Degabriele’s late strike salvages point for Hibs in derby

HIBERNIANS               2TARXIEN RAINBOWS 2 The derby between Hibernians and Tarxien Rainbows developed into a hard-fought affair with the Paolites twice coming from behind in a 2-2 draw.  Tarxien stormed forward from the off, taking the lead after 90 seconds. Boubacar Traore made a great run on the right before laying the ball to Samba Tounkara who rifled past goalkeeper Andrew Hogg. The Paolites made it 1-1 on 16 minutes. Ebiabowei Baker tripped Marcelo Dias down inside the penalty area and Clayton Failla converted from the spot. The Rainbows refused to lie down. They went 2-1 up six minutes from half-time when, off an assist by Tounkara, Ricardo Silva Faria tapped the ball home. For most of the second half, Hibernians’ efforts to grab an equaliser were repelled by the perky Rainbows who created a host of chances on the break. Howevever, on the stroke of time, Jurgen Degabriele equalised for Hibernians with a brilliant shot which soared past Andrea Cassar for a 2-2 draw. This result meant that the Rainbows still have work to do to retain their Premier status while the fifth-placed Hibernians are level on 43 points with Floriana, one point behind Birkirkara ahead of the final day of the 2017/18 BOV Premier League. Fourth place in the championship could mean a place in the Europa League if Balzan or Valletta win the FA Trophy. BOV player of the match: Andrea Cassar (Tarxien Rainbows). MOSTA               0NAXXAR LIONS 2 Naxxar Lions gained a deserved 2-0 win over neighbours Mosta to keep their flickering hopes of avoiding automatic relegation alive. While the Lions still face an uphill struggle to beat the drop as their hopes of climbing to third from bottom and earn a place in the relegation play-off depend on the result of the direct clash between Tarxien and St Andrews, Mosta are still mathematically not safe. The game was 18 minutes old when Naxxar took the lead. Djijali Belhadj flicked the ball towards Jurgen Debono who drove a low shot past Mosta goalkeeper Andreas Vella.  Naxxar remained largely in control as Mosta struggled to produce a sustained reaction. The Blues’ hopes suffered a further setback when defender Davide Mansi was dismissed after collecting his second booking. The Lions sealed their win four minutes from time. Yuri Messias made a good run through the middle before releasing Mateo Bustos who curled the ball into the net. In the dying stages, Mosta were reduced to nine men after captain Kurt Magro earned a second booking for a handball. BOV player of the match: Mateo Bustos (Naxxar Lions).