Resilient Spartans fall to Cohen gem
Hibernians 1Hamrun Spartans 0\nPre-match forecasts pointed to a stress-free outing for Hibernians against bottom-placed Hamrun Spartans but the reality could not have been different. Robert Gatt's outfit had to dig deep into their reserves of energy...
Hibernians 1
Hamrun Spartans 0
\nPre-match forecasts pointed to a stress-free outing for Hibernians against bottom-placed Hamrun Spartans but the reality could not have been different.
Robert Gatt's outfit had to dig deep into their reserves of energy and resilience to take a three-point harvest at the expense of the Spartans who gave as much as they got.
Even so, character alone would have been insufficient to hand Hibernians their third victory from four matches.
It took a magnificent goal from Andrew Cohen to tilt the balance in favour of the Paolites who will need to improve on this performance if they are to challenge for a top-two spot.
A tepid opening produced scant goalmouth action before Hibs fashioned two attempts in quick succession on 10 minutes.
Antoine Zahra stole in from the right but his sliced shot was blocked by the Hamrun defence and Clayton Failla, deployed at left-back, sized up a powerful drive that flashed wide of the far post.
Close to the quarter-mark, Mario Muscat, the Hibs goalkeeper, made a fine save, tipping over the bar a dangerous shot from Gaetan Spiteri.
On 18 minutes, a fine Hibs move saw Cohen switching the ball to his right where Zahra had made headway before crossing low towards Terence Scerri who was foiled by Johnny Debattista's sliding intervention.
In choosing Cohen and Scerri to lead Hibs' attack, Gatt opted for a combination of skill and power.
For Hamrun, veteran Stefan Sultana played alongside Spiteri up front with newcomer Maczerob Okoro playing off the two strikers.
Of the players acquired by Hamrun in the last week of the August transfer window, only Okoro gained a slot in the starting line-up. Eric Chidi Nwankwo was named among the substitutes while former Malta midfielder Ivan Zammit was absent from the 18-man squad after failing to recover from a groin injury.
Hamrun had the ball in the net when Spiteri nodded Kevin Borg's cross past Muscat but assistant referee Joe Camilleri had already raised his flag to signal the offside position of the Spartans' striker.
The game again drifted into mediocrity as the first half wore on, both sets of players visibly struggling to make much of an attacking impression.
With 10 minutes of the first half remaining, the sight of Okoro slumping to the ground at the merest hint of a challenge from Essien Mbong had the Spartans fans shouting penalty. Referee Kevin Azzopardi was not impressed though.
Determined to end their poor start of three defeats from three matches, the Spartans sought to increase their forays into Hibs' half, forcing a series of corners. From one such instance, Borg floated a cross to Spiteri but his header posed no trouble to Muscat.
Hibernians shaded the opening stages of the second half, Zahra, one of his team's livelier players along with Failla, letting out a rising shot that skimmed the crossbar.
Hamrun's reply came from Spiteri who strode forward menacingly before releasing the sprinting Okoro but the angled shot from the Nigerian was held by Muscat.
Both sides threatened to break the stalemate in the space of 20 seconds around the hour mark. Peter Pullicino burst through the Hamrun defence and, profiting from a fortuitous deflection, came face to face with Cordina who managed to get a hand to his shot before Steve Sadowski guided the ball out of the defence.
Borg, a dynamic performer for Hamrun yesterday, received possession close to the halfway line and directed a through pass to Spiteri whose attempt to lob over Muscat finished high.
The high level of technique Cohen is blessed with was the sole reason why Hibs broke the ice 21 minutes into the second half.
There seemed little danger when Scerri chipped a high ball towards the penalty area but Cohen co-ordinated his body perfectly to rifle an acrobatic first-time volley into the top corner of the net. A screamer.
Cohen, rightly voted man-of-the-match, limped off injured five minutes from the end, his exit greeted with a loud applause from the Hibs faithtful.
The Spartans made a late rally in an attempt to salvage a draw, going close in stoppage time through Spiteri who was again denied by the alert Muscat.
Hibernians: M. Muscat-7, P. Pullicino-6, A. Xuereb-6, R. Mintoff-6, A. Zahra-6.5, E. Mbong-6, T. Scerri-6, A. Cohen-8 ('86 E. Agius), C. Failla-7 ('80 R. Baldacchino), D. Camilleri-6, H. Doda-5.5.
Hamrun Spartans: J. Cordina-6, S. Sadowski-6.5 ('80 D. Cucciardi), J. Magri Overend-6.5, K. Borg-7, G. Spiteri-7.5, S. Sultana-5.5 ('39 E. Briffa-6), J. Debattista-6.5, P. Ndah-6, D. Galea-6, A. Mansueto-6 ('67 E.C. Nwankwo), M. Okoro-6.
Referee: Kevin Azzopardi.
Scorers: Cohen 66.
Yellow Cards: Briffa; Galea; Sadowski; Scerri.
BoV Player of the Match: Andrew Cohen (Hibs).