-6), R. Baldacchino-6, A. Cohen-8.
Pietà: A. Hogg-7, P. Aquilina-6, M. Abdilla-6, O. Sanin-6, B. Nisevic-6, S. Repuh-6, C. Sammut-6, A. Spiteri-7, D. Camenzuli-7, A. Debono-5 ('33 S. Zahra-5), C. Frendo-6.
Referee: Lorry Sammut.
Scorers: Ortas 46; Cohen 50 pen; Scerri 55.
Yellow Cards: Hogg, Pulis, Frendo, Abdilla, Muscat.
Red Card: Pulis 72.
Player of the match: Andrew Cohen (Hibernians).