I have been saying all along (since November at least) that there seems to be no team capable of stopping Jesmond Zerafa’s Valletta this season.

And this was confirmed on Saturday afternoon when not even an excellent Birkirkara side managed to halt the Lilywhites’ triumphant march.

The citizens came out of the ordeal with their heads held high and now must feel even more confident than before that they will finally land the big prize – the championship – after some years on the waiting list.

Yet, on Saturday they never seemed to be getting anywhere at the end of the first half. Till then, they had been dominated by a Birkirkara side which appeared to be playing one of its best matches this season.

During those opening 45 minutes, the citizens never managed to play their now customary flowing football and seemed to be struggling to keep the hungry Stripes at bay.

And it had to be an early second half goal by Michael Galea that brought the City team to its senses.

Instead of serving as a tonic for the Stripes to increase their lead, that goal saw the citizens fighting back and equalise so quickly that Paul Zammit’s boys did not have enough time to regroup and prepare for Valletta’s expected onslaught.

After Denni’s great equaliser, Birkirkara seemed to be shocked and could never get to their first half standards. On the other hand, Valletta started playing with more confidence and it was no surprise that they took the lead after having missed two glaring chances.

Terence Scerri’s third goal from the penalty spot was the icing on the cake – a confirmation of the great potential of this Valletta side which is heading towards success.

Birkirkara must feel disappointed at having lost this match, especially after their first half performance. Yet, they must only blame themselves for allowing Valletta to get back into the game after having taken the lead.

After Galea’s goal, the Stripes seemed to be playing with a certain over confidence and that is what led to Denni’s equaliser soon afterwards.

It was here that the Stripes’ limitations at the back came to the fore as Valletta found it easy to perforate a defence which was at sixes and sevens every time the citizens attacked.

The Stripes are now 13 points behind Valletta in the standings and must feel almost eliminated from the title challenge – unless Valletta’s march is halted – even if the points still have to be halved at the midway stage.

The main interest now revolves around the second to sixth placings concerning the Championship Pool as well as the battle to avoid the Relegation Pool.

After the weekend matches, it seems as if Floriana were the main movers in the standings, moving up to third, now three points behind second placed Tarxien.

Birkirkara and Hamrun failed to score any points and remain fourth and fifth respectively while Marsaxlokk maintained their sixth position after a 1-1 draw with Hibernians.

Sliema moved up one place to seventh and are now only one point behind Marsaxlokk. Despite their draw, Qormi dropped one place to eighth, one point behind Sliema. Hibs remain ninth and Vittoriosa Stars still hug the bottom rung.

As already said, Floriana were one of the most impressive teams this weekend.

In my opinion, they produced a super performance on Friday to annihilate Hamrun Spartans and beat them 3-1.

The Greens have made tremendous improvement this season under Todor Raykov and contrary to past recent seasons, they seem to be on the right track to finish among the Top Six.

Hamrun failed to produce the form of recent matches and were overpowered by a fast and more efficient outfit.

After having shared the early exchanges, the Spartans were rarely in the match after Floriana opened the scoring.

Tarxien Rainbows’ winning stretch was halted by Qormi on Sunday after the two teams played out a 1-1 draw.

For the Rainbows, it was a partial setback. The team, however, failed to produce its best form as Qormi provided more than decent opposition.

But the point earned keeps them three ahead of third placed Floriana.

For Qormi, it was a deserved and useful point gained against one of the most in-form teams in the competition. It keeps them in a challenging place for a Top Six berth.

It was an encouraging performance but the team must maintain its concentration in the forthcoming five matches if they hope to make it to the Championship Pool.

The most dramatic match was Sliema’s 4-3 win against Vittoriosa Stars.

We have had few matches in Malta for many years where a team takes an early 2-0 lead, then their opponents hit back to score three times and take a 3-2 lead themselves, only for the former to come back and score another two goals in the last two minutes of added time to reverse the score and win 4-3!

That is certainly what can be described as one of the most dramatic matches ever played in Malta, but apart from the three important points earned by the Wanderers, it also showed why Vittoriosa Stars are still at the bottom.

I cannot understand how a team can reverse a 0-2 deficit and take a 3-2 lead and then allow this to be overturned by their opponents – whoever it may be – in the final two minutes. One must also say, however, that they also had a man short in those final minutes as Edison Luis dos Santos was sent off after being shown a second yellow card.

The Stars must consider this match as a disaster. They have lost quite a number of points so far this season which have kept them at the bottom, but not the way they lost the three points on Sunday.

The victory was a boost for the Wanderers. Their last win had been against the same Stars in the first round – they had failed to win in the last eight matches.

On Saturday Marsaxlokk and Hibernians played out an entertaining 2-2 draw, but the result did not please any of the two teams.

In fact, it did little to help their cause, especially Hibernians, who remain just one place off the bottom of the table.

Best player

Denni Rocha dos Santos

(Valletta FC)

It is not the first time I have selected this player as the best player of the weekend.

Since joining Valletta, Denni has continued to show improvement and this has helped Valletta to lift their own standards in no uncertain measure.

The two goals he scored on Saturday not only reversed the one-goal deficit suffered at the start of the second half. But they had class written all over them.

On Saturday against Birkirkara, Denni confirmed that he can torment any defence whenever he has the ball at his feet.

Top scorers

11 goals Terence Scerri (Valletta)

8 goals Alfred Effiong (Marsaxlokk)

7 goals D. Rocha dos Santos (Valletta), Gaetan Spiteri (Hamrun S.)

5 goals JP Mifsud Triganza (Sliema), D. Mariano Bueno (Tarxien R.), A. Ewurum (Vittoriosa S.), K. Sammut (Valletta)

4 goals M. Grima, M. Pereira (Hamrun S.), Paul McManus (Hibernians), S. Pacheco de Oliveira, R. Costa(Tarxien), M. Galea (Birkirkara), O. Obifuele (Sliema), I. Woods (Floriana)

Next matches

Friday 14 January

(at Victor Tedesco stadium)

7.30pm Hamrun S.-Hibernians

Saturday 15 January

(at Ta’ Qali national stadium)

2pm Qormi-Sliema W.

4pm Marsaxlokk-Birkirkara

Sunday 16 January

(at Hibernians stadium)

2pm Vittoriosa S.-Floriana

4pm Tarxien R.-Valletta