Valletta FC extended their lead to four points the past weekend. As I had predicted Birkirkara and Sliema faced tricky encounters and both stumbled again while Marsaxlokk were gunned down by the same citizens who won the direct clash comfortably on Monday evening.

It was another boost for Valletta – a side showing improvement with every match it plays.

Jesmond Zerafa’s boys seem to be simply in a class of their own and I wonder whether there is a team which will be able to inflict a defeat on this side.

The boys in white are not just technically superior to all the others. They are also the fittest outfit in the competition so far and every player’s workload on the field of play is very impressive.

Marsaxlokk simply had no reply. In fact, they were overpowered by a vastly superior outfit. And when Kevin Sammut opened the scoring, it already seemed evident where the victory was going.

The southern seasiders could never produce the same form they showed the previous week against Birkirkara and striker Alfred Effiong was kept under control by a strong looking Valletta defence.

Defending champions Birkirkara showed considerable improvement over their performance the previous week. However, they still failed to bag the three points despite seeing much more of the ball than Hamrun on Friday evening.

At the end, they had to be content with a one-all draw which left them without the services of one of their top strikers – Trevor Cilia - who suffered a hamstring injury which may rule him out for at least three weeks.

Nothing seems to be going right this season for the Stripes who are a struggling outfit compared to that which won the title last season.

The Spartans did well to snatch a point from this match despite having to defend for most of the time.

Perhaps something better was expected from Steven D’Amato’s outfit after the 4-3 defeat of Hibernians the previous week – they were playing against a team shorn of the services of Shaun Bajada, Rowen Muscat and Alan Tabone and during the match also Trevor Cilia.

Yet this must be considered a good point for the Spartans as it keeps them joint second with Floriana, four points away from Valletta.

Honours this week went to Vittoriosa Stars. The previous week they had earned their first point of the season. This weekend, they went one better as they grabbed their first victory after beating Cottonera rivals Hibernians 2-0.

It was without any shadow of doubt, the best performance by the Stars this season. Their best arrived in the second half when they not only scored their two goals, but they also dominated their more experienced opponents who left much to be desired.

The turning point of the game must have been that penalty miss by Andrew Cohen. It served as an injection of enthusiasm for the Stars who made the most of the chances which they created in an impressive second half performance.

The Paolites keep disappointing their fans. After such an encouraging start to the season, they are going from bad to worse and after six matches, they are just one point away from bottom place which is still occupied by the Stars, on four points.

Floriana moved to joint second place with Hamrun on 10 points with a last gasp win against Qormi on Saturday.

The Greens were, perhaps, the better side on the day. They created the better chances and it was in this sense that they deserved to win the three points.

In fact, I thought they should have made certain of the three points earlier had they taken the chances which they created, especially in the second half.

For Qormi it was a bitter pill to swallow – practically losing the match with the last kick.

They had been somewhat lucky not to have suffered a goal earlier as Floriana, especially Caruana, were

erratic in their conclusions.

Tarxien Rainbows returned to winning form on Sunday as they defeated Sliema Wanderers 2-1 to join Qormi on the seven-point mark.

The Rainbows were somewhat lucky to have run out winners – a draw would have made justice with the Sliema side which ran completely out of luck in this match.

Suffice to say that the posts denied them twice in the late stages as they pressed hard for an equaliser.

It was certainly not Sliema’s day as they could not penetrate Tarxien’s defence again after the latter scored what proved to be their winner through Daniel Mariano Bueno early in the second half.

Best player

Roderick Briffa (Valletta)

The City midfielder is my pick this week after his impressive performance against Marsaxlokk on Monday evening.

Briffa was the mastermind behind the citizens’ victory. He dictated play in midfield and when he advanced upfield, trouble was always looming for the Marsaxlokk defence. It was from one of his incursions that the citizens took the lead in the first half.

Not only, but he also had at least two shots through which he went close to adding his name on the scorers’ list.

It was a performance which confirmed Briffa’s current good moment.

Top scorers

5 goals Terence Scerri (Valletta), Alfred Effiong (Marsaxlokk)

4 goals Paul McManus (Hibernians), Marcelo Pereira (Hamrun S.), Kevin Sammut (Valletta)

3 goals Terence Vella (Birkirkara), George Mallia (Qormi), Dene Shields (both Hamrun S.), Andrew Cohen (Hibernians), Michael Galea (B’Kara), JP Mifsud Triganza (Sliema), A. Ewurum (Vittoriosa)

2 goals T. Cilia, E. Lattes (both Birkirkara), P. Anizoba, M. Grima (Hamrun S.), C. dos Santos Rodrigues, R. Costa (both Tarxien R.), Obinna Obiefule, (Sliema), D. Falzon, J. Pace (both Valletta), DM Bueno (Tarxien), M. Mecerod (Floriana)