It looked odds on that Hibernians, the new leaders in the Premier League, would sweep past Żejtun Corinthians after earning a two-goal cushion inside the first quarter of the hour. But Żejtun clawed their way back from two goals down and at the end of the day it had to be a late goal netted by Jake Grech from the penalty spot that divided the two teams.
However, it was Żejtun who stole the show on Friday, especially their lethal Rafael de Fex, whose fine skills earned him the best player honour. At the end Hibernians’ bonus start came in useful.
After two efforts which missed the Hibs target, Żejtun were pushed into their own half with Jake Grech trying to exploit his mobility. On 12 minutes, the Malta midfielder took a ball on the left made progress and found space outside the box, before serving the darting Shola Shodiya who hit the ball behind the Żejtun goalkeeper.
Play remained mostly confined inside Żejtun’s territory with the Corinthians being forced to plug the gaps. Suddenly, Jurgen Degabriele cashing in on a ghastly Edward Herrera misplaced header, took the loose ball to veer sideways before sending a cute lob over the stranded Ibrahim Kone.