Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/820803
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 7 MAY 2017 55 Sport FOOTBALL Hibs celebrate with a goal fest Hibernians ............6 Tarxien Rainbows ...1 WARREN ZAMMIT HIBERNIANS went into this match on a high after making sure of the Premier League last week with a 3-1 win over St Andrews. The players were cheered by the numerous supporters who went to the National Stadium to celebrate their 12th Premier League domi- nation. To make things bet- ter for them, they knew that they would be celebrating in a derby match and thus wanted to make sure that nothing would spoil their fun. In fact, the Maltese cham- pions made a perfect start to the match as they went ahead after just three min- utes. Jackson Lima sent a cross inside the penalty area that was met by Jurgen De- gabriele who headed past Andrea Cassar. The Paolites continued with their party three min- utes later as Degabriele added another. Clayton Failla delivered a long ball towards the young striker whose powerful drive from the edge of the penalty area gave Cassar no chance. Incredibly, Degabriele completed his hat-trick on the 11th minute. Jorge Da Silva Pereira sent a cross that was handled by Bradley Barbara and Sandro Spiteri pointed towards the spot. From the 11 metres mark, Degabriele had his initial shot saved by Cassar but he managed to score the re- bound. On the 20th minute, Hi- bernians added another. Failla delivered a cross to- wards the unmarked Jorgin- ho and the latter headed into the net. A minute later, Hibs nearly added another. Degabriele sent the ball towards Jorgin- ho who went through and finished slightly wide. Mark Miller's side were dangerous again on the 34th minute. Failla sent a cross from a free kick that found Bjorn Kristensen whose header ended up marginally over. A minute from half time, Hibs were denied by Cassar. From a free kick, Lima hit a strong shot that was tipped behind by the Tarxien shot stopper. Tarxien's first chance of the match was created on the 68th minute. From a free kick, Ayrton Azzopardi fired a shot that went high. Four minutes later, Alex Nilsson went on a good run before firing a shot that ended off target. Hibernians had a great opportunity to score their fifth goal on the 77th min- ute. Gilmar Da Silva Ribeiro went down the right f lank and sent a cross towards the unmarked Degabriele. How- ever, Cassar rushed out of his place and blocked. Despite missing this chance, Hibs scored their fifth goal on the 82nd min- ute. Kristensen sent a long ball towards Lima whose close range effort went past Cassar. Tarxien scored a consola- tion goal on the 85th min- ute. Marcelo Dias fouled Alex Nilsson inside the penalty area and the referee ordered another penalty. Nilsson took charge of the penalty and converted be- hind substitute goalkeeper Rudy Briffa. However, two minutes lat- er, Hibernians scored their sixth goal. Gilmar fired a stunning shot from a dis- tance that ended inside the net. Hibernians starting line- up: Andrew Hog g , Rodolfo Soares, Dunstan Vella, Mar- celo Dias, Jackson De Lima Siqueira, Clayton Failla, Bjorn Kristensen, Jorge Da Silva Pereira, Jurgen Dega- briele, Johann Bezzina, An- drei Agius Tarxien Rainbows start- ing line-up: Andrea Cassar, Matthew Brincat, Triston Caruana, Ayrton Azzopar- di, Dylan Micallef, Bradley Barbara, Sergio Fernandez Prendes, Daniel Zerafa, Alex Da Paixao Alves, Kurt Zammit, Sacha Borg Referee: Sandro Spiteri Assistant Referees: Alan Camilleri, Edward Spiteri Addition Assistant Refer- ees: Philip Farrugia, Etienne Mangion Fourth Of ficial: Chris Azz- opardi BOV Player of the Match: Jurgen Degabriele (Hiberni- ans) PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRISTINE BORG