Marsaxlokk’s march towards their first ever title continued relentlessly at the weekend as they overcame a stubborn Msida side thanks to a late goal.

In the meantime, there was more misery for Hibernians who suffered a somewhat unexpected defeat at the hands of lowly Pieta Hotspurs.

The defeat brought some relief to Floriana who, by beating Marsa the following day, moved closer to the same Hibernians and Birkirkara as the trio will be fighting to avoid the Relegation Pool.

In the other match at the weekend, Valletta overcame St George’s to maintain their challenge near the top of the standings.

Marsaxlokk’s ascendancy this season must be credited to coach Brian Talbot, but one man who has contributed to their success on the field of play has been Luke Dimech.

The international defender is passing through a glorious season and has been one of their mainstays at the back.

Marsaxlokk are undoubtedly the best equipped side this season and, at present, there seems to be no other team capable of arresting their triumphant march at the top.

Although it is still early, and despite the points being halved at the mid-way stage of the competition, it already seems sure that they will enjoy a very comfortable lead over all the other opponents when the second phase of the championship gets under way.

Msida St Joseph offered most decent opposition on Saturday afternoon, especially through a strong defensive ploy.

In fact, they were rarely dangerous up front, except perhaps, for a couple of occasions.

Otherwise it was always Marsaxlokk on the offensive and the fact that they only scored the winner five minutes or so from the end, was only a just reward for their earlier efforts.

It also has to be said that Msida goalie Omar Borg covered himself with glory as time and again he defied his opponents with some splendid saves before eventually having to bow down his head.

Hibernians’ miserable moment continued as they lost their match to lowly Pieta.

The Paolites are passing through a crisis and unless they pull up their socks and start collecting points, from championship contenders, they will soon find themselves in the Relegation Pool.

Pieta did what was expected of them. They defended with all their might against superior opponents, but at the end, their fourth minute goal rewarded their brave efforts, even if the win did little to appease their relegation worries.

Floriana, in fact, also won on Sunday as they beat Marsa by two clear goals.

The victory enabled the Greens to move to within two points of Birkirkara and Hibernians and now an interesting battle for two Championship Pool places and one in the Relegation Pool looms ahead in the final matches of the first phase.

On Sunday, Valletta made no mistake in their match against St George’s and two first half goals were enough to give them a further three points.

The citizens are almost sure of their berth in the Championship Pool. However, they are expected to continue battling for points to stay close to the leaders in the hope of securing a place in European football next season.

St George’s tried hard to offer decent opposition to Valletta, but after Massimo Grima gave City the lead, it became evident where the points were eventually going.

* * *

Best player

Omar Borg (Msida SJ)

Goalkeeper Omar Borg of Msida St Joseph is my pick this week after another impressive performance, this time against the leaders.

Although finishing on the losing end, I must say that this lad is working his way up in the rankings and I bet it will not be long before he is given due recognition.

He has been showing good form since the past two seasons, at least, but this year, he has been exceptional.

I would not be exaggerating to say that Msida’s exalted position is owed to his heroics between the posts.

The scorers

MARSAXLOKK (34): D. Bogdanovic 15, K. Sammut 6, A. Schembri 5, H. Doda 5, C. Mamo, S. Bajada, I. Azzopardi (Floriana) og

MSIDA SJ (27): I.Babatunde 8, D. Nwoke 10, O. Zongo 3, P. Fenech, R. Baldacchino 2, T. Farrugia, D. Cachia, P. Pullicino,

VALLETTA (31): S. Monesterolo 16, G. Agius 6, K. Magro 2, B. Nisevic 2, D. Zarb, E. Uzeh, I. Zammit, D. Falzon, M. Grima

FLORIANA (23): T. Cilia 4, W. Gomes 4, M. Micallef 3, A. Mifsud 4, C. Caruana 3, C. Cassar 2, I. Azzopardi, R. Newell, M. Gauci

HIBERNIANS (26): T. Scerri 10, A. Cohen 6, N. Chukunyere 3, P. C. Doffo 2, T. Caruana 2, U. Nwoko, A. Xuereb, M. Bartolo

BIRKIRKARA (23): J.P. Mifsud Triganza 8, E. Barbara 6, G. Mallia 2, A. Paradiso, M. Calascione, L. Galea, MA Bonnici, H. Sbai, M. Galea, W. Camenzuli

SLIEMA (25): I. Woods 11, A. Muscat 4, R. Bajada 3, M. Galea 2, Z. Zvoboda 2, O. Anonam, J. Chetcuti, M. Scerri,

MARSA (7): A. Ewurun 2, E. Yantchev 2, B. Zammit, D. Cucciardi, V. Bellia

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

PIETA H. (7): D. Theuma 2, A. Decesare 2, A. Debono, D. Kokavessis, C. Pulo

Saturday 13 January (at Ta’ Qali)

2pm Pieta H.-Sliema W.

4pm Birkirkara-Marsa

Sunday 14 January (at V. Tedesco Stadium)

1pm Marsaxlokk-St George’s

3pm Floriana-Msida SJ