Matchday 11 of the VBET Malta Premier brought the Opening Round league phase to an exciting conclusion, with Valletta confirming their position at the summit, Marsaxlokk producing a convincing victory and Żabbar St Patrick delivered the most emphatic result of the weekend.
Valletta finished the first phase in style after claiming a narrow 1-0 victory over eternal rivals Floriana at the Tony Bezzina Stadium. In a closely contested derby played in difficult weather conditions, Roko Prša scored the decisive goal on 61 minutes to hand the Citizens three valuable points. The result saw Valletta finish the Opening Round with 25 points starting the Top Six with a five point cushion over Marsaxlokk.
The Seasiders also ended the round on a high note, recording an emphatic 5-0 victory over Gżira United. Marsaxlokk dominated proceedings to strengthen their position in second place with 20 points, while Gżira remained at the bottom of the standings following another difficult outing.
One of the biggest surprises came at the Centenary Stadium, where Żabbar St Patrick demolished Mosta 5-0. Vinicius Kanu opened the scoring before Kaiden Fenech, Alfredo Agyeman, Mario Fontanella and Charles M'Mombwa added further goals. The victory represented Żabbar's third win in four matches and secured an important boost ahead of the next phase.
The race for the remaining Top Six places also produced plenty of drama. Hibernians secured their qualification after coming from behind to beat Balzan 2-1. Balzan went into the break ahead, but the Paolites produced a strong second-half response to turn the match around. The victory lifted Hibernians to sixth place with 16 points, while Balzan were left in tenth position.
At the Centenary Stadium, Sliema Wanderers and Hamrun Spartans shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw. Both teams had to settle for a point in an encounter which kept Sliema in third place with 18 points, one ahead of Hamrun, who finished fourth on 17.
Meanwhile, Birkirkara missed an opportunity to secure a Top Six position after being held to a 2-2 draw by Birżebbuġa St Peter's. The Stripes were unable to collect the three points they desperately needed, finishing seventh with 15 points, while Birżebbuġa remained second from bottom with six points.
Overall, MD 11 provided an eventful conclusion to the Opening Round, with Valletta establishing themselves as the team to beat, while the battle for the remaining positions highlighted the competitiveness of the Premier League.
The focus now shifts to the next phase, where the Top Six and Bottom Six groups promise another series of important encounters, with the title race and the fight to avoid relegation set to intensify.
'An win which means a lot'
- Thane Micallef, Coach Valletta FC
' I am very happy with the result achieved and also with our performance' This was the first comment given by Valletta's coach Thane Micallef following his side's marginal win against Floriana. Micallef continued. ' The match had to be played in difficult circumstances due to the quality of the pitch. We are good all throughout especially in the first twenty minutes of the second half. There we found the net and the boys were brave enough to close all avenues, digging deep and obtaining a win which means a lot as regards the table and also for our supporters.'
'It was a balanced match' '
- Carlos Ferrer, coach Floriana FC
'You can never be happy when you lose a match but that is football' Carlos Ferrer, the new Floriana coach following his debut for the Greens on the bench. Ferrer added. 'It was a rather equal match apart from the first part of the second half. Otherwise I believe that there were also moments were we held the upper hand. But during that period we couldn't score and once we conceeded it became more difficult especially in those conditions'
CURIOSITIES
v Last time that Floriana failed to score in an MPL match was against Valletta in the Semi-Final of the Final Four 2025/26 . Since, then they had scored in 11 consecutive matches with the streak stopping the past weekend against the same Valletta
v The win that Zabbar SP registered against Mosta with a 5-0 scoreline was their biggest ever win in the MPL
v The match against Balzan marked Joseph Mbong's 350th match in local football. A remarkable personal feat and for Hibernians it was a return to the Top Six after missing out on three consecutive occasions.
VBET MALTA PREMIER TABLE
TOP SIX
Valletta 25
Marsaxlokk 20
Sliema W. 18
Ħamrun S. 17
Floriana 16
Hibernians 16
BOTTOM SIX
Birkirkara 15
Mosta 14
Żabbar SP 14
Balzan 11
Birzebbuga 6
Gżira Utd. 5
RESULTS - MD 11
B'Kara - B'Buga 2-2
Balzan - Hibernians 1-2
Zabbar SP - Mosta 5-0
Sliema W. - Ħamrun S. 1-1
Floriana - Valletta 0-1
Gżira Utd. - M'Xlokk 0-5
NEXT MATCHES
MD 12
Friday 6th November
Victor Tedesco Stadium
8.00pm B'Buga SP - Mosta
Saturday 7th November
Centenary Stadium
2.00pm Floriana - Hibernians
4.45pm Gżira Utd. - Balzan
Sunday 8th November
Victor Tedesco Stadium
11.00am B'Kara - Zabbar SP
Centenary Stadium
5.00pm Sliema W. - Valletta
7.45pm M'Xlokk - Ħamrun S.
CLEAN SHEETS
Valletta 6
Birkirkara 4
Floriana 3
Żabbar SP 3
Marsaxlokk 3
Mosta 2
Balzan 2
Hibernians 2
Ħamrun S. 1
Gżira Utd. 1
Sliema W. 1
Birżebbuġa 1
TOP SCORERS
F. Sasere (B'Kara) 8
A. Zammit (Valletta) 6
O. Awosanya (Balzan) 6
P. Mbong (Floriana) 5
M. Trotta (Ħamrun S.) 5
G. Convales (Mosta) 5
M. Fontanella (Żabbar SP) 5
I. Cojocaru (Sliema W) 4
U. Arias (M'Xlokk) 4
L. Villela (Ħamrun S.) 4
R, Prsa (Valletta) 4
