A ‘status quo’ ensued at the weekend in connection with the top of the table as both Valletta and their immediate followers Hibernians, both won their encounters. The citizens therefore still enjoy a very healthy six-point lead with four matches to go. Floriana took the honours in the direct battle for the third place as they beat Birkirkara 2-1 to overtake them by one point. At the other end of the standings, Qormi eased their worries considerably with a comfortable win against bottom placed Marsaxlokk. Tarxien gave themselves a big boost in their fight against relegation as they overcame direct rivals Mqabba convincingly – a result which puts the latter team in serious trouble. The draw between Hamrun and Mosta was a fair result – no team deserved to win or lose.

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

Valletta were again very unimpressive in their narrow, but somewhat comfortable, 1-0 win against bottom club Balzan Youths.

This was a match dominated from start to finish by Valletta with Balzan only intent on avoiding a heavy beating as was the case in the first round match (7-2).

The Youths, in fact, defended with all their might and only allowed the citizens a few scoring occasions which were, however, muffed, except for that great goal by William Barbosa which proved to be the winner.

Valletta must have been frustrated by the Youths’ penchant of defending from the start, thus giving the city strikers little space where to manoeuvre.

As already stated, Balzan’s intention were clear from the start – to avoid a heavy defeat. They defended en masse – so much, that it was only once during a whole 90 minutes that they really tested city goalie Cini who was deputising for the suspended Hogg.

Though the three points seemed safely home for most of the time, the citizens must realise that if they are to make sure of the title, they will have to produce and deliver more against the other teams who look to be stronger than the Youths. Not everything has been won and lost yet!

In fact, Hibernians came back strongly on Sunday to beat Sliema Wanderers 3-1 thanks to a second half comeback.

The Paolites therefore showed that they still believe in lifting the title, even if their chances are remote.

Mark Miller’s men were visibly shocked in the first half, especially after the Blues took an early lead through that Steve Bezzina bombshell.

But after they equalised early in the second half, they never looked back. Their top scorer Luis Edison dos Santos went on to head them into a 2-1 lead and Edward Herrera scored another near the end to make sure of the three points for his side.

For the Blues, it was another disappointment. This defeat now keeps them a distant 10 points from third placed Floriana and nine from fourth placed Birkirkara. Their hopes of earning a berth in the Europa League next season now seem to have vanished completely.

One now expects Doncic to start introducing some youngsters in their remaining matches in the hope of starting a rebuilding process for next season… if he is confirmed in the post.

Floriana won the direct encounter against Birkirkara 2-1 to overtake the Stripes into third place.

Nothing was decided, however. In fact, with four rounds to go, only one point separates the two clubs and this interesting tussle will possibly be decided on the last day of the championship.

The Greens made the most of the few chances that came their way and they have to thank striker Onome Sodye who scored the two goals that gave them a good cushion at the interval.

The Stripes have only themselves to blame for losing this match. Apart from failing to maintain their impressive form in their previous six matches, especially at the back, they also failed to convert the chances which came their way as they threw everything into attack in the second half in an effort to win at least a point which would have kept them above their rivals.

In the battle against relegation, Qormi can now breathe more freely after their impressive win against Marsaxlokk.

There was never any doubt that the Yellow Blacks would win the match after having taken a 2-0 lead so early in the match.

Of course, their Premier status is not yet secured and they will have to continue working hard to achieve survival as early as possible.

As for Marsaxlokk, there is little one can say except that I sympathise with them having went through so many anxious moments this season. In any case, I cannot see the team avoiding relegation in such circumstances.

Tarxien Rainbows can also sigh with relief at present having moved to third place on 21 points, one behind second placed Hamrun and one above fourth placed Mosta.

The Rainbows made the most of Mqabba’s leaky defence and scored five goals without reply as they gained three very important points.

In the final match of the weekend, Hamrun and Mosta scored one goal each to take a point each – a fair result which, however, did not provide full satisfaction to either team.

Hamrun managed to stay in second place, two points behind Qormi and one above Tarxien, while Mosta are now fourth behind the Rainbows.

Despite a boring first half, the match was keenly contested but the best by both teams was reserved for the second half with Mosta taking the lead and the Spartans scoring a deserved equaliser soon after.

Best player

Onome Sodye (Floriana FC)

The Floriana striker is my pick this week following his great performance in the important 2-1 win against Birkirkara.

Sodye was the great protagonist as he scored two good goals to give his side a healthy cushion before the interval.

But it was not only the goals that made him a protagonist. He also proved to be a livewire whenever he had the ball at his feet.

If he maintains this form, it will certainly be a good omen for Floriana in the hope that they will land themselves a berth in next season’s Europa League.

Top scorers

24 - Obinna Obiefule (Mosta)

21 - Edison Luis dos Santos (Hibs)

15 - Jorge Pereira (Qormi)

14 - Moises Avila Perez (Birkirkara)

13 - A. Ribeiro (Hamrun), Clayton Failla (Hibernians)