The way Hibs started their Premier League commitments this season reminds me of another year when the Paolites ran away with the championship.
In 1980-81 Hibs’ dominance was so complete that at the end they were still unbeaten.
Hibs opened their commitments at the old Gzira Stadium on October 12, 1980 with a 0-0 draw against Floriana. They kept their opponents under pressure but the Greens, although playing their first official match of the season, deserved a draw.
Hibs’ next match was against Hamrun Spartans. The Reds played well and it was only late in the game that their defence started reeling.
Ernest Spiteri Gonzi opened the score for Hibernians but George Xuereb equalised seven minutes later. Hibs reacted immediately but the Spartans defence held fast until 10 minutes from time when Pawlu Xuereb scored what proved to be the winning goal for Hibs.
The Paolites’ first big test arrived on November 9 against Valletta.
Valletta dominated a hopelessly disorganised Hibs’ XI and Nardu Farrugia opened the score after two minutes of the second half. However, instead of consolidating their lead, Valletta allowed the Paolites to creep back into the game.
The Citizens gave away two soft goals and to make matters worse, Farrugia missed a penalty.
Birkirkara were always a hard nut for Hibs to crack no matter the respective position of the two teams. On November 29, Hibs were at the top while the Stripes were languishing at the bottom of the league table.
Yet, Birkirkara rose to the occasion and surprised Hibs with an early goal.
Hibs hit back with goals from Pawlu Xuereb and Spiteri Gonzi but Birkirkara went very close to obtaining a merited draw when Calleja hit the crossbar
In the meantime, Sliema Wanderers were hot on the trail of the leaders.
On November 30, the Blues beat Floriana 3-0 to go on top of the league table on goal-difference. Before this game the Greens had gone through 14 league matches without losing.
The two league leaders met on December 27 but the game failed to live up to expectations.
Mallia impact
The encounter livened up a bit in the second half when Hibs replaced Consiglio with Frans Mallia and the newcomer immediately made his presence felt with some clever passes.
Then, seven minutes into the second half, Tabone scored for Sliema. This goal jolted Hibs into action and for a while the crowd was rewarded for its patience with some exciting football.
Three minutes from time, Mallia sent Pawlu Xuereb through for the latter to hit home mercilessly past Charlie Sciberras to even up the score.
From this point on the league campaign developed into a game of chess in which the protagonists planned their moves in such a way as to avoid making a fatal slip.
On February 22, 1981 Hibs beat Valletta 3-2 to gain a psychological edge on their rivals. In the meantime, the Wanderers’ hopes were jolted when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Floriana.
True to expectations, Hibernians beat Birkirkara 4-0 to become sole leaders.
From now on they never looked back and when on March 14, 1981 they encountered Sliema a second time, theirs was a side brimming with confidence.
A large crowd filled the terraces in what proved to be one of the last big games to be held at the old ground.
Sliema were more earnest in the play and in an effort to score they left their back wide open. This was a suicidal thing to do with a dangerous striker like Spiteri Gonzi on the prowl.
In fact, the Hibs prolific scorer notched in two great goals to put his side on the way to victory.
However, Sliema were not beaten yet. Leli Fabri scored and with only ten minutes left for play, the Blues applied tremendous pressure which almost brought about an equaliser.
Somehow, Hibs survived and with only the games against Marsa and Zurrieq left to play, they were left with a clear way to coast home to the league title.
Hibs were crowned champions on May 29, 1981 when they collected the two points from their match against Marsa. The Paolites were worthy champions. They were unbeaten and only lost two points from a possible 26.
In addition, they made football history when they became the last team to win the championship at the stadium The next season, the competition was started at Gzira but completed at Ta’ Qali.