Marsaxlokk look to ruin Sliema's title ambitions

Champions Marsaxlokk can land a mortal blow on the championship aspirations of Sliema Wanderers when the two title challengers square up in today's main match at the Hibs Ground (kick-off: 3.30 p.m.).

These two rivals had contrasting fortunes in their opening Champi-onship Pool matches in midweek. Marsaxlokk, despite having to do without six first-team players, were still strong enough to have the better of Floriana in a 2-1 comeback win.

On the other hand, Sliema are in danger of slipping out of the title race after an unexpected 3-1 defeat to Birkirkara left them five points behind leaders Valletta. Another upset this afternoon will leave the Wanderers with a mountain to climb.

Peter Hartshorne, Marsaxlokk's team manager, reckons his team has to stay fully focused and consistent as ever. However, he did admit that he is relishing the prospect of beating the Wanderers, an outcome that would jolt Sliema's title hopes.

"This is a massive match for both teams," Hartshorne said.

"Victory against Sliema would be a significant boost for us as it would not only strengthen our championship challenge but would almost certainly push Sliema out of the race.

"Still, I'm expecting a fierce response from them. They will be gutted for the way they lost against Birkirkara and will surely be fired up to get back into the reckoning. They cannot afford any further slip-ups and we're expecting a tough match."

The southerners are boosted by the return of defender Renato Conceicao and midfielders Kevin Sammut, Peter Pullicino and Cleaven Frendo. Gareth Sciberras is still nursing an eye injury while Malcolm Licari is still recovering from a knee operation.

Sliema will be facing the threat of their former striker Alexandr Madzar who they released earlier this season. The Montenegrin is in rich vein of form as testified by his two-goal contribution against Floriana.

"Alexandr has a point to prove after getting the axe from Sliema," Hartshorne said.

"He wants to show that he is one of the best strikers in the league and I believe that with us he has already proven that. He has established a great partnership with Julio Alcorse and hopefully Marsaxlokk will continue to benefit from their great understanding."

While spirits are high at Marsaxlokk the same cannot be said of the Wanderers. Thursday's defeat was hard to fathom for coach Stephen Azzopardi who could not hide his feelings when speaking to the The Sunday Times.

"It was a very bad performance, no doubt," Azzopardi said.

"We said time and again that in the Championship Pool no team can drop his guard against anyone. Unfortunately for us, against Birkirkara we failed to perform. We have to analyse the situation but we need to improve and lift our game by a few notches.

"We had just over two days to prepare for another crucial match against Marsaxlokk, something I'm not too happy about.

"I feel that the fixtures should have been planned better and not leave us with such a short time to recover at such a decisive phase of the campaign. But we have to carry on... we expect to see a much different Sliema on Sunday (today)."

The Sliema coach will be monitoring the fitness of midfielder Roderick Briffa who picked up a knock against Birkirkara. He is also keeping his fingers crossed that Ian Azzopardi and Alex Muscat are declared fit after skipping Thursday's match through injury.

Results so far: Sliema vs Marsaxlokk 1-0, 0-0.

Hibs, Msida look to avoid slip-ups

Hibernians and Msida St Joseph will be chasing crucial points when they clash in their opening Relegation Pool match today (kick-off 1.30 p.m.).

After failing to qualify for the Championship Pool, the Paolites will be eager to bag all three points that would ease their nerves and make sure of their status with weeks to spare.

Coach Robert Gatt said his players were in a positive frame of mind despite figuring outside the 'top-six league' for the first time. In his view Hibs will not be swallowed in troubled waters.

"It is a huge disappointment for us to find ourselves in the Relegation Pool," Gatt said.

"But now we have to accept the situation and make sure that we stay out of the relegation fight. To achieve that we must win our opening three matches. The team seems to be in a good frame of mind... we have enough talent to reach our goal."

In the opening Relegation Pool match, played last Wednesday, Mqabba surprisingly beat Pietà 2-0. That result clearly suited Msida most. Coach Patrick Curmi is urging his players to seize the chance and beat Hibs to further widen the gap from the bottom two teams.

"This is a very tough match against arguably the strongest team in the Relegation Pool," Curmi said.

"Mqabba's win over Pietà was unexpected but the result gives us the chance to distance ourselves from the bottom two even further if we beat Hibs. It's up to us to make the most of it. We have already beaten Hibs this season and that result should fill our players with confidence."

Msida are without defender Tyrone Farrugia who is suspended. Hibs are at full strength.

Results so far: Hibs vs Msida 4-0, 0-2.