Dominant Hibs seal it in first half to keep Valletta in sight

Hibernians 2Giglio 30 og; Farrugia 43;Balzan 0 With Balzan chasing a win to stay in the hunt for a Championship Pool berth, this was widely viewed as a potentially tricky fixture for title hopefuls Hibernians. Valletta’s 6-0 mauling of Ħamrun Spartans meant that the Paolites went into yesterday’s match four points off the top but any fears that Hibs might find it hard to deal with the pressure were emphatically banished in a one-sided first half. Tearing into Balzan from the outset, Hibs had the points sewn up by half-time as they scored two goals either side of Matthew Mendy’s dismissal for two cautions. On their day, Balzan can make life difficult to any team in the Premier League but they were way off their best yesterday. At first glance, it would seem that Mendy’s early exit was the game’s defining moment but Hibs were in command long before the out-of-sorts Gambian defender was given his marching orders. Mendy had jeopardised his position early as he collected his first yellow card inside the opening minute. There was a sense of inevitability about his sending-off as Mendy looked tetchy thereafter, making a series of ill-timed tackles before a rash one on Andrew Cohen ended...