Sliema Wanderers conceded defeat in the title chase on Saturday afternoon as they dropped two more points in their match against Msida providing the Stripes with an unassailable lead at the top.
And the next day – Sunday – it was party time for the whole Birkirkara clan, first at the Stadium and later at ‘Il-Wied’ as thousands of fans, mostly clad in the traditional yellow and red colours of the club, danced and feted their heroes till late in the night.
Birkirkara had won their second league title in their history which was probably much more deserved that the first one in 2000, for the simple reason that this time, they were an absolutely superior side, showing more consistency than all the others and also producing the better brand of football which makes the champions.
It was a great evening for chairman Victor Zammit, the directors of the club, coach Stephen Azzopardi, the players and all the fans – an evening which (as some said) will not be forgotten.
The reason was, perhaps, the fact that they had beaten their main rivals this season, Sliema, after a long, hard-fought, season. Moreover, they also managed to snap Sliema’s run of title victories – the Wanderers had been after a record fourth consecutive title win. That would have made the Blues’ history even more illustrious. But it was not to be.
Birkirkara, as already said, deserved the title win. They have now remained unbeaten in their last 15 Premier League matches. Their last defeat was on 8 December of last year, – 2-0 at the hands of Marsaxlokk. And they only suffered two other defeats, against Sliema (2-1) and against Hibernians (5-2) earlier in the first phase. In the process, they came back from being eight points behind Sliema at one stage of the competition. Now they enjoy an eight point lead over Sliema with the final encounter between the two teams still to be played.
Two more players missing on Sunday
The Stripes will have two more players missing next Sunday for the match against Sliema. These are Michael Galea and Etienne Barbara.
Galea was injured in the match against Hibernians and Barbara collected his fourth yellow card and will be suspended for one match tomorrow.
The Stripes have a large number of unavailable players (through injury) at present. These are George Mallia, Adrian Ciantar, Jonathan Holland, Roderick Briffa, Precious Monye and, of course, former skipper Antoine Zahra, (the latter will possibly be back next season – he was out from the start).
Coach Stephen Azzopardi’s only consolation is that Mallia, and possibly Holland, might be ready to play against Sliema. But he will still have to make use of a good number of young players.
For Azzopardi, it was another big satisfaction in his four year-spell at the club. This title win was the icing on the cake as it enhanced his record of successes. He has now led the side to all the major honours in local football, most of the others on more than one occasion.
Special BoV presentation
The presentation of the Bank of Valletta Premier League Cup is to be held on Sunday immediately after the Birkirkara-Sliema match.
The Cup, the first sponsored by Bank of Valletta, will be presented by the MFA president, Dr Joseph Mifsud.
And the presentation is to be held in the same style used abroad on such occasions – using a special platform in the middle of the pitch.
Best player: Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza (Birkirkara)
The Birkirkara FC striker Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza is my pick this weekend after his five-star performance against Hibernians on Sunday afternoon.
Though he did not score the winner himself, he provided the final pass which procured the penalty when Muscat was deemed to have floored Etienne Barbara by referee Adrian Casha.
However, Mifsud Triganza was the star on Sunday afternoon. Due to the forced exigencies of the club because of their numerous injuries, he had to play an isolated role up front, but he came out on top against the Hibs defence, even missing a goal by a whisker on a couple of occasions.
It was not only this match which has seen Mifsud Triganza playing well. He has been building his confidence since he became a regular after Birkirkara suffered so many injuries.
I feel that such a player cannot be ignored by our national team set-up.
Leading scorers:
19 – Michael Galea
16 – Ivan Woods, Daniel Nwoke
14 – Andrew Cohen, Wendell Gomes, Etienne Barbara
13 – Adrian Mifsud
12 – Cleaven Frendo, Danilo Doncic,
11 – Sebastian Monesterolo,
10 – Daniel Bogdanovic, Haruna Doda, Ikechuckwu Chibueze, Andre Schembri
Martin Deanov
Next matches:
Friday
6pm Mosta-Floriana
8pm Msida SJ-Valletta
Saturday
3pm Hamrun S.-Pieta H.
5pm Marsaxlokk-Hibernians
Sunday
4pm Sliema W.-Birkirkara
Goalkeeper David Simon says Birkirkara fans are fantastic:
One of Birkirkara’s three foreigners this season, goalkeeper David Simon, was certainly a mainstay in the champions’ line-up the past league campaign.
On many an occasion, he was in inspirational form and much of the Stripes’ success this season must be attributed to this goalkeeper.
Yet, he had a difficult start as he found it difficult to settle down in his new surroundings, not even speaking a word in English. Later he studied the language and improved tremendously as his confidence started building up.
Speaking to The Malta Independent, Simon said it was great to win a League title at his first attempt in Malta. “It feels great. It was very hard for Birkirkara to win the title. Despite the numerous injuries throughout the season, especially at this crucial final stage, we maintained the pace, showing that we have a very good squad. We deserved the title win,” he said.
Simon added that he hoped to stay on at least for one more year with the Stripes. “This does not depend on me, however. At the end of the season, I will have talks with the chairman and the committee. We will see later about that. At present, we must concentrate also on a Trophy win to make it even more memorable by winning the double,” he added.
Despite having played in the Czech Republic in the second division, Simon, who hails from Pardubice, tasted his first success with Birkirkara at the weekend. And describing the Birkirkara fans, he said: “They are fantastic supporters. They support the team in a unique way at the Stadium. And on Sunday, they celebrated in a big way. It was something I will never forget,” he added.
Azzopardi adds League title to his honours’ list:
Like all other coaches who have done it before him, Birkirkara coach Stephen Azzopardi has now added the League title to his impressive list of honours during the four years he has been at the helm of the Stripes.
In fact, during this spell, the League had been eluding him until the past weekend, as he had won three FA Trophies, four Super Cups, two Super Five trophy wins and one Lowenbrau Cup win.
He has now led the side to 11 honours of the 14 Birkirkara FC have clinched during the past 10 years.
He said: “It was a big honour for me to have been selected as the coach of one of Malta’s top teams at a young age four years ago. Now I can say I am really satisfied. In fact, I am very proud of this achievement, but it is only fair to state this could only be achieved through the hard work of the players, the technical staff, the directors and the fans.”
Azzopardi added he is now looking forward to next Sunday’s final match against Sliema and the Trophy to conclude a memorable season. “After that I will sit down for talks with the chairman and the directors as I wish to be granted an extension though there is already a form of mutual consent from both sides. If I remain Birkirkara coach, then I will also have a first taste of Champions League football in August. That will be my first experience, albeit the second for the club.
“We might possibly have some new faces to replace a couple of possible departures. Strangely enough, we thought that we would be defective in defence this season. Yet our defence was one of our strongest departments. It was the midfield which came out the worst with those innumerable injuries. On Sunday against Hibs I had to make use of striker Michael Galea and two defenders, Mark Anthony Bonnici and Patrick Borg, to fill that sector. And then we also lost Galea to injury in the first half.
“Despite everything, our aim is to remain a top side. This magnificent era has to be maintained. This club has now won major honours for the last five consecutive seasons. I cannot see a reason why we should not remain among Malta’s top clubs.