The weekend matches brought to an end the first phase of the Opening Round of the YoHealth Malta Premier. And now we are presented with the teams that are going to form the Top and Bottom Six. It was an exciting ending with the decisive matches being played on a Saturday evening.
The kick off time was practically experimental with three matches starting at 7pm simultaneously in three different stadiums. The main match which attracted the best crowd was played at the Tony Bezzina Stadium, by far the best place for such high profile matches though limited in capacity.
Talking about supporters, turnout statistics show that there was a substantial increase in gate entries. Undoubtedly Valletta were the game changer. Not only because they are now back in the Malta Premier but because they started with a bang and were consistent all throughout, only suffering defeat in their last match of the Opening Round. And also because they boast of a sound support base.
And apart from the continuous chanting and the hurling of insults directed towards the village Saints, the behaviour of the supporters on the stands was good. But unfortunately not the same can be said of the protagonists on the pitch or in the dugout. We have witnessed incidents with players exchanging blows and insulting each other. Even officials were regularly in the mix.
These are the people that should set up the example. We can't keep on sending this message. We can't have a situation like the one that we witnessed last year at the Gozo Stadium. If we really want that the local game keeps progressing we must not give bad examples. The young generation will not be attracted to this game when watching these kind of scenes.
We are now entering a delicate phase with direct encounters being the order of the day. The stakes are high but everyone involved should lead by example. Great strides have been made with all stakeholders playing a pivotal role in making this campaign a successful one. So it is imparative that it won't be us that make a matchday experience turn sour. The ultimate success is now in our hands.
'The players were excellent in their approach'
- Giacomo Modica, coach Hamrun S. FC
'We made a very good match especially in the first half. We pressed, we attacked, we scored two goals and could have added more' These was the first reaction of Hamrun Spartans coach Giacomo Modica following his team's win against Birkirkara. He added. 'The players were excellent in their approach towards this match and we must all keep in mind that our opponents were Birkirkara, a very good team who above all wanted the points to make it into the top six. But we played a blinder and practically gave them no chance to react after taking a two goal lead. Now our attention will turn onto our third European match which is a difficult one but which we will face with our heads held high'
' The only positive is that we are in the Top Six'
- Gianluca Festa, coach B'Kara FC
'I am absolutely not happy with today's performance. The only positive thing that happened is that thanks to other results we have made it to the top six' . The first comments by the Stripes coach who didn't mince his words. Festa continued. 'We created some chances but we didn't finish and even I saw some problems when defending. Now is the time to re-group since we have a two week break from the League campaign and try and arrange some things. We have to look forward and believe more in our abilities so that we can move up closer to the top teams in the standings.'
CURIOSITIES
v Valletta suffered their first defeat of the campaign when they were beaten by Zabbar SP. This was the first time that the Citizens conceded two goals in a match. Interesting to note that Zabbar never lost this season when they opened the score, two wins and three draws.
v Hamrun are unbeaten in the league against Birkirkara for the last five encounters. This weekend's match was a repetition of last season's Championship Final in which the Spartans prevailed thanks to a solitary goal scored by Roko Prsa.
v Mosta registered their second consecutive win of the campaign. Moreover for Joe Grech's side it was the first time after 42 league matches that they managed to keep two consecutive clean sheets.
OPENING ROUND TOP SIX TABLE
Floriana 23
Ħamrun S. 22
Valletta 22
Sliema W. 19
M'Xlokk 18
Birkirkara 16
OPENING ROUND BOTTOM SIX TABLE
Hibernians 15
Gżira Utd. 13
Mosta 11
Żabbar SP 10
Naxxar L. 5
Tarxien R. 5
RESULTS - MD 11
B'Kara - Ħamrun S. 0-2
Floriana - Sliema W. 2-2
Hiberians - M'Xlokk 2-2
Valletta - Zabbar SP 0-2
Tarxien R. - Mosta 0-1
Gżira Utd.- Naxxar L. 2-1
CLEAN SHEETS
Birkirkara 7
Ħamrun S. 6
Marsaxlokk 5
Valletta 4
Floriana 4
Sliema W. 3
Gżira Utd. 3
Mosta 3
Naxxar L. 2
Żabbar SP 2
Hibernians 1
Tarxien R. 0
TOP SCORERS
L. Villela (Hibernians) 7
Y. Messias (Valletta) 7
M. Jah (Floriana) 6
S. Bah (Sliema W.) 6
P. Emanuel (Mosta) 5
A. Penha da Costa (Gżira Utd.) 5
A. Abubakar (B'Kara) 4
C. Padilha Mendonca (Hibernians) 4
J. Grech (Floriana) 4
F. Sasere (B'Kara) 3
K. Reid (B'Kara) 3
J. Bonilla (Gżira Utd.) 3
YELLOW CARDS
Birkirkara 36
Hibernians 35
Zabbar SP 33
Mosta 28
Tarxien R. 27
Valletta 25
Floriana 22
Sliema W. 22
Gzira Utd. 21
Hamrun S. 20
Naxxar L. 20
M'Xlokk 19
RED CARDS
Floriana 3
Mosta 3
Birkirkara 3
Tarxien R. 2
Hamrun S. 2
Gżira Utd. 2
Zabbar SP 1
Sliema W. 1
Hibernians 1
M'Xlokk 1
Article sponsored by
