The Bank of Valletta Premier League continues this evening at the National Stadium, Ta’ Qali, where Valletta and Hibernians meet in what promises to be a keen and interesting game. Kick off 7pm.
It is a clash between two teams who are considered as title challengers, but have had an indifferent start to the season, especially Hibernians.
Robert Gatt’s boys started with an unimpressive 1-1 draw against Birkirkara and they followed that up with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of the impressive Floriana side.
On their part, the citizens, favoured by many to be in the forefront for the title, stumbled in their first commitment when they were unceremoniously defeated by their arch rivals Floriana 3-2. In the match that followed, the citizens obtained their first points with a 3-1 win over Pieta Hotspurs.
In these two matches, the Citizens never showed any sparkle and they will have to improve considerably if they are to beat Hibernians and keep up the challenge for the title, even if we are still in the early stages of the competition.
One player who has to show a marked improvement is Argentine striker Sebastian Monesterolo. So far, he is just a shadow of what we had become accustomed to, two seasons ago when he showed one and all that he is a free scoring striker. It seems as if he missed his scoring touch after his six-month spell in Kuwaiti football.
This season, after missing some glaring chances against Floriana, he also contrived to miss two penalties against Pieta, although he then managed to find the net for his first goal of the new season.
The Paolites cannot miss once again. If they lose this evening, not only will it be their second consecutive defeat, but also, they will remain near the bottom end of the standings.
After their impressive start to the season – they won the Euro Challenge Cup and the Super Cup, they were expected to figure much more prominently in the League.
Yet they still have to leave their mark. Unless they wake up to their responsibilities this evening and beat the favoured Citizens, they will remain lurking well behind the pace-setters.