The Bank of Valletta Premier League got off to a rather bright start at the weekend with no fewer than 27 goals being scored in the opening six-match round. Champions Valletta maintained their impressive start to the season with a convincing 4-2 win against ambitious Tarxien Rainbows, while Birkirkara, Hamrun Spartans, Marsaxlokk and Floriana also registered good victories. Former Sliema striker Obinne Obiefule, now with Marsaxlokk, made his presence felt by scoring a great hat-trick – the first this season. Henry Brincat takes a look at the opening round of the 2011-2012 Premier League.

Despite the early start to the season, one could notice a better standard of play, mostly due to the fact that most of the foreign players engaged by the clubs seem to be of a better level than in past seasons.

Valletta had a very strong start against Tarxien, considering that they could not make use of the injured Michael Mifsud and Gilbert Agius.

Their 4-2 victory against Tarxien was, perhaps, much more emphatic than the result suggests. I might say that they will look much stronger with Mifsud and Agius back in the team.

Tarxien had a good start and more or less shared the exchanges with the citizens in the first half, but then they faded and Valletta enjoyed absolute control especially after scoring the third goal.

The Rainbows were aware of the difficulty of their task, even if Valletta were somewhat depleted. They did their best in the first half, but that was how long their challenge against a superior side lasted.

Birkirkara had a highly positive start to the new season as they inflicted a 2-0 defeat on Qormi in the first match on Friday.

The Stripes were definitely the best team on the field of play. Coach Patrick Curmi must have certainly been satisfied with the team’s performance, leaving a very good impression in the first half and then containing Qormi’s efforts in the second half, even if the yellow blacks threatened on one or two occasions to get back on level terms before the Stripes sealed their win with a second goal through a Trevor Cilia penalty kick.

The Stripes will certainly be a tough nut to crack, especially when Curmi will also have at his disposal the two international midfielders Shaun Bajada and Paul Fenech, both recovering from long-term injuries. Together with Gareth Sciberras, they should combine to form a really strong midfield sector – perhaps the strongest in the competition.

For Qormi it was a difficult start. Coach Stephen Azzopardi also had several new faces in his side, but the yellow blacks cannot be considered as minnows.

They were facing a much more established side. But they fought back to try and save the match in the second half. That they did not was due to the strong defensive set-up of Birkirkara where newcomer Pereira showed he was in command.

Also on Friday evening, Hibernians and Sliema figured in a 3-3 thriller which kept the crowd present on tenterhooks till the very end.

It was a fair result between two teams who were eager to forget all about last season when they finished playing in the Relegation Pool in a very disappointing season.

Both teams showed they have several striking options, but in the process, they must have also realised that they also need to tighten their rearguards.

On Saturday, Marsaxlokk had to overcome a partial rally by newcomers Mosta to win 5-2.

The southern seasiders had taken a 2-0 lead and seemed to be cruising towards an easy win, but Mosta thought otherwise and rallied back to make it two-all before conceding three more goals to enable Marsaxlokk to win comfortably.

Obinne Obiefule was Marsaxlokk’s hero in this match. The former Sliema striker scored the first hat-trick of the season as he was the main source of trouble to the Mosta defence.

The Blues will certainly find it difficult to cope in the Premier League if they do not pull up their socks and show more concentration at the back.

Floriana also did well on Saturday as they beat another newly-promoted side, Mqabba, by two clear goals.

Both goals arrived in the opening 20 minutes. They were enough to satisfy the appetite of the Greens fans who had been demoralised following the 3-0 Super Cup defeat against their arch rivals Valletta earlier in midweek.

Mqabba did not leave a bad impression in their first outing in the Premier League after several seasons.

Had they been more attentive in the opening minutes and avoided those two goals, they would certainly have fared better. Theirs was certainly an encouraging performance.

Another team starting the season on a positive note was Hamrun Spartans. Jesmond Zammit’s boys beat newcomers Balzan Youths 3-1.

The Spartans overcame an uncertain start when Balzan fought every inch of the pitch, but once they scored those two quick goals, there was no way looking back.

From then on the Spartans were in command and after scoring a third goal, they could even afford suffering a goal from their opponents though it did little to dampen their spirits as they collected their first three points of the season.

Best player

Alfred Effiong

(Valletta FC)

City’s Nigerian striker is my first pick this season after an excellent performance in the 4-2 win against Tarxien Rainbows on Sunday evening.

Taking the role of the injured Malta striker Michael Mifsud, Effiong left no doubt that he is a perfect substitute for Mifsud. His repertoire included two goals, an assist for the team’s third goal and a substantial number of good runs which had the Tarxien defence worried.

Many might have thought that Effiong would be surplus to requirements at Valletta after the arrival of Mifsud, but on Sunday the Nigerian defied all his critics.

Top scorers

3 goals – Obinne Obifuele (Marsaxlokk)

2 goals – Alfred Effiong (Valletta), Edison Luis dos Santos (Hibernians)