The Malta Independent on Sunday
Young Jurgen Degabriele scores hat-trick
Football - BOV Premier League
last match of the BoV Premeir League season.
The new champions might have not been the bookmakers’ favourites this season but, mostly trailing behind leaders Balzan, snatched the opportunity, when the latter wilted, to come from behind and win the championship on the penultimate day.
The shrewdness and experience in this ageing Hibernians side might have won over their scintillating slick football this time.
Hibernians have been by far a weaker team than that that claimed the title two seasons ago, lacking the relentless consistency that champions usually muster and lost six times in this campaign.
This title win, celebrated with such gusto before and after yesterday’s final match, was a triumph of some solid collective effort – a delicious blend of youthful energy and canny older heads. This time round, when Mark Miller joined as coach at the start of the season in his second stint, the emphasis was more on group ethics.
Miller, with his assistant Josef Mansueto, were well aware of their thin squad but gauged all the available elements and restored them calmly and clinically into contenders.
Many talked about a team in transition when players like Luis Edison (Tarabaj), Jorge Silva and Mbele had left. The ageing Andrew Cohen and Jonathan Pearson did not feature in the coach’s plans and left the club for more playing time. Joseph Mbong also went in search of pastures abroad early in the season.
Still retaining the bulk of their foreigners, central defender Rodolfo Soares, midfielder Jackson Lima, wide player Marcelo Dias and striker Jorginho, they reinforced their ranks with Dejan Boljevic and Gilmar Ribeiro returning in January.
On the local market, Hibernians engaged a new goalkeeper, Andrew Hogg, as a replacement for Jurgen Borg. They relied more on some of their youngsters and the likes of Dunstan Vella, Johann Bezzina and Jurgen Degabriele in particular, were given more adequate playing time in the course of this campaign.
The other local key players have accepted the demands placed on them by the coaching staff and their contribution should not be underestimated. Bjorn Kristensen remained the creative hub in central midfield. Clayton Failla’s contribution, in weight of experience as well as goals, has been colossal. Andrei Agius has been a calming influence all year with his defending to help the Paolites sustain a proper challenge.
There were cheers for every player as they took the field yesterday.
Oddly static and slack, the Rainbows struggled to contain the champions’ exuberance. It had been the young Jurgen Degabriele, their best scorer this season, who prised Tarxien’s defence apart with his hat-trick within the opening 11 minutes to swell his goal tally for the campaign to 16. His first, after four minutes, came with a low strike. The second, in as many minutes, was a left-foot shot that beat keeper Cassar at the far post. On 11 minutes. His try from the penalty spot, following Barbara’s handling inside the Tarxien area, was parried by the keeper but Degabriele scored from the rebound.
Hibernians’ fourth goal, in a totally dominant first half, came from a Jorginho header.
The Tarxien keeper had been overworked as he held out other efforts from Dias and Lima. It was hard to fathom how Marcelo Dias, bursting up and down the right flank all afternoon, could possibly be 31.
Tarxien, putting in Alex Nilsson, showed some urgency in the second half but could not find a way past the Hibernians’ defence, even after Rudy Briffa replaced Hogg in goal. Tarxien’s execution of set-pieces had been of poorest quality all afternoon. The Paolites, playing with training-ground easiness, sent in Gilmar Ribeiro and Montell Moore but remained slick going forward.
On 77 minutes, Degabriele could have scored another but keeper Cassar reached before him on a Ribeiro low cross from the right.
Three late goals added to the spectacle. On 82 minutes the Tarxien defence was again caught napping as Jackson Lima found space to connect to Kristensen’s pass and beat keeper Cassar.
Three minutes later a penalty scored by Alex Nilsson, after he had been pulled down by Dias, offered Tarxien unlikely reward before Hibernians completed the rout with a Gilmar Ribeiro unstoppable shot from outside the area with two minutes remaining.
PW D L F A Pts Hibernians 33 22 5 6 64 31 71 Balzan 33 19 7 7 66 40 64 Birkirkara 33 18 8 7 64 30 62 Valletta 33 16 11 6 51 29 59 Floriana 33 15 9 9 51 37 54 Sliema 33 15 7 11 47 37 52 St. Andrews 33 9 10 14 45 51 37 Gzira 33 10 7 16 43 51 37 Tarxien 33 8 11 14 38 48 35 Hamrun 33 9 6 18 44 61 33 Mosta 33 7 5 21 29 71 21 Pembroke 33 4 6 23 28 84 18 Mosta - 5 points