Hibernians narrowly avoided a shock defeat at their home, the Tony Bezzina Stadium, as they came from behind to secure a hard-fought 2-1 win over Zabbar St. Patrick, courtesy of a second-half surge.

 

Zabbar stunned the Paolites just before the break when Vinicius slotted the ball past Nino Sanches, handing the visitors an unexpected lead. However, Hibs rallied in the second half, with Jurgen Degabriele leveling the score and substitute Federico Falcone netting the decisive goal.

 

This crucial victory kept Branko Nisevic’s men in the top six, but they had to dig deep against a determined Zabbar side, who recently gained momentum after a win over Balzan and a draw with Naxxar Lions.

 

Hibernians, missing the suspended Higo Gabriel, and with Alex Bruno starting on the bench, dominated possession in the first half. Miullen Carvalho was a constant threat, while Zabbar, without the suspended Strahinja Jovancic, were forced into a defensive stance.

 

Promising goalkeeper Luca Camilleri, standing in for the injured Matthew Grech, made a number of key saves, including a low stop from Ayrton Attard’s drive and a punch-clear of Bjorn Kristensen’s volley. Before the match, Kristensen was honored with a commemorative shirt for reaching 400 appearances with Hibernians.

 

Despite Hibs’ pressure, Zabbar broke through when Diogo Tavares’ pace unsettled the defense, allowing Vinicius to fire a diagonal shot past Sanchez.

 

In the second half, Hibernians’ frustrations mounted as Camilleri denied Attard once again, and Rodrigo Fraga struck the bar. The breakthrough finally came in the 69th minute when Alfred Silas delivered a pinpoint cross to Degabriele, who nodded home his second goal of the season.

 

With relentless pressure from Hibs, substitute Federico Falcone sealed the win with a close-range header in the 80th minute. There was still drama in stoppage time as Marcelo Barros almost capitalized on a fumble by Sanches, but the Brazilian striker couldn’t convert.

 

Hibernians had to work hard, but their second-half fightback ensured they claimed all three points.