Marsaxlokk received a setback to their title hopes on Sunday as they suffered one of their worst defeats in recent years – a 4-1 demolition by Sliema.

In the other matches, Birkirkara continued with their revival as they extended their winning stretch under John Buttigieg by defeating Hibernians while their rivals for third place, Valletta, faltered against Msida, with whom they figured in a 1-1 draw. At the other end, in the Relegation Pool, Floriana failed to make sure of their place among the elite next season and have to wait longer, while Marsa maintained their slight hopes of avoiding the Drop with a point against the Greens.

The main match was obviously the Marsaxlokk-Sliema top of the table clash which saw the Wanderers humiliating the league leaders in a 4-1 win which could have taken bigger proportions as well.

The Wanderers have thus closed the gap to six points and with five matches still to go, anything can still happen, even if the southern seasiders still enjoy a healthy cushion.

In actual fact, Sliema cannot afford to miss even one match if they are to maintain their challenge till the very end, while Marsaxlokk have to miss the bus at least once for Sliema to hope that the last match in the final round will be decisive, or perhaps to force a decider.

Brian Talbot’s men were just a shadow of what they had shown themselves to be in previous matches and were made to play second fiddle to a superior Sliema side which dictated play from start to finish. After Stefan Giglio’s excellent goal, it had already appeared that Marsaxlokk were struggling to go past a steady Sliema defence in which Murphy Akanji, Brian Said and Lee Lombardi showed no mercy.

Had the Blues played like they did on Sunday throughout the season, I am sure they would have been leading the standings or at least would have been occupying a place much closer to the leaders.

The Blues must thank their foreigner Alexsander Madzar who is proving to be one of the most exciting players in this year’s Premier League. He and Ivan Woods are forming one of the most lethal striking combinations in local football this season.

Marsaxlokk did a lot of harm to themselves by losing in such a manner. Not only, but the dismissal of Andre Schembri was certainly a proof that the side was nervous. His continued protests after claiming a penalty were uncalled for. By receiving the red card, he left the side one man short for the whole second half and everyone is aware of what happened in those remaining 45 minutes.

Anyway, Talbot’s side still has the chance to redeem itself following the mess they pushed themselves into on Sunday. But they will have to forget about the defeat and the performance quickly if they are not to suffer further damage in their march towards their first ever title.

On Saturday, Birkirkara’s revival under new coach John Buttigieg continued with a splendid 2-1 defeat at the hands of Hibernians. The three points have lifted the Stripes into third place, two above Valletta, who faltered and missed two precious points in a 1-1 draw against Msida St Joseph.

The Stripes showed superiority over a depleted Hibernians side even if it had to be a disputed penalty which paved the way for their victory – albeit a merited one indeed.

Birkirkara are now in third place after having occupied even the sixth place in the standings. Their return to form has opened the European doors once again for them and it is no secret that they are now targeting the runner-up place, especially if they maintain their current form and Sliema falter in one of their forthcoming matches.

The Paolites missed the services of the suspended Agius, Da Silva and Chukunyere and looked like a mediocre side as they were overpowered by the stronger Stripes.

Now all the Paolites can hope for is a good run in the Trophy which may lead them to a UEFA Cup berth next season.

The same can be said of Valletta and Msida. The draw between these two teams did little to content either team in their chase for a UEFA Cup berth. Like the Paolites, their only hope seems to be the FA Trophy, even if Valletta can still try to achieve a third placing.

At present, they are in fourth place, two points behind the Stripes, but a distant seven points from second placed Sliema.

Msida seem to have forgotten what a victory is all about. They remain anchored to fifth place, six points behind Birkirkara and four behind Valletta.

In the Relegation Pool, Floriana almost dropped the three points from their match against bottom placed Marsa and they had to struggle to earn a point by scoring an equaliser 20 minutes from the end.

The Red Blues seemed to be heading for their first victory this season. They had overturned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead by the 65th minute, but they suffered the Greens’ equaliser. The point, however, keeps their very remote hopes of avoiding relegation, alive, at least till the next match.

Best player

Alexsander Madzar (Sliema W.)

Sliema’s Serbian striker Alexsander Madzar is my pick this week after yet another excellent performance, this time against league leaders Marsaxlokk on Sunday.

Madzar is proving to be a most effective striker and has opened a brilliant partnership with Ivan Woods. Apart from Marsaxlokk’s Bogdanovic, they have become the local top league’s most lethal strikers.

Apart from his roaming which had the Marsaxlokk defence at sixes and sevens, Madzar showed his intelligence and top class finishing in his execution of the two goals he scored. On both occasions, he remained calm and showed perfection in his conclusions which stunned the whole Marsaxlokk clan.

The scorers

M’XLOKK (58): D. Bogdanovic 26, H. Doda 8, K. Sammut 8, A. Schembri 7, C. Mamo 2, G. Sciberras 2, J. Pace 2, S. Bajada, M. Licari, I. Azzopardi (Floriana) og, R. Conceicao (St George’s) og

MSIDA SJ (35): D. Nwoke 13, I.Babatunde 10, O. Zongo 4, R. Baldacchino 3, T. Farrugia 2, P. Fenech, D. Cachia, P. Pullicino

VALLETTA (48): S. Monesterolo 16, G. Agius 9, R. Siberie 5, D. Falzon 3, B. Nisevic 3, K. Magro 2, D. Zarb 2, E. Uzeh 2, I. Zammit 2, M. Grima, J. Grioli, M. Barbara, D. Camilleri

FLORIANA (34): T. Cilia 6, A. Mifsud 7, W. Gomes 7, M. Micallef 3, C. Caruana 3, C. Cassar 2, R. Newell 2, I. Azzopardi, M. Gauci, G. Rtsa, Spasojevic

HIBERNIANS (39): T. Scerri 14, A. Cohen 8, N. Chukunyere 4, P. C. Doffo 3, T. Caruana 2, A. Xuereb 2, M. Bartolo 2, U. Nwoko, A. Pulis, J. Vella, T. Farrugia

BIRKIRKARA (40): J.P. Mifsud Triganza 11, E. Barbara 9, M. Galea 6, G. Mallia 2, W. Camenzuli 2, D. Larrossa 2, A. Paradiso, M. Calascione, L. Galea, MA Bonnici, H. Sbai, R. Briffa, A. Ciantar, P. Monye

SLIEMA (43): I. Woods 16, A. Madzar 7, A. Muscat 4, C. Nwoko 4, R. Bajada 3, M. Galea 2, Z. Zvoboda 2, O. Anonam 2, J. Chetcuti, M. Scerri, S. Giglio

MARSA (14): A. Scerri 4, A. Ewurun 2, E. Yantchev 2, V. Bellia 3, B. Zammit, D. Cucciardi, V. Chircop

ST GEORGE’S (13): Effiong 4, L. Mizzi 3, R. Conceicao 3, S. Sciberras, E. do Nascimento, L. Pace,

PIETA H. (21): M. Deanov 5, S. Kondev 3, D. Kokavessis 3,D. Theuma 2, A. Decesare 2, A. Debono, C. Pulo, R. Galabov, S. Ciscaldi, D. Camenzuli, (K. Formosa (Floriana) og

Next matches

(all at Ta’ Qali)

Saturday 14 April

3pm Birkirkara-Valletta

5pm Hibernians-Marsaxlokk

Sunday 15 April

3pm St George’s-Pieta H.

5pm Sliema W.-Msida SJ