Hibs maintain chase at top with victory over Balzan
The weekend was characterised by UEFA boss Michel Platini’s short visit to Malta and his presence at the National Stadium for the Valletta-Floriana city and suburban derby. It ended in yet another win for Valletta who therefore remain unbeaten against their eternal rivals. Hibernians responded by winning comfortably on Sunday, defeating bottom placed Balzan 4-1. The Relegation Pool remains complicated but Qormi and Hamrun made a strong step forward with wins over Mqabba and Tarxien Rainbows respectively. At present, the battle against the Drop seems restricted between Mosta, Mqabba and Tarxien, but nothing is yet decided with several matches still to go.
Henry Brincat takes a look at what happened during the past weekend.
It was certainly an eventful weekend with the short visit by UEFA boss Michel Platini dominating the headlines.
His presence amongst us was most welcome and I have to say that I appreciated his presence at the National Stadium to watch two of our major rivals clash in the League match, despite our obvious limitations.
His presence brought league leaders Valletta to their senses as they produced a good first half performance during which they assured themselves more or less of the result.
The citizens were inspired by another splendid performance from their Brazilian midfielder Denni Rocha dos Santos, but I must also say that the return of Michael Mifsud from injury also helped to give the attack more poise and purpose.
In fact, at times, the Greens defence was at sixes and sevens and they found it absolutely difficult to cope with the situation.
Valletta were a superior outfit and richly deserved the verdict.
On the other hand, Floriana were a disappointing side and coach Joe Brincat has now come face to face with reality in his new job in the Premier League.
He must have realised after the first two results that it is a completely different kettle of fish, facing Balzan and winning, and then meeting league leaders Valletta eight days later.
In fact, once the citizens took the lead, it seemed evident that the Greens were in difficulty and when Valletta scored their second, the match seemed to be already over.
The day after, City’s immediate followers, Hibernians, were not to be outdone. In fact, they beat Balzan Youths 4-1 to continue their chase of the leaders at the top.
But the Paolites did not have an easy afternoon as the score might suggest. In fact, they made sure of the three points with two goals in the final five minutes.
Balzan put up some stubborn resistance and surprised everyone when they were still at 1-1 after the opening period.
They fought gamely all the way even after Andrew Cohen put Hibs back in the lead early in the second half.
But at the end, they had to succumb to a superior Hibernians outfit despite the fact that Luis Edison dos Santos was off the mark on his return from suspension.
The battle for third place saw Birkirkara extend their lead over Floriana to two points apart from maintaining the six-point distance over Sliema following the 1-1 draw between the two teams.
The Stripes had to come back from behind to level matters against Sliema with both goals coming early in the first half.
Neither team deserved to lose, but Sliema again had goalkeeper Henry Bonello to thank for some good saves. These included a penalty which, in my opinion, was poorly taken by Mifsud Triganza.
That penalty could have given the Stripes a precious win that would have lifted them four points above Floriana and a massive nine over Sliema.
But it was not to be and the battle is still wide open with six more matches to go.
In the Relegation pool, Qormi and Hamrun consolidated their places at the top and now seem well on the way to ensuring their place among the elite next season.
Qormi had to come back from a goal in arrears against Mqabba to turn defeat into victory with two goals in the second half.
The Yellow Blacks were made to fight hard by an Mqabba side which did its best to make life difficult for the Pool leaders.
Clive Mizzi’s side remains just one point above Tarxien in the standings together with Mosta. They have 16 points to Tarxien’s 15.
I expect more drama to develop in the forthcoming matches as the teams involved ‘jockey’ for the top four ‘safe’ positions.
Hamrun Spartans also made a strong step towards securing their status as they beat Tarxien Rainbows who remain last from bottom. The Spartans now enjoy a healthy five-point lead over the same Rainbows.
It was a deserved victory for the Spartans and perhaps more convincing than the score suggests. Having scored two goals in the first half, Hamrun sailed through comfortably until the Rainbows pulled one back just before the final whistle in added injury time.
The Rainbows were a disappointment and never really seemed to be able to confront the Spartans who appeared to be superior on the day.
Mosta returned to winning form and they did it with a bang, hitting five past the beleagured Marsaxlokk team which is moving fast every weekend towards becoming the first relegated team this season.
Mosta had Obinna Obiefule in top form helping himself to four of his side’s five goals to lift his side’s and the team’s supporters’ morale in no small measure.
Best player
Jackson Lima (Hibernians)
The Hibernians midfielder is my choice this week after his extremely good performance in the match against Balzan Youths on Sunday.
This player has certainly made a difference in the Paola side since his arrival in January.
On Sunday, he scored another goal, but his best was in midfield where his workrate was very impressive. In fact, he never stopped running and must have covered acres and acres of ground throughout the 90 minutes.
He was a continuous inspiration to his team-mates who went on to make sure of collecting the three points with another two goals near the end.
Top scorers
23 - Obinna Obiefule (Mosta)
19 - Edison Luis dos Santos (Hibs)
12 - Moises Avila Perez (Birkirkara),
Jorge Pereira (Qormi), Pedro Calcado (Balzan Y.), A. Ribeiro (Hamrun), Clayton Failla (Hibernians)
Next matches
Saturday 7 April
(at National Stadium)
3pm Sliema W.-Floriana
5pm Hibernians-Valletta
Monday 9 April
(at Victor Tedesco Stadium)
6pm Marsaxlokk-Tarxien R.
8.15pm Balzan Y.-Birkirkara
Tuesday 10 April
(at Hibernians Stadium)
6pm Hamrun S.-Mqabba
8pm Mosta-Qormi