Birkirkara left it till late to register a second successive win as they defeated Balzan 2-1 at the National Stadium.
The Stripes therefore leapfrog Hibernians into second place but the Paolites have a game in hand. Balzan, on the other hand, remain eighth on 17 points.
Birkirkara forged ahead on the 12th minute when off an Alex da Paixao corner from the left, Osvaldo Iorio headed the ball home from close range.
Balzan levelled matters just before the end of the first half when off a cross by Alex Satariano from the right, Paul Fenech served Aleksa Andrejic whose effort was blocked by the goalkeeper but Matheus Sousa headed home from close range.
Four minutes from time, the Stripes regained the lead thanks to substitute Kevin Tulimieri who received a through ball and beat goalkeeper Jonathan Debono with a shot from the edge of the area.
Four minutes in added time, Samir Arab was sent off for Balzan for denying Yannick Yankam an obvious goal scoring opportunity.