The last weekend of the first phase produced the results that were still pending. Clubs were jockeying for positions on the eve of the start of the Second Phase, that is the Championship Pool and the Relegation Pool. Valletta now know that they will start the new phase two points ahead of Hibernians, possibly their only challengers for the title. At present, Floriana lead Sliema and Birkirkara by three points in the race for the Europa League berths while Balzan are to start five points behind the Greens. A tough Relegation Pool is expected. Qormi will have a good start on 15 points. But the next four clubs are separated by only three points, with Marsaxlokk at the bottom on just six points.

Henry Brincat takes a close look at what happened the past weekend.

The most awaited outcome the past weekend was undoubtedly the issue related to the final berth in the forthcoming Championship Pool.

Before last Saturday’s clashes, Balzan enjoyed a two-point lead over Qormi and everything was still open. But the issue was resolved with Balzan claiming that historic berth ahead of the Yellow Blacks after winning their match against Tarxien and despite Qormi’s 2-1 win against Marsaxlokk.

This is a big first for the Youths. At the start of the season, no one, except perhaps for coach Ivan Zammit, would dare say that they would be able to save their status among Malta’s elite.

They were just promoted to the Premier League and the club has had little experience of Premier League football in the past.

But with great commitment and determination, the Youths are there and they have the certainty to be among the elite for at least another season.

For such a small club, it was a major success. It was just like winning the Championship title at the first time of asking!

As for Qormi, it was a different story. Their disappointment at not having achieved their target (Top Six), did not come along as a result of last Saturday’s matches.

It was some of their performances during the First Phase, when more was expected of the team, that left some bitter disappointment among their good number of loyal fans.

Already there is word going around that Stephen Azzopardi may be axed at the end of the season, that is, when his contract comes to an end. But I do not think it is fair to put the blame on the coach. That the target was not reached was not all the coach’s fault, even if he is responsible for the team. In fact, I believe Azzopardi has laid the foundation for a strong and exciting future at this club which enjoys one of the biggest backings by its fans.

Now that they will be playing in the Relegation Pool, and despite having what seems to be a good lead at the start, all the players must pull up their socks and make sure of saving their status. A good two wins on the trot at the start of the Second Phase will certainly help them regain their confidence well ahead of their semifinal commitment in the FA Trophy, which could well see them landing an Europa League berth next season, if they are successful.

In the Relegation Pool, Qormi will start three points ahead of Mosta, five ahead of Mqabba and Hamrun, six ahead of Tarxien and nine above bottom placed Marsaxlokk.

Although still far away from the eventual decisions, it already seems certain that the troubled Marsaxlokk are the main candidates for the Drop.

While excluding Qormi at present, one can note that only three points separate Mosta from Tarxien and so the clashes between these four clubs will be very important in the battle against the Drop.

In the weekend matches, Mosta and Mqabba were very unimpressive in their defeats against Sliema and Hibernians respectively, while Hamrun battled gamely against Birkirkara until they suffered the third goal.

On their part, Tarxien also fought bravely against Qormi despite playing with 10 men in the final 10 minutes during which they also went close to scoring an equaliser which would have denied Balzan their Top Six berth, apart from helping the club start the Second Phase on a par with Hamrun and Mqabba on 10 points.

In the Championship Pool, it is also clear that it has turned into a two-horse race for the title, at least at present.

Valletta start with a two-point lead over Hibernians. Floriana have a seven-point gap to bridge, while Sliema and Birkirkara are a further three points adrift. Balzan will commence with 16 points.

The Paolites will certainly be City’s main, if not the only, challengers for the title this season.

And judging by their performance against Mqabba on Saturday, it seems evident that they are the only side able to offer the citizens some decent opposition.

Their 6-1 drubbing of Mqabba was only a confirmation of the potential of Mark Miller’s side.

Even if Floriana managed to get a draw against Valletta on Sunday, let us not forget that the Greens have that seven-point gap to bridge. Realistically, it is an Europa League berth that the Greens will be aiming for in this Second Phase.

Floriana played well against Valletta and their performance augurs well in what is expected to be a tight battle, probably with Sliema and Birkirkara, for two places, at least, in the Europa League next season.

The latter two clubs now seem to be on better behaviour after having had a somewhat disastrous first phase with inconsistent performances leading to unexpected results which have kept them out of the Championship title race.

The Stripes did well to beat Hamrun Spartans 3-1 showing much better form than they did at the start and midway through the First Phase. It seems as if the return of Shaun Bajada to his best form is enabling the side to express itself much better.

Sliema, however, have to show much better form that they did against Mosta on Saturday. Then, the result was a 2-0 win which was certainly encouraging.

But against teams of a higher calibre than Mosta, the boys in blue will have to lift their performances to much better levels.

Best player

Ousseni Zongo (Valletta FC)

The Valletta striker is my pick this weekend after performing so well in the derby against Floriana on Sunday.

It was probably his best performance of the season. During the match, he was the protagonist in the City line-up which otherwise, seemed to have no more individual stars apart from being unimpressive once again as a team.

Zongo scored the equaliser for the citizens near the end of the first half and proved to be the Greens’ biggest threat to their well organised defence.

Top scorers

18 - Edison Luis dos Santos (Hibs), Obinna Obiefule (Mosta)

11 - Clayton Failla (Hibernians), Jorge Pereira (Qormi)

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

9 - Alfred Effiong (Valletta), D. Rocha dos Santos (Valletta), Bojan Mamic (Mqabba)

8 - Danial Mitev (Sliema)