BIRKIRKARA-2, HIBS-0
Birkirkara showed great resilience this afternoon as they beat Hibs 2-0 despite finishing the game with nine men.
The Paolites needed a win to keep their slim title hopes alive but they were outfought by the never-say-die Stripes whose victory means that Valletta will be crowned champions today if they gain at least a point from their clash with Sliema Wanderers.
Birkirkara looked set for a grim afternoon when Rowen Muscat was sent off in the first half but Shola Shodiya Haruna's goal before half-time filled them with courage.
They needed plenty of that in the second half after Nikola Vukanac was also dismissed but Birkirkara battled on before scoring a second goal late on to seal the issue and all but end Hibs' title chances as the Paolites are now six points behind Valletta who have a game in hand.
In the early stages, Hibs striker Luis Edison headed wide from Clayton Failla's cross.
Moises Avila-Perez broke clear for Birkirkara but his diagonal grounder posed no danger to Hibs goalkeeper Mario Muscat.
Thereafter, both teams struggled to fashion scoring chances as the two defences prevailed.
Hibs' attacking threat was limited to a couple of surging runs by Edward Herrera who kept the Birkirkara defenders on their toes.
On 21 minutes, Birkirkara goalkeeper Reuben Gauci palmed away Failla's corner from the right after the Stripes had blocked a dangerous Herrera incursion.
Around the 26th minute mark, Shola Shodiya Haruna unsettled the Hibs defence when cutting into the box from the right before pulling the ball back for Rowen Muscat whose powerful drive from inside the box was repelled by Andrew Cohen.
The rhythm of the game picked up as the first half moved on. Edison again surged clear of his markers to meet Failla's set-piece cross but the Brazilian nodded wide.
Eleven minutes from half-time, Birkirkara received an unexpected blow when Muscat was shown a straight red card for swinging his arm at Bjorn Kristensen in an off-the-ball incident as Failla was preparing to take a free-kick on the right.
Edison threatened to add to Birkirkara's problems but his header from Jackson Lima's set-piece cross flew over the crossbar.
A man to the good, Hibs gave the impression that they were going to take control but, four minutes from half-time, it was Birkirkara who scored.
Picking up a loose ball in midfield, Ryan Camenzuli swept past Kristensen as the Stripes broke on the counter. The young wing-back then served Avila-Perez whose cross from the right created a goalmouth melee and Haruna profited to stab the ball home from close in.
Camenzuli thought he had doubled Birkirkara's lead when tapping the ball into the net after Hibs had failed to clear a free-kick but the 'goal' was ruled out for offside.
Moments later, Birkirkara had another great opportunity to increase their advantage as, with Hibs attacking in numbers, they launched a counter-attack but Camenzuli mishit his pass to Avila-Perez.
Close the hour, Tarabai did head the ball home from Herrera's assist but the Brazilian was in an offside position.
Midway into the second half, Birkirkara were reduced to 10 men when Nikola Vukanac was sent off for raising his foot into Tarabai as the two tried to win the ball.
Cohen then headed just wide from Jackson Lima's corner as Hibs raised their pressure against the nine-man Stripes who, to their credit, remained defiant.
Failla tried his luck with a dipping free-kick from long range but Gauci saved.
Edison hit over from inside the box but, despite their territorial dominance, Hibs looked confused.
They paid a high price for their failure to score as, with five minutes left, Birkirkara sealed the points when substitute Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza ran clear on the left before driving a low cross to Camenzuli who rifled past Muscat.
In stoppage time, Mifsud Triganza's free-kick flashed against the side-netting.
Haruna was voted BOV player of the match.