Hibernians clinched a thrilling 3-2 victory over Melita with a stoppage-time goal from Federico Falcone, sealing three points for Branko Nisevic’s side in a hard-fought match.

 

The Paolites were the better team in the first half, creating several chances before taking a narrow lead through Falcone just before the break.

 

On the restart, Melita responded strongly, equalizing through Aldair Simanca’s towering header. Although Hibernians regained the lead moments later via Lucas Caruana, Melita fought back, with Marc Van De Font Bovenkamp heading in another equalizer.

 

However, in the dying moments of the match, Falcone struck again, heading home Giannis Bastianos’ cross to secure victory for Hibernians.

 

Melita made two changes from their previous match, with Jean Pierre Attard and Nick Cutajar stepping in for Kurt Bondin and the suspended Jesus Yepez. Hibernians welcomed Lucas Caruana, Dexter Xuereb, and Alex Bruno into the starting XI, while Pedro Henrique Nunes and Miullen were unavailable, and Bjorn Kristensen remained on the bench as he recovers from injury.

 

Hibernians set the tone early with several close chances. Jurgen Degabriele’s deflected shot narrowly missed the target, and Falcone’s overhead kick went over the bar. The Argentine forward came even closer when his shot struck the upright in the 17th minute.

 

The breakthrough came four minutes before halftime when Alex Bruno’s precise cross found Falcone, who slotted the ball into the net. Falcone almost doubled the lead minutes later but missed from close range off Bastianos’ cross.

 

Melita leveled just after the restart when Matthew Debattista’s corner was met by Simanca’s powerful header. Hibernians quickly responded as Degabriele set up Caruana, who calmly finished to make it 2-1.

 

Melita equalized again on 58 minutes when Van De Font Bovenkamp headed home from a free kick, setting the stage for a tense finale.

 

Despite both sides sharing chances, it was Falcone who proved decisive, scoring his second goal deep into stoppage time with a close-range header to hand Hibernians a dramatic win.