MOSTA 1
Rafael 90
HIBERNIANS 2
Groothusen 23
Grech 68
Hibernians secured their second straight win after beating Mosta 2-1 at the National Stadium, yesterday.
A goal in each half from Terrence Groothusen and Jake Grech propelled the Paolites into third place, one point behind joint-leaders Floriana and Ħamrun Spartans.
As expected, Hibernians dominated proceedings and were never under any kind of pressure until the final minutes of the game when defender Rafael pulled one back for the Blues.
Nonetheless, last season’s runners-up survived the scare to claim maximum points and stay in touch with the top position.
Stefano Sanderra deployed his side in a 3-5-2 shape with Dunstan Vella dropping between Andrei Agius and Ferdinando Apap while Joseph Mbong had a sumptuous game with two assists and an astute display as a central midfielder.
In the closing stages of the game, the Italian tactician handed a debut to their latest arrival Imanol Iriberri, who last played in the Azerbaijan top-flight with Sabail.
Mosta, on their part, have now gone four games without a win and have slumped into ninth with four points in five outings.
Mark Miller opted for a 4-2-3-1 shape with Mamadou Jallow upfront as a target man. Duane Bonnici, Akeem Roach and Edin Murga completed their offensive line.
Despite Hibernians had the lions’ share of possession, it was Mosta who created the first chances in the opening minutes of the game through Matias Muchardi but his efforts were in vain.
Yet, the Paolites managed to forge ahead with their first quality move when Mbong whipped in a cross into the box on which Aruba international Groothusen somehow managed to squeeze the ball past the onrushing Andreas Vella.
On the brink of half-time, Mbong almost doubled the score but his close-range shot was blocked by goalkeeper Vella before Grech’s rebound was cleared away by the Mosta defenders.
After the change of ends, Mosta attempted to level terms with a trademark free-kick from Brazilian defender Rafael but he failed to hit the target.
Moments later, Italian midfielder Leonardo Nanni saw his close-range header parried by Malta U-21 goalkeeper Vella.
A 61st-minute shot from Dexter Xuereb was unsuccessful before Hibernians doubled their lead on 68 minutes. Mbong found Grech in between the lines and the Malta international slotted past the onrushing Vella.
Ten minutes from time, Jallow struck the crossbar from the edge of the area as the Blues were inching their way up on the field to try and rescue something from this match.
Rafael managed to pull one back for Miller’s clan with a towering header on the brink of the final whistle but that came too little to late as Hibs held on for the win.