The Championship Pool remains far from being decided and after the weekend results it seems pretty clear that the Top Six will only be known near the end, or perhaps, on the final day, of this first stage of the competition.

With Marsaxlokk, Sliema W. and Birkirkara obtaining important wins, it is evident that with four matches still to go, the biggest battle between six clubs (excluding leaders Valletta) is for one of them to avoid playing in the Relegation Pool.

At present it is Hibernians who are occupying the seventh place, but the topsy-turvy situation prevailing so far this season, is expected to go on till the end of the first phase thus making it uncertain as to who will join Pieta, Msida and Mqabba in the Relegation Pool.

At the weekend, the depleted Floriana fell heavily to a Marsaxlokk side which is finally showing its worth and also is producing a challenge to defend its hard-won title last year honourably.

The champions’ last two performances, victories over Birkirkara and Floriana, indicate that they are on the good track once again.

On their part Floriana had to bow down to superior opponents, especially after having had Owen Bugeja sent off.

Despite playing for a long time with 10 men, the Greens fought hard and also threatened to equalise before Marsaxlokk, led by the returning to form Cleaven Frendo, scored two further goals to seal the issue.

Also on Saturday, Sliema deserved their narrow 2-1 victory over Hibernians. These three points enabled the Wanderers to move up the table – from sixth to third.

The two sides failed to enthuse the crowd present with their performance in the first half, but the second produced better fare as Sliema seemed to be tactically superior to their opponents.

The Paolites failed to save at least a point despite getting back in contention with a goal late in the match. They seemed to have missed Edafe more than Sliema missed Roderick Briffa in midfield.

The Blues took the lead just a few minutes after the interval: by then, it was an uphill battle for the Paolites and when the Wanderers scored a second soon after, then it seemed to be all over as Sliema grew in stature and confidence.

The Paolites, however, had other ideas and after pulling one back with ten minutes to go they also threatened to get an equaliser, being denied by the alert Murphy Akanji who thus saved the day for the Wanderers.

On Sunday, Hamrun Spartans missed a gilt-edged chance of moving solely in second position as they suffered an unexpected defeat at the hands of Msida St Joseph who thus managed to bring to a halt the Spartans’ previous eight-match positive run.

Yet, the Spartans had started the game on a top note, taking the lead through their veteran striker Stefan Sultana, but when Msida got back into their stride, it became evident that they were going to make the going tough for Hamrun.

Considering their recent performances, it was no surprise that Msida finally managed to win a game against one of the clubs in the top half of the standings. In fact, I think the Saints deserve a better placing than the eighth place they occupy at present.

In Sunday’s second match, Birkirkara never had it so easy this season as in this encounter against Pieta Hotspurs.

The latter were simply inexistent as the Stripes wandered through the park quite comfortably and could have run up a much higher score had they taken the chances which came their way.

The win not only enabled the Stripes to taste revenge for the first round defeat against the same Hotspurs: it has also lifted the Stripes’ spirit as they have moved into sixth place. However, they still have some delicate matches to play from which they have to accumulate as much points as possible to assure themselves of a place in the Championship Pool.

Best player: Reuben Debono (Marsaxlokk)

It is very rare that a goalkeeper is selected as the best player after a weekend with a programme of four matches.

Yet Marsaxlokk’s Reuben Debono is my pick this week after his five-star display against Floriana.

It was his excellent saves and his good anticipation that enabled his side to overcome a shaky moment at the start of the second half – when the score was still 2-1 – to go on and win comfortably 4-1 against Floriana.

Debono had been on the sidelines in the recent past, but his performances this season have shown that he is back to his best, keeping Reuben Gauci as his No. 2.

Next matches

Saturday 19 January

(at Ta’ Qali Stadium)

2pm Marsaxlokk-Hibernians

4pm Valletta-Hamrun S.

Sunday 20 January

(at Victor Tedesco Stadium)

1pm Pieta H.-Floriana

3pm Sliema W.-Mqabba

Top scorers

10 goals - Sebastian Monesterolo (Valletta)

8 - Gaetan Spiteri (Hamrun), Ian Zammit (Valletta),

6 - Njongo Priso (Msida SJ), Marcelo Periera (Mqabba), Etienne Barbara (Sliema W.), Terence Scerri (Hibs), Ryan Darmanin (Floriana), Malcolm Licari (Marsaxlokk), Stefan Sultana (Hamrun S.)

5 - Alfred Effiong (Hamrun S.), Mark Barbara (Marsaxlokk)

4 - Andrew Cohen (Hibs), Edward Herrera (Pieta H.), Pedro dos Santos Calcado (Msida SJ), Alexsander Madzar (Sliema W.), Manolito Micallef (Floriana), Cleaven Frendo (Marsaxlokk), A. Mifsud (Hibs), R. Hartvig (B’kara)