Nearing the end of the first phase of the Opening Round everything is still undecided in the Yo Health Malta Premier. Three match days remain before the teams will be divided into the Top Six and Bottom Six.
And this international window was a sigh of relief for all the teams and players since six match days were played over a period of three weeks. A rest for everyone except the players involved with the national team.
Mentioning the National Team once again the two matches played left much to be desired. The opposition was by far superior, Holland ranked 7th in the World and Bosnia Herzegovina 73rd. But once again we failed. Four goals against the Dutch and another poker in last Sunday's friendly international.
Defensive errors were once again the order of the day. Two penalties conceded, another two goals coming from defensive blunders could have halved the goals. Another problem is the focus of our players. Statistically we concede the most goals in the first 15 minutes and in the last quarter of an hour.
When looking at what the Faroe Islands are doing, 12 points and still with a chance of making the play offs, confirms that the population size is not the main issue.
Also it is appropriate to mention Steve Borg who following a distinguished career called it a day with the national team. 81 caps and 3 goals for Malta. Indeed an impressive feat.
Back to the Premier League Floriana are presently the sole leaders. After a rather bumpy start they settled down and are now winning match after match. Valletta were also impressive having just gained promotion from the Challenge League.
Champions Hamrun Spartans maybe were more focused on their European venture and thus lost some ground though still in the mix. Hibernians also had their moments but lately missed the chance to keep tracking the front liners.
Sliema Wanderers can be considered as a team of ups and downs, rather inconsistent. The same can be said of Birkirkara but who have steadied the ship since the appointment of Gianluca Festa as their coach.
Even M'Xlokk are still lingering in a mid-table position. In fact the big question is who is that time that is going to miss out on the top six.
Zabbar SP, Tarxien R., Naxxar L., Gzira Utd. and Mosta practically know their fate already. So bring on the direct clashes from the Top Six and Bottom Six for more interesting football and good attendances as was the case all throughout.
CURIOSITIES
v Valletta are now unbeaten in nine matches in the Premier League - 8 this season and 1 in their last Premier appearance two seasons ago. The last time they had a similar record goes back to February 2020 where they had an unbeaten run of eleven matches.
v In MD 8 Hamrun Spartans suffered their first loss after 15 consecutive games (7 this season and 8 from last season - 9 Wins and 6 Draws) - their last loss was incidentally against the same Sliema Wanderers on the 13th March 2025 . This was also Winston's Muscat first match as coach with Hamrun, the same coach who ended up lifting the Championship.
v So far this season it is Mosta who are fielding the youngest eleven in their line up. The average ago is that of 24. Following them are Birkirkara whose team has got an average age of 25 years.
v Birkirkara have got a good record of clean sheets so far this season. In fact they failed to concede in six out of eight matches. But they let in four goals, the same amount as Hamrun Spartans though the latter have got five clean sheets.
TABLE
Floriana 19
Valletta 18
Ħamrun S. 15
Hibernians 14
Sliema W. 14
Birkirkara 13
M'Xlokk 13
Żabbar SP 6
Gżira Utd. 6
Tarxien R. 5
Mosta 4
Naxxar L. 4
FIXTURES - MD 9
Friday 24th October
Victor Tedesco Stadium
6.45pm Mosta - Zabbar SP
9.00pm Gzira Utd. - Tarxien R.
Saturday 25th October
Tony Bezzina Stadium
3.45pm Valletta - Hibernians
7.00pm Floriana - Birkirkara
Sunday 26th October
Tony Bezzina Stadium
4.00 pm Sliema W. - M'Xlokk
Victor Tedesco Stadium
7.00 pm Naxxar L. - Hamrun S.
CLEAN SHEETS
Birkirkara 6
Ħamrun S. 5
Marsaxlokk 4
Valletta 3
Floriana 3
Sliema W. 3
Gżira Utd. 2
Hibernians 1
Mosta 1
Naxxar L. 1
Żabbar SP 1
Tarxien R. 0
TOP SCORERS
Y. Messias (Valletta) 6
L. Villela (Hibernians) 5
C. Padilha Mendonca (Hibernians) 4
M. Jah (Floriana) 4
J. Grech (Floriana) 3
F. Sasere (B'Kara) 3
K. Reid (B'Kara) 3
P. Emanuel (Mosta) 3
YELLOW CARDS
Birkirkara 28
Zabbar SP 22
Tarxien R. 22
Hibernians 21
Mosta 21
Sliema W. 17
Gzira Utd. 16
Naxxar L. 16
Floriana 16
Valletta 14
Hamrun S. 14
M'Xlokk 13
RED CARDS
Floriana 3
Mosta 3
Birkirkara 2
Zabbar SP 1
Sliema W. 1
Hamrun S. 1
Tarxien R. 1
TOP TEAMS Goals scored
Hibernians 16
Valletta 14
Floriana 12
Sliema W. 10
M'Xlokk 10
Ħamrun S. 9
Birkirkara 8
Gżira Utd. 8
Mosta 8
Żabbar SP 8
Naxxar L. 8
Tarxien R. 7
TOP TEAMS - GOALS CONCEDED
Ħamrun S. 4
Birkirkara 4
Valletta 5
Floriana 6
M'Xlokk 8
Sliema W. 9
Hibernians 12
Żabbar SP 12
Naxxar L. 12
Tarxien R. 13
Gżira Utd. 15
Mosta 18
GENERAL FACTS
Goals 118
Average goals 2.46
Home team wins 35%
Away team wins 38%
Draws 27%
Yellow cards 4.58
Red cards 0.25
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