A costly mistake from Hibernians goalkeeper Hugo Sacco handed Gzira United a berth in the Quarter-Finals of the FA Trophy with a narrow win at the National Stadium on Wednesday evening.

 

The Malta Under-21 goalkeeper spilled Zach Scerri’s strike early in the game and former Hibs winger Thaylor converted from short range.

 

Substitute Kyle Spence grazed the Hibs bar at the death. The Maroons improved as the match wore on and Hibs took on a ragged appearance as they searched for an equaliser.

 

On 21 minutes, the Paolites came within a whisker of scoring, when Sime Zuzul put Jurgen Degabriele through but with only the goalkeeper to beat, the nippy striker saw his shot saved by Darijan Zarkov.

 

High on confidence after three wins in four, including a 3-2 win over Gzira, Hibernians made a suicidal error on the half-hour mark.

 

Gzira United’s formation included four Hibernians old boys, including their coach Andrew Cohen and two of those combined to break the deadlock. Sacco’s mishit clearance of a back pass gave Jackson Mendoza a chance. The Colombian midfielder immediately squared the ball for Zach Scerri. But Sacco spilled Scerri’s strike and Thaylor converted from short range. The Brazilian did not celebrate his goal against his former club.

 

The pace of the match intensified after the break, with Hibs increasing possession in an effort to wrestle the initiative back from the Maroons. Still, it was Gzira who seemed more incisive but Sacco had to make a good block to thwart Thaylor this time.

 

Although Gzira found themselves penned in their own half, they held their shape for most of the game, trying to punish their opponents’ flat-out approach. On 65 minutes, a superb run from Gabriel Artiles, cutting in from the left and breezing past his marker, created an opportunity from which the Spaniard winger should have scored.

 

Substitute Kyle Spence could have made it worse for Hibernians but he drilled a shot against the crossbar close to full-time.

 

Sportsdesk – Paul Cachia