Msida St Joseph, who led the standings till the end of the fourth round, were brought down to earth on Sunday afternoon as a strong Marsaxlokk side beat them convincingly by three clear goals.

The victory enabled Marsaxlokk to join Hibernians, who struggled to a hard-won 2-1 win over bottom placed Pieta on Saturday, at the top of the standings.

The weekend was also highlighted by what was possibly the best of the five matches – the 3-3 draw between Sliema and Birkirkara – while Floriana and Valletta, as expected, found no difficulty in brushing aside the challenges of Marsa and St George’s respectively.

As the season progresses, it is now become evident that there will be a massive scramble for the top six places and a berth in the Championship Pool.

While Marsaxlokk and Hibernians registered their fourth win in succession following a defeat on the opening day, Sliema and Birkirkara continue to struggle in mid-table, even if on Friday, they both showed that they can in no way be considered as struggling sides.

In fact, they both played some good football in a highly entertaining game and of good technical quality.

But the two teams showed a lot of deficiencies in their rearguards and the only surprise was that no further goals were registered at both ends, especially at the Birkirkara end, in the later stages of the match.

Still, despite everything, Sliema have been joined by Valletta and Floriana on eight points, four behind leaders Marsaxlokk and Hibernians and two below Msida, who have remained on 10 points, while Birkirkara lie a distant seventh on just seven points from five matches.

The most impressive team at the weekend, considering everything, was that of Sliema, who showed considerable progress especially with Zdenek Svoboda outstanding in midfield and with Ivan Woods contributing towards the point earned with two splendid goals and an overall classy performance.

At the other end, even Etienne Barbara had a great game in his full return to the starting line-up, scoring two goals – one of them a penalty – and being a constant headache to the Sliema defence on whichever side he was employed.

Marsaxlokk possibly had an easier match than they might have expected against Msida. It is no good excuse for the Saints to lament the absence of top striker Daniel Nwoke, but against a team which included in form Cleaven Frendo and Andre Da Silva in midfield, Msida could not do much better certainly.

Brian Talbot’s side are now maturing into a fine team and it is no wonder that at present, they are considered as the best bet for the title – if they can maintain this rhythm throughout the whole season. In fact, judging on the last four matches, this could be their year as they prepare to challenge seriously for their first ever title win.

Msida could do little against Marsaxlokk in such form. Having missed two points in their previous match against Valletta and now suffering their first defeat of the season, it seems evident that their surprise start has been halted. And coach Patrick Curmi will anxiously be awaiting the forthcoming weekend clash against Floriana to see whether he and his boys will be able to arrest this negative trend.

Hibernians are also leading the standings, but only after surviving a big scare against bottom club Pieta. In fact, they were on the verge of losing two precious points and it was only in the last minute of added time that Thomas Caruana managed to score their winning goal – after Pieta had been reduced to nine men.

The Paolites will certainly have to show better consistency in future matches if they are to remain on top.

Pieta fought hard and showed considerable improvement over the opening matches which saw them suffering three heavy defeats and earn just a draw against St George’s. Some more determination – and some luck – in their forthcoming matches might yet see them moving up the standings.

At this end of the table, newly promoted St George’s and Marsa both received a drubbing from Valletta and Floriana respectively – with the same 4-1 scoreline.

These two matches showed – if there was ever any need – that there exists quite a gap between the established Premier teams and those making the leap into the elite section from the first division.

In fact, it was an occasion for both sides to test their shooting power as Floriana’s Trevor Cilia managed a hat-trick and Valletta’s Sebastian Monesterolo returned to scoring form after having missed the previous game through suspension.