Hibs open title defence with 2-0 victory over Melita

Champions Hibernians kickstarted their women's league title defence on a winning note after beating Melita 2-0.

The Paolites' performance may have fallen below expectations as far as fluid football is concerned but they deserved to collect maximum points as they produced the better fare.

Sarah Caruana shot the Paolites ahead after just seven minutes. The same player almost hit a second in the 14th minute but her effort was stopped by the woodwork.

Stepping up a gear after the break, Hibernians carved out various goalscoring opportunities but were let down by some poor finishing.

Joanne Vella clinched the perfect birthday present when doubling Hibs' tally with 12 minutes remaining to seal the three points.

Birkirkara remained top of the standings with maximum points from two matches. Last Sunday, they cruised past Raiders to the tune of 4-0.

The Stripes were the better side throughout the 90 minutes, scoring twice in each half through Nadia Micallef, Chantal Grech, Elaine Bonnici and Rebecca D'Agostino.

Top scorers: 2 goals - Marcia Zammit, Amanda Atkins (Raiders); Deborah Pisani (Birkirkara).

Next fixtures: Sunday, November 16 - European Championship qualifier (Gozo Stadium), 2 p.m. Malta vs Croatia.

Sunday, November 23 - Women's League (Pace Grasso), 9 a.m. Melita vs Mosta; 11 a.m. Rabat vs Hibs.