Sliema Wanderers kept a firm hold on the top place last Saturday as they beat Floriana narrowly to keep marching triumphantly on towards a third consecutive title win.

With Valletta beating Marsaxlokk and Birkirkara and Hibernians sharing the spoils in the other top clash, it is now evident that only the citizens can procure some trouble for the Wanderers, though the five-point leeway could prove to be insurmountable.

At the other end, in the Relegation Pool, Msida made a bold step towards safety as they beat St Patrick by three clear goals to distance themselves from the Saints, who are in third place, by seven points.

It is becoming increasingly clear that Sliema are on their way to a third title in succession. Once again, despite not performing to the best of their abilities, the team coached by Edward Aquilina and Hugh Caruana, they obtained what they were really after – the three points – something which no other team has done so consistently throughout the season.

This season, consistency, not form really, has been Sliema’s forte and one must also give credit to the defence which, inspired by a great Murphy Akanji between the posts, has had an excellent campaign with Brian Said, Darren Debono and Alex Muscat playing on top of their form.

The Blues passed through some anxious moments against the Greens on Saturday. In fact, before they took the lead, their eternal rivals could have opened the scoring on at least two occasions.

Yet, when Ivan Woods scored what proved to be the winner, it always seemed likely that the Wanderers would emerge on top, especially after the Greens ended in 10 men following the dismissal of Julian Briffa.

Floriana, despite playing in 10 men, gave a good account of themselves and even created some more chances in the second half, but their lack of scoring power once again contributed to their downfall.

In the preceding match, Valletta managed to retain their slim hopes for the title as they beat Marsaxlokk with an 82nd minute Gilbert Agius goal. But what was really a satisfaction for the citizens was the result of the Birkirkara-Hibs clash the following day – the 2-2 draw meant they had consolidated second place and with just four matches to go, they are now four points clear of third placed Birkirkara and five ahead of fourth placed Hibernians.

Though nothing is yet decided, however, it is evident that the remaining interest lies mainly around the second and third places which could eventually land the occupants in next season’s UEFA Cup.

At this stage it is interesting to see the remaining programme of the four teams at the top of the standings:

Sliema W.: v. Marsaxlokk, v. Birkirkara, v. Valletta, v. Hibernians.

Valletta: v. Hibernians, v. Floriana, v. Sliema, v. Birkirkara.

Birkirkara: v. Floriana, v. Sliema, v. Marsaxlokk, v. Valletta.

Hibernians: v. Valletta, v. Marsaxlokk, v. Floriana, v. Sliema.

Valletta, however, will have to show better form if they are to retain their exalted placing. Against Marsaxlokk, it was only that goal from Gilbert Agius which lifted them and it is obvious they are finding problems with scoring the goals that matter, although it must also be said that despite the absence of Massimo Grima at the back, the defence appeared to be safe and sound with youngster Montfort also doing well between the posts in place of Sean Sullivan.

The above programme shows that the citizens have, perhaps, the most difficult programme of the remaining contestants for the second place. Next Sunday’s direct clash against Hibernians is an important clash which they cannot miss if they are to maintain their strong challenge to return to European football next season.

In Sunday’s match, Birkirkara and Hibernians stabbed each other in the back as they squeezed a point apiece from a 2-2 draw that left no one of them happy.

That result was perhaps a fair one indeed, but it did neither of them any good, especially the Paolites, who must now make extra efforts to beat Valletta on Sunday to return strongly into contention for the second place.

The Paolites missed some glorious chances to collect all the points from Sunday’s match, Andrew Cohen being the culprit, besides also being their hero after he had given them a 2-1 interval lead with two splendid goals.

The Stripes played well below their form, especially at the back where Lucian Dronca was not at ease against the fast Hibernians offence, especially with Precious Monye absent. He was substituted by Kenneth Scicluna – back from the UK.

Yet, after the first half set-back – they found themselves in arrears after having taken an early lead – they fought back to equalise early in the second half though they should consider themselves lucky to have escaped with a point as they emerged unscathed following the Paolites’ great assault in the second half.

The Stripes are no longer the team considered to have been among the strongest in the opening days of the season. In fact, they are a far cry from those days when they used to dominate their opponents.

Relegation Pool

Msida’s 3-0 win over St Patrick confirmed that the surprise Trophy semi-finalists are passing through a good patch after the return from injury of most of their players.

Italian coach Mario Petrone has managed to instill confidence in this side which, on Sunday, also had their best foreigners, Guia and Porceddu, missing.

It is true that they were lucky in opening the score as St Patrick goalie Azzopardi fumbled what appeared to be a harmless ball, but on the whole, Msida were a superior outfit and with Fenech and Nwoke in such splendid form, they can look forward to their Trophy adventure with a lot of optimism – of course they have nothing to lose.

As to St Patrick, one must say they also had their fair share of the proceedings, but never managed to pierce the Msida rearguard although on some occasions, they were unlucky.

Last Saturday’s defeat puts them in a very uncomfortable position. Their only hope now is to beat Pieta and hope for a further slip by the Hotspurs in the remaining matches.

Player of the week

Darren Debono

(Sliema W.)

My pick this week fell on the sturdy Sliema and former Malta defender Darren Debono who was in top form on Saturday in the match against Floriana.

It is not the first time that Debono has shown that he is back to his very best and is rapidly confirming my belief that he is also fighting to regain his place in the national squad.

Though those at the top may have been justified in dropping Debono last year, there is nothing stopping them from calling him back to strengthen our defence. He still has a lot to offer to Maltese football.

Coach of the week

Mario Petrone

(Msida St Joseph)

This week I have selected Msida’s Italian coach after he led the side to a comfortable 3-0 win over St Patrick.

It was an important match for the side – a victory for St Patrick would have pushed Msida back into trouble.

But these three points have now given a new lease of life to Petrone’s side and a big boost for their forthcoming fixtures in the league as well as the looming semi-final in the FA Trophy.

Petrone has had to face a number of problems with injuries to most of his key players throughout the season, but on Sunday, he showed that he has built a team for the future at Msida.