BoV Premier League Highlights

As the BOV Premier League reclaimed its top billing on the local sporting agenda following the pause for international football, Floriana continued to make positive headlines but not so can be said of four of this season's title aspirants.

The Greens extended their perfect start to three matches after late goals from substitutes Mario Caruana and Mauro Brincat sealed a 3-1 win against a battling Mqabba side.

Mqabba's Brazilian midfielder Fabio Silva was on target from the penalty spot three minutes into the second half, to cancel out Adrian Mifsud's opener for Floriana but Danilo Doncic's team struck twice in the last 15 minutes to stay on maximum points. Their victory was slightly tarnished by the stoppage-time dismissal of Brincat who, having been booked for time wasting, received a second yellow card for dissent.

Sliema Wanderers had high hopes of emulating their Old-Firm rivals in making it nine points from three matches but their optimism was crushed by a hard-working Birkirkara team who preserved their own unbeaten start by defeating the Blues 2-0.

First-half goals from Michael Galea and Ronnie Hartvig gave Birkirkara a solid platform to achieve their second victory as the disjointed Sliema, despite all the high-profile names on their team-sheet, could not muster enough energy and inspiration to break down their resolute opponents.

Champions Marsaxlokk also surrendered their unbeaten record this season following a 1-0 loss to Hamrun Spartans on Sunday. The newly-promoted Spartans upheld their 'tough-side-to-beat' reputation with another bold performance. Striker Gaetan Spiteri scored the only goal of the game after just 11 minutes.

Valletta and Hibernians, both tipped to produce a strong challenge for the Premier League crown, slipped further off the title pace after their direct encounter ended one-all on Monday.

The returning Stefan Giglio lifted the spirits of the City fans after he won and converted a penalty early in the first half but Valletta failed to build on their early breakthrough.

With the Citizens struggling to get some kind of rhythm to their play, Hibs dominated possession and created a series of chances but had to wait until three minutes from the end of normal time to salvage a point. Andrew Cohen came to Hibs' rescue when heading the ball past Valletta goalkeeper Saviour Darmanin.

On Sunday, the duel between two teams who had yet to collect their first point, Msida and Pietà, went the former's way thanks to an early goal from George Ogbonna.

Premier League statistics

Birkirkara: Hartvig 2, M. Galea 2.

Floriana: C. Caruana 3; Mifsud 2; M. Caruana, Brincat. Red card: Brincat (vs Mqabba).

Hamrun Spartans: Briffa, Sultana, Spiteri.

Hibs: Scerri, Cohen. Red card: Failla (vs Floriana).

Marsaxlokk: Frendo 2; Gomes, Sammut, Pullicino, Da Silva.

Mqabba: Gatt Baldacchino, Silva pen. Red card: Pereira (vs Birkirkara).

Msida: Baldacchino, Ogbonna.

Pietà: Herrera, Galabov. Red card: Aquilina (vs Valletta). Missed penalty: Kondev (vs Msida).

Sliema: Barbara 4 (1 penalty); Madzar, Milovanovic.

Valletta: Zammit 3; Monesterolo, Agius, Giglio pen. Red card: Zammit (vs Pietà). Missed penalties: Monesterolo 2 (vs Pietà).

Next Fixtures

National Stadium
Friday
Hibernians vs Mqabba 4 p.m.
Floriana vs Sliema W. 6 p.m.

Saturday
Hamrun S. vs Pietà H. 4 p.m.
Msida SJ vs Valletta 6 p.m.

Sunday
Birkirkara vs Marsaxlokk 5 p.m.