Hibernians and Valletta won again at the weekend and at present, it seems as if the competition has been turned into a two-horse race. Their closest challengers, Floriana, are now five points away from Valletta and six from Hibernians. And with Sliema losing to Mosta, Floriana saw Birkirkara and Qormi overtaking Sliema to get nearer to them. It was also also a weekend which saw Mosta pulling off their first victory this season as well as Balzan registering their first victory on the field of play after having won their first match ‘on the table’.

Henry Brincat analyses the situation after the eighth round of matches.

Hibernians and Valletta have turned the league into a two-horse race after registering victories against Mqabba and Floriana.

Before the weekend, both matches appeared to be tricky, but circumstances on the pitch made it easier than expected for the top two teams.

On Friday, Hibernians eased to a 4-1 victory against an Mqabba side reduced to just nine men midway through the second half. On Sunday Valletta beat their arch rivals Floriana who lost two of their stalwarts through injury in the opening 25 minutes.

On Friday evening, it had already looked easy for the Paolites when they led 2-0 as early as the ninth minute.

But a sudden and quite unexpected goal from Mamic a minute later made it a closer affair, albeit only for two minutes as Mamic was shown a direct red card for a blatant foul on Failla.

That was certainly the turning point of this match. It was then that it became easier than expected for the league leaders. Because Mqabba were a totally different team without their main striker, let alone with a man less on the field of play.

There was never any doubt as to who was going to win the encounter after that incident even if Mqabba managed to hold on to the 2-1 scoreline for quite a long time.

In Sunday’s top clash, Valletta did not rob anything. But Floriana’s loss of midfielder Christian Caruana and central defender Tyrone Farrugia certainly helped their cause in no small measure.

In fact, Floriana were no match for the superior Citizens who, however, never set any houses on fire.

In fact, I consider it was one of the most boring matches this season with chances on goal being few and far between. The citizens saw much more of the ball, especially in the first half, but they deserved the three points for their total commitment and almost perfect defence, which never allowed any space to the Greens strikers.

Floriana were simply unlucky to have lost those two stalwarts so early in the game. Their presence, especially that of Caruana, was sorely missed – in fact there was no real provider to lonely striker Ivan Woods who could make little impact against the strong tackling Valletta defence.

In the second match on Friday evening, Mosta celebrated their first victory in eight matches as they beat the more illustrious Sliema side by the odd goal in five.

It was a deserved and most encouraging win for Oliver Spiteri’s boys. They simply went out for a win and obtained it in the most determined manner

The players showed commitment right from the very first whistle and made Sliema look like a mediocre side.

In fact, even if the Wanderers enjoyed slightly more of the ball, they had no ideas and rarely, if ever, created scoring opportunities, apart from the two goals they scored.

Danilo Doncic’s outfit must wake up to its responsibilities if they are to arrest the current downward trend – only 12 points from a possible 24.

Qormi returned to winning form on Saturday as they overpowered Marsaxlokk to the tune of 3-1.

Stephen Azzopardi’s side was back to its best form and could have scored more goals than the three they delivered, before the southern seasiders scored a consolation goal near the end.

Otherwise, Qormi more than deserved their victory. They were the best outfit and created a good number of scoring opportunities while Marsaxlokk never really were in the match, especially after Qormi took the lead.

Birkirkara also returned to winning form on Saturday as they crushed a Hamrun side reduced to 10 men in the second half.

The Stripes seemed to be a transformed side now that they are back in the hands of mentor Paul Zammit. It is evident that there is new-found spirit among the players who really performed to their abilities, possibly for the first time this season.

After this win, the Stripes will certainly be looking forward with optimism towards a better placing before the end of the first phase.

For the Spartans, it was another step backwards after their impressive 4-2 defeat of Sliema Wanderers in their previous match.

Birkirkara were a tougher proposition and they seemed to be out of sorts for most of the time as the Stripes appeared to be a superior outfit.

Balzan Youths obtained three precious points which lifted them on to eight points in the standings.

Ivan Zammit’s boys profited from the absence of Tarxien striker Daniel Mariano Bueno. The Rainbows were a subdued side without him. In fact, they struggled for most of the time as they simply cannot find the same rhythm which had lifted them to much higher standings in the past two seasons.

It has been a somewhat disastrous start for the Rainbows this season. They are now at the bottom of the table, together with Mosta, and unless they are able to improve they are bound to suffer in their fight against relegation.

A victory in a direct clash is always very important and perhaps that was the main satisfaction behind the Youths’ win on Sunday. In fact, the three points have enabled them to overtake Hamrun and Marsaxlokk in the standings.

The victory also lifted their morale to a higher level and now look forward to their forthcoming amtches with much more confidence.

Best player

Marcelo Dias (Hibernians)

The Paolites striker Marcelo Dias is my choice this week after his five-star performance in the 4-1 win against Mqabba.

Although he did not figure among the scorers, it was he who set up the first three goals, that is, before being substituted about 25 minutes from the end.

His amazing runs down the left flank in the first half and the right flank in the second half were a delight to watch.

He left his opponents staring as he created the chances for Failla (2) and Dos Santos to score his side’s first three goals.

Top scorers

10 goals - Edison Luis dos Santos (Hibernians)

7 – Obinne Obifuele (Marsaxlokk), Clayton Failla (Hibernians)

6 –Moises Avila Perez (Birkirkara)

5 – William Barbosa (Valletta), Joseph Farrugia (Qormi), Bojan Mamic (Mqabba)