The competition continues this evening with the important clash at Ta’ Qali natIonal stadium between Sliema Wanderers and Hibernians, commencing at 8pm.

In their opening match, Sliema squeezed 1-0 past newly-promoted St George’s while Hibernians were crushed 4-1 by a rejuvenated Floriana, who scored all their four goals in the first half.

And although we are still at a very early stage in the competition, for the Paolites, it is already a must to try and bounce back following that setback against Floriana if they are to offer a serious challenge for the honours this season.

Obviously, Robert Gatt has to rebuild the players’ morale which is at a low ebb at present. But he will also have problems in fielding a side which will be able to challenge the Wanderers.

In fact, he still has a number of players on the injury list and these include top striker Andrew Cohen.

For the Blues, it was a different story on Saturday. Despite an unimpressive performance, they still managed to grab the three points thanks to an Ivan Woods goal.

The Blues will be eager to pocket three more points from this evening’s clash but they will have to play much better to beat the Paolites, who will be expected to offer a strong challenge.

It will be the second meeting between the two sides this season. In the previous match, in the Euro Challenge Cup, Hibernians had emerged winners 3-1 to lift that title.