It was a weekend which saw the league leaders having their lead reduced to four points by Hibernians and now six away from Floriana. The citizens remain firmly at the top, however, but there might be more worrying moments when the second phase gets under way and the points are deducted by half. It was another negative weekend for Birkirkara and Qormi who have now been overtaken by Balzan and Sliema who occupy joint fourth place. However, not all is settled yet as only four points separate the four teams with four matches still to go.

Henry Brincat takes a glance at what happened during the 18th round of the Premier League.

Valletta missed two precious points when they could only draw 0-0 with Sliema on Saturday.

After the previous week’s 5-2 Trophy victory, one would have expected a repeat performance by the Citizens, at least that seen in the second half when they scored their five goals.

But it never materialised. Valletta, in fact, were an inexistent side, kept at bay by the determined Sliema side which defended in numbers and operated in breakaways which seemed to be more dangerous.

Yet, it was that penalty miss by Michael Mifsud which enabled Sliema to win this precious point in their quest for a berth in the Top Six.

After his long absence through injury, Mifsud has not yet found the deadly finish which had made him the most feared striker, especially since joining Valletta.

But it was not just Mifsud who was out of touch. It was the whole side which failed to live up to the required standards.

Sliema must have been more than happy with their reaction following the previous week’s strange defeat. They fought for every ball and never gave away an inch, especially at the back, where Galabov was in command in the central approaches.

This was certainly a very positive and encouraging performance by the Wanderers, but there are still four matches to go and it is still early to say who the Top Six will be, apart from Valletta, and probably Floriana and Hibernians.

Hibernians, as was widely expected, did not find any trouble to beat lowly Hamrun Spartans to the tune of 5-0.

The Paolites were in command from the start and after scoring their opening goal, there was no way they were going to lose any points from this encounter.

Thanks to this easy win, they have now moved closer to the citizens, thus well in line for a strong challenge when the second phase comes around. Moreover, if there was ever any doubt, they have also made sure of their berth in the Top Six.

As for the Spartans, it was no dramatic defeat. Although the scoreline sounds humiliating, however, the team is well aware that they need the points from the matches against the teams from the bottom zone.

Floriana kept their consistent winning trend as they beat the disappointing Birkirkara side 1-0 with an Ivan Woods goal in the second half.

It was a poor match – except for the goal – and neither side to be able to lift their performance to any acceptable level.

So much so that the two goalkeepers were rarely in action. One thing is certain about each team. They will have to improve considerably if they are to reach their targets.

As to Floriana, they cannot certainly aspire to maintain their challenge for the title, even if they have managed to bridge the gap to six points following last Saturday’s goalless draw between Valletta and Sliema.

And with regards to Birkirkara, they will also have to do better if they do not wish to finish among the bottom six in the Relegation Pool.

This time it was not their poor finishing that let them down. It was, in fact, a complete mediocrity with the side failing to create real scoring opportunities. At the weekend, they dropped a place to sixth as Balzan lifted themselves to a surprise, but well merited fourth following their narrow win against Marsaxlokk.

Ivan Zammit’s boys continue to leave a good impression, showing determination in every match they are playing.

It is no wonder they have earned the respect of every other team in the Premier League. When Jamie Pace settles down in his new surroundings, then they will certainly be a tough nut to crack, even by the teams at the top.

On Friday they inflicted another defeat on luckless Marsaxlokk and though only one goal separated the two teams at the end, I felt that the Youths deserved their win.

Marsaxlokk must by now be resigned to their fate – that of being the prime candidates for relegation.

Mosta continued their splendid second round series of positive matches with a narrow win against Qormi.

It was Qormi’s fifth defeat in their last six matches and Stephen Azzopardi’s side now has to fight a lot harder with Birkirkara, Sliema and Balzan to earn a berth in the Top Six.

As for Mosta, they seem to be the team most in form at present.

Since Steve D’Amato took over as coach, he has worked wonders with the boys and must be credited with making the right choices in the new faces which have been added to the squad in the hope of eventually avoiding relegation.

These have fitted in perfectly in D’Amato’s schemes, especially striker Obinna Obiefule.

It is evident that there is a new lease of life in this Mosta side which is eager to win as many points as possible to start the second phase with a good advantage.

Tarxien and Mqabba figured in a one-all draw which did little good to their cause.

In fact, they are both entrenched near the bottom end of the table with Mqabba, on 17 points, better placed than the Rainbows, who have 14.

Best player

Roderick Bajada (Sliema W.)

The Sliema midfielder is my pick this weekend after his impressive performance against the champions.

Bajada (now with Valletta) was to be seen everywhere on the pitch. Always involved in every action, he was very active in midfield – his preferred sector. But it was not only there that he gave his most valid contribution. He was also seen helping the defence at some critical moments while also feeding the strikers with some passes and crosses which, unfortunately for the side, were not concluded in the right manner.

This player has been in and out of the national team, but on such form, he might be given another chance.

Top scorers

18 - Edison Luis dos Santos (Hibernians)

13 – Obinna Obiefule (Mosta)

11 - Clayton Failla (Hibernians)

9 - Joseph Farrugia (Qormi), Moises Avila Perez (Birkirkara)

8 - Alfred Effiong (Valletta), D. Rocha dos Santos (Valletta), Danial Mitev (Sliema), Jorge Pereira (Qormi)

7 - Thiago Mazzitelli, Bojan Mamic (Mqabba)