Stripes zoom in on top prize but the pressure is on

Birkirkara are still odds-on favourites to capture the Premier League title but is the championship race a closed chapter? The coaches of Birkirkara, Sliema Wanderers, Marsaxlokk and Hibernians give their views to Kevin Azzopardi...

There are two ways of looking at Birkirkara's one-all draw against Marsaxlokk on Sunday.

Optimists would argue that thanks to the point gleaned, Birkirkara nudged themselves a step closer to the title.

On the other side of fence, pessimists, and adversaries longing for a glimmer of hope, would claim that Birkirkara squandered an opportunity to wrap up their title mission.

Whatever your line of thought, the truth is that both afore-mentioned conclusions are essentially valid.

Birkirkara are still surefire favourites to clinch the Premier League crown as they need just one point from their last two fixtures to be home and dry.

It is also equally true that Birkirkara would be in for a nerve-jangling finale should they fail to secure the title before their last-day clash with Sliema Wanderers.

Sliema are the only team with a mathematical chance of pipping Birkirkara to the title but this improbable scenario can only materialise via a decider.

Given that Birkirkara are six points ahead of Sliema with only two matches left, the Wanderers can only aspire to force a title play-off if Hibs overcome the leaders on Sunday and they emerge victorious from their last two matches.

It looks like 'mission impossible' but with two other teams, Marsaxlokk and Hibs, jousting to improve their final position, there is the potential that these closing weeks will throw up some interesting twists and turns.

Edward Aquilina, the Sliema coach, insisted that the benefits of his side's 2-1 win over Valletta last weekend were manifold.

"Coming after back-to-back defeats, this win served to boost the team's morale and also consolidated our runners-up position," he said.

"Moreover, this match also marked the return from injury of two key players for Sliema, Stefan Giglio and Joe Brincat.

"This season we have been hit hard by injuries but we're now getting close to recovering most of our players. Jeffrey Chetcuti will hopefully be fit to play next weekend."

Questioned about his reaction to Birkirkara's draw with Marsaxlokk and Sliema's remote prospects of pushing through a decider, Aquilina said: "Birkirkara will have to falter to bring us back in the title reckoning. It's hard to think that Birkirkara will not pick one point from their two matches but it can happen.

"Everyone knows that our chances are slim but if Hibs beat Birkirkara and we win against Msida, the picture will be different."

Is the Sliema coach genuinely optimistic that Hibs can dent Birkirkara's title chances?

"On their day, Hibs can definitely do it," he said. "If they are really motivated and confident, they can certainly make life uneasy for Birkirkara."

Birkirkara's 1-1 stalemate against Marsa-xlokk did not take Aquilina by surprise.

"I was not surprised because Marsaxlokk have shown that they can give a hard challenge to any team in the league," Aquilina said.

"My view is that Birkirkara have been more consistent than us throughout the season but we have provided more than a valid challenge. It was those pathetic displays in the 1-0 defeats to Marsaxlokk that scuppered our chances."

For Birkirkara coach Stephen Azzopardi, the draw against Marsaxlokk had more positives than negatives.

"There is no hiding the fact that our intention was to win and open an unassailable lead," Azzopardi said.

"Nevertheless, the point gained on Sunday represented another step in the right direction for us. The draw officially knocked Marsaxlokk out of the title race whereas Sliema's only hope is to force a decider."

Azzopardi's positive stance did not prevent him from admitting that the pressure on Birkirkara to secure this title has increased after last weekend.

"The tension will only ebb away once we are assured of winning the title," Azzopardi said.

"In the lead-up to last Sunday's match, I voiced my concern about the pitfalls of going into this fixture thinking that Birkirkara could already kick off their title celebrations.

"It could have been the case that the players were distracted by the enthusiasm and party mood at the stadium.

"Our gameplan was to contain Marsaxlokk and operate on counter-attacks but after they surged ahead so early in the game, I had to switch to a more offensive strategy.

"It must be noted that our midfield was once again bereft of our most creative players and as a result, our build-up work was not as fluid as usual. Although this was not one of our best performances, we still managed to take a deserved point."

Suggestions that Sliema may have derived a modicum of courage from Birkirkara's inability to finish off their title march, were dismissed by Azzopardi.

"I'm not really interested in knowing what Sliema are thinking right now," he stressed.

"We are still in a strong position and frankly, we never imagined that we would have a six-point lead before our last two games.

"The drive and enthusiasm of the players makes me confident that we will make it on Sunday."

For Marsaxlokk, Sunday's draw extended their unbeaten run to three matches and kept them on course to claim the runners-up spot.

"That result has to be considered as a good one for Marsaxlokk," Ray Farrugia, the Marsaxlokk coach, said.

"Apart from the fact that we faced the leaders of Maltese football, our squad was decimated by injuries and suspensions. Our choice for this game was very limited but I guess it speaks volumes of the players' determination and positive attitude that we emerged undefeated.

Marsaxlokk progress

"The commitment and tactical discipline shown in recent games underlines the progress made by Marsaxlokk this season," Farrugia added.

"Credit to the players, the administration and everyone connected with this club that Marsaxlokk are now widely regarded as a force to be reckoned with."

Although Marsaxlokk's costly blip last month led to scepticism about their progress this season, statistics vindicate Farrugia's assertion.

When he and Oliver Spiteri took over from Bulgarian Atanas Marinov in October, Marsaxlokk were languishing in mid-table with just nine points from seven games.

The southerners are now third on 30 points, Birkirkara being the only team to have garnered more points than Marsaxlokk since the second week of October.

"I have said it all along that this squad has the potential to win honours," Farrugia remarked.

"Marsaxlokk should take encouragement from the performances of late, not least from our last game.

"Third place in the league is definitely within reach now but we will keep fighting to go one better."

Farrugia still ranks Birkirkara as outright favourites to finish top but he sounded a note of caution.

"Birkirkara are closer than ever to win the title and I don't think they will fail," Farrugia said. "All teams have their ups and downs during the season but by and large, Birkirkara were the most consistent.

"However, they've still got two big games coming up. They are under pressure to close the title race but to do that, they must remain fully focused."

Birkirkara's mental resolve is expected to be severely tested by Hibs next weekend.

The Paolites will be looking to reassert their push for third place after they were surprisingly held to a goalless draw by Msida St Joseph.

"The draw against Msida was a disappointment for us," Robert Gatt, the Hibs coach, said.

"We created the better chances but we didn't take them. Credit should be given to Msida keeper Omar Borg who was in excellent form. Borg very rarely has a bad game against us."

Gatt agreed with Aquilina, his counterpart at Sliema, that Marsaxlokk's draw with Birkirkara cannot be termed as a surprising result.

"I wasn't surprised because football is like that," Gatt said. "You only have to consider our result against Msida to understand what I'm saying. I expected my team to beat Msida but the outcome was different."

Hibs are only two points adrift of third-placed Marsaxlokk and five behind Sliema.

"It's difficult for us to finish second but third place is a reachable target," Gatt said.

Gatt is aware that Hibs' next game against Birkirkara could make or break their prospects of finishing third.

"We want to win the game against Birkirkara to keep up the chase for third spot," Gatt noted.

"Reaching that objective will not be easy because they will surely do their best to bag the point they need to become champions."

Championship run-in...

Birkirkara
vs Hibernians (Sunday)
vs Sliema W. (May 14)

Sliema W.
vs Msida Sj (Saturday)
vs Birkirkara (May 14)

Marsaxlokk
vs Valletta (Friday)
vs Hibs (May 13)

Hibernians
vs Birkirkara (Sunday)
vs Marsaxlokk (May 13)