Birkirkara’s hopes of a second consecutive title have been diminishing slowly almost from the start of the season as they have been losing points regularly. But last Sunday’s defeat against Msida was the biggest setback the team has suffered.

In fact, at present, they are not just far away from the battle for the title, but also struggling to win a place in the Championship Pool and avoid the Relegation Pool in the second phase of the competition.

They have been putting forward more than one excuse for their debacles throughout the first round. And they might have been right that they missed a large number of players through injury.

Last Sunday’s defeat means that they still trail leaders Marsaxlokk by a massive 10 points and this could increase to 15 on Saturday if, as expected, Marsaxlokk win their match in hand against Pieta Hotspurs.

This is the reality of the situation which the champions are facing. And unless they pull up their socks, players of the calibre of Michael Galea, William Camenzuli, George Mallia, Jean P. Mifsud Triganza, Kenneth Scicluna, Mark Anthony Bonnici, Lino Galea and the foreigners will certainly be facing one their biggest humiliations in their footballing career.

This latest defeat will certainly put more pressure on coach Stephen Azzopardi. Rumours that he is on the verge of being sacked have been dismissed so far, but if things do not improve quickly, then the axe might fall sooner rather than later.

In any case, credit must go to Msida St Joseph who have confirmed they are the revelation side this season.

Their victory over the Stripes was a merited one and it put them just one point behind the leaders. Not only they are already almost assured of a Championship Pool spot, but also, they cannot be ignored as the battle for the title continues to unfold.

On Sunday their three foreigners Babatunde, Nwoke and Zongo – stole the limelight. They scored a goal each as the trio confirmed they are among the best foreigners who are playing in this year’s championship.

The Saints have lost only one match in 11 so far this season and that goes on to show that they cannot be taken lightly.

Valletta also moved closer to the leading duo as they overcame Pieta with a relative amount of ease.

The 6-0 win had no story as the gap between the two teams was so evident, right from the start. For the citizens, it was a training session, but for Pieta, it was another humiliation to add to those already suffered this season.

Hibernians’ chances also took a nosedive as they lost to Floriana by the odd goal in three.

The Paolites have now been overtaken by the citizens in the standings and have dropped to fourth place, seven points behind the leaders.

At the interval of their match against Floriana, it seemed as if Robert Gatt’s men were on their way to a good win. They were leading 1-0 and Floriana were a man short after having had Micallef sent off.

But the Greens surprised everyone – even themselves perhaps – as they hit back strongly in the second half to score two goals in the space of a few minutes to turn the tide in their favour.

It was an important victory for Floriana. The three points served a good purpose – that of overtaking rivals Sliema and Birkirkara in the standings as they moved to fifth place on 16 points. It also opened fresh and genuine hopes that the side m ight avoid playing in the Relegation Pool this season.

In the other match at the weekend, local football pioneers St George’s obtained their first victory in the Premier League as they beat Marsa 2-1 on Sunday.

Although the three points did little to bring them closer to a safer place, however, it was satisfying for their fans to see their club obtaining a win against probable relegation rivals.

As for Marsa, it was another unlucky day. The defeat has not affected their position in the standings badly after all, but from now on, they will have to improve if they are to offer strong opposition till the end of the campaign.

Best player

Gilbert Agius (Valletta FC)

The Valletta and Malta ace is my pick this week after his five-star performance against Pieta.

Included in his repertoire were no fewer than four goals, one of them a penalty.

It was another vintage performance from this great player who has confirmed that he is still among the best on the island despite the fact that he is getting closer to the veteran age.

The local public needs to see more players of Gilbert’s type and calibre emerging on the local scene. That would certainly continue to help lift local football to better levels.

The scorers

MARSAXLOKK (30): D. Bogdanovic 14, A. Schembri 5, H. Doda 4, K. Sammut 4,C. Mamo, S. Bajada, I. Azzopardi (Floriana) og

MSIDA SJ (22): I.Babatunde 8, D. Nwoke 0, O. Zongo 3, I. P. Fenech, R. Baldacchino 2, T. Farrugia

VALLETTA (26): S. Monesterolo 12, G. Agius 6, K. Magro 2, B. Nisevic 2, D. Zarb, E. Uzeh, I. Zammit, D. Falzon

FLORIANA (20): T. Cilia 4, W. Gomes 4, M. Micallef 3, C. Caruana 3, A. Mifsud 3, C. Cassar 2, I. Azzopardi

HIBERNIANS (19): A. Cohen 5, T. Scerri 5, N. Chukunyere 3, P. C. Doffo 2, T. Caruana 2, U. Nwoko, A. Xuereb,

BIRKIRKARA (19): J.P. Mifsud Triganza 7, E. Barbara 6, A. Paradiso, M. Calascione, L. Galea, MA Bonnici, H. Sbai, M. Galea

SLIEMA (17): I. Woods 9, A. Muscat 3, R. Bajada 2, J. Chetcuti, Z. Zvoboda, O. Anonam

MARSA (6): A. Ewurun 2, E. Yantchev 2, B. Zammit, D. Cucciardi

ST GEORGE’S (7): L. Mizzi 3, S. Sciberras, E. do Nascimento, L. Pace, R. Conceicao

PIETA H. (5): D. Theuma 2, A. Decesare 2, A. Debono

Next matches

Tomorrow

(At Ta’ Qali)

2pm Sliema W.-Hibernians

4pm Floriana-Valletta

Saturday 16 December

(At Hibs Ground)

12.45pm Pieta H.-Marsaxlokk

2.45pm Hibernians-Marsa

Sunday

(At Ta’ Qali)

2pm St George’s-Birkirkara

4pm Sliema W.-Floriana