It was a long weekend for Maltese Premier League football with matches spanning over three days between last Friday and Monday.

The most important match was expected to be the city and suburban derby clash between Valletta and Floriana last Friday but the 1-0 win for the citizens was eclipsed by the Birkirkara-Marsaxlokk clash on Monday night which proved to be very important for Marsaxlokk, especially after Msida had failed to win their clash against Sliema a day earlier.

In the process, Marsaxlokk managed to beat the Stripes with a late Alcorse strike which gave his side a 3-2 win and that meant that the southern seasiders are still hoping to make it to the Top Six.

In fact, in the final match of the first phase, there is still the Marsaxlokk-Msida clash which has now become a decider. A draw will be enough for Msida to claim that final berth, but a victory for Marsaxlokk will see Patrick Curmi’s side pushing the Saints to the Relegation Pool.

Meanwhile, Hibernians also won easily against Tarxien Rainbows (7-2) to claim top spot, one point ahead of Valletta, who remain five points above Birkirkara. It is after the final matches the coming weekend that a real evaluation has to be done and with how many points the teams will start the second phase .

Among the matches still to be played is the Hibernians-Birkirkara clash which has now grown in importance, especially for the Stripes.

Valletta were again very unimpressive against a depleted Floriana side, but for coach Paul Zammit and all their clan, it must have been a great satisfaction to have collected all the three points from such a difficult derby clash.

The citizens have thus maintained their unbeaten record and they remain hot favourites – together with Hibernians – to challenge for the title till the very end. They have most of the national team players in their squad – what they lack at present is teamwork.

The Greens might have been disappointed that they lost this encounter but they earned some consolation on Sunday when Msida lost against Sliema and then especially on Monday when Marsaxlokk beat Birkirkara – a result that assured them of a Top Six berth.

Hibernians ran riot on Sunday against neighbours Tarxien, winning 7-2 in the highest scoring match of the season.

It was a runaway victory for Mark Miller’s boys who have been turned into very strong challengers for the title.

Not only the Paolites are showing consistency in their play, but they are strong in defence and lethal up front where Terence Scerri is enjoying his best season in the top flight. On Sunday he helped himself to five of the seven goals.

The Paolites now need to remain concentrated and avoid missing out on some of their opening matches in the second phase, as was the case last season.

Sliema did well to beat Msida 3-0 and that result not only assured the Wanderers of their place in the Top Six, but also enabled them to earn three points which might help them in future in their efforts to secure a berth in European football next season.

Stephen Azzopardi’s side showed progress over recent performances, but it was evident that they had it so easy as Msida did not offer a real challenge especially in the second half.

The Saints are definitely a very weak side without the services of Brazilian Calcado and unless coach Joe Abdilla can instil some confidence in the side, then they are bound to be in trouble in their final clash against Marsaxlokk.

The latter played with great determination in their match against Birkirkara on Monday evening. Even when things seemed to be going against them, they still found the energy to hit back and score a winner a few minutes from the end to remain in contention for that final sixth slot in the Championship Pool.

Marsaxlokk’s recovery in recent matches and Msida’s slump in form might yet see a change in fortunes for both sides in the final decisive clash this weekend.

On their part, Birkirkara must have felt unlucky to have gone home empty handed. In fact, just before Alcorse scored Marsaxlokk’s winner, they had missed two gilt-edged chances to take the lead.

For the Stripes it was not so important as it was for Marsaxlokk to gain the three points. In fact they still have the final match against Hibernians to repair the damage and remain as close as possible to the leadership.

But they will certainly have to do a lot better than losing so many balls through slipshod passing, thus making life more difficult for themselves.

Also on Sunday, Hamrun Spartans obtained three more points in their quest to start the Relegation Pool with as many points as possible. They easily beat a disappointing Qormi side 4-1 to move three points ahead of the same Qormi and six above Tarxien Rainbows.

However, when the points are deducted by half, it will become tight once again and one expects a battle royale in this part of the league as well.

Best player

My pick this week obviously falls on five-goal hero Terence Scerri of league leaders Hibernians.

Against Tarxien on Sunday, the national team striker confirmed his current great moment of form with a brilliant performance that included scoring five of his side’s seven goals making him easily the league’s top scorer.

It was no surprise that he seems to have become an automatic choice for the national team as well. Even there he has already repaid the confidence shown by Fitzel by scoring two goals in the match against Ferencvaros.

The scorers

19 goals – T. Scerri (Hibs),

14 goals - D. M. Bueno (Tarxien R.)

11 goals – P. Dos Santos Calcado (Msida SJ),

9 goals – N. Priso (Valletta), M. Pereira (Marsaxlokk)

8 goals – R. Darmanin (Floriana)

6 goals – A. Cohen (Hibernians), JP Mifsud Triganza, M. Galea (both B’Kara). S. Comvalius (Hamrun S.), J. Alcorse (Marsaxlokk),

5 goals – C. Failla (Hibernians), I. Woods (Sliema W.), G. Agius (Valletta), D. A. Cucciardi (Hamrun S.)