Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/764316
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 18 DECEMBER 2016 53 Sport SPORTTODAY FOOTBALL Balzan defeat Hibernians to go top Balzan .....................2 Hibernians ...............1 WARREN ZAMMIT BALZAN made a perfect start to the match and went ahead after just five minutes. Bojan Kaljevic served Matteo Piciollo inside the penalty area and the latter hit a low shot past Andrew Hogg. Hibs replied immediately and equalised two minutes later. Jorge Da Silva Pereira received the ball on the edge of the penalty area and fired a shot that ended in the top corner of the net past Ivan Janju- sevic. On the 9th minute, Alfred Ef- fiong of Balzan attempted a shot from the left side of the penalty area that was neutralised by Hogg. Hogg was on the alert to deny Balzan once more on the 21st min- ute. Abdelkarim Nafti delivered the ball towards Effiong who went through but saw his effort being saved by the Hibernians goalkeep- er. Mark Miller's side responded two minutes later. Jurgen Dega- briele delivered a cross towards Jo- seph Mbong who sent a header that ended high. Hibs were close to going ahead on the half hour mark. From a free kick, Jackson Lima Siqueira fired a stunning shot that hit the post. On the 37th minute, Nafti went on a good run, but failed to hit the target as his shot went wide of the post. On the brink of half time, Piciollo found Nafti who fired a volley that ended up high. Balzan suffered a setback on the 64th minute when Effiong was sent off by Glenn Tonna following an incident involving Marcelo Dias. Ryan Fenech had a chance for Balzan on the 76th minute. The 30-year old fired a strong shot that sailed high. Hibs went close a minute later when Dias sent a cross towards substitute player Andrew Cohen who headed over. Balzan scored the winning goal on the 88th minute. Follow- ing a free kick, Nafti sent a cross inside the penalty area that was met by Kaljevic. The Montene- grin striker fired a header that took a def lection off a defender before ending inside the net. Balzan starting line-up: Ivan Jan- jusevic, Bruno Giglio De Oliveira, Dylan Grima, Bojan Kaljevic, El- kin Serrano Valero, Ryan Fenech, Alfred Effiong, Abdelkarim Nafti, Clive Brincat, Paul Fenech, Matteo Piciollo Hibernians starting line-up: An- drew Hogg, Rodolfo Soares, Marcelo Dias, Timothy Tabone Desira, Jack- son Lima Siqueira, Joseph Mbong, Johann Bezzina, Jorge Da Silva Pereira, Jurgen Degabriele, Bjorn Kristensen, Andrei Agius Referee: Glenn Tonna Assistant referees: Alan Camill- eri, William Debattista Fourth of ficial: Philip Farrugia BOV player of the match: Jo- hann Bezzina (Hibs) BOV Premier League Balzan - Hibernians ........................ 2-1 Valletta - Floriana ............................ 0-0 Today - Hibernains Stadium 14:00 Pembroke Athleta - Gzira Utd. Mosta - Birkirkara - POSTPONED Today - Victor Tedesco Stadium 14:00 Sliema Wanderers - St. Andrews 16:15 Hamrun Spartans - Tarxien R. England - Premier League Crystal Palace - Chelsea ................... 0-1 Middlesbrough - Swansea City ......... 3-0 Stoke City - Leicester City ................. 2-2 Sunderland - Watford ...................... 1-0 West Ham United - Hull City ............. 1-0 West B. Albion - Manchester Unioted 0-2 Today 14:30 AFC Bournemouth - Southampton 17:00 Manchester City - Arsenal 17:00 Tottenham Hotspur - Burnley Tomorrow 21:00 Everton - Liverpool Italy - Serie A Empoli - Cagliari ............................. 2-0 AC Milan - Atalanta .......................... 0-0 Juventus - Roma ............................. Late Today 12:30 Sassuolo - Inter 15:00 ChievoVerona - Sampdoria 15:00 Pescara - Bologna 15:00 SSC Napoli - Torino 15:00 Udinese - Crotone 20:45 Genoa - Palermo 20:45 Lazio - Fiorentina Spain - Liga BBVA Sporting Gijon - Villarreal ................ 1-3 Atletico Madrid - Las Palmas ............ 1-0 Granada - Real Sociedad ................. 0-2 Sevilla - Malaga .............................. Late Today 16:15 Leganes - Eibar 18:30 Deportivo La Coruna - Osasuna Postponed- Valencia - Real Madrid 20:45 Barcelona - Espanyol Tomorrow 20:45 Athletic Bilbao - Celta Vigo Germany - Bundesliga Augsburg - Borussia M. ................... 1-0 Mainz 05 - Hamburger SV ................ 3-1 RasenBallsport L. - Hertha Berlin ..... 2-0 Schalke 04 - Freiburg ...................... 1-1 Werder Bremen - FC Cologne ........... 1-1 Wolfsburg - Eintracht Frankfurt ........ 1-0 Today 15:30 Darmstadt - Bayern Munich 17:30 Bayer Leverkusen - Ingolstadt Football Results & Fixtures PHOTOGRAPHY BY DOMINIC BORG Balzan are back at the top of the BOV Premier League after registering a 2-1 win over Hibernians Bojan Kaljevic in action during Balzan's match against Hibernians