Fitzel relishes enthralling finale

The prospect of watching some of the country's leading lights chasing glory in a last-day title decider is one that appeals to Malta coach Dusan Fitzel.

Hibs and Valletta will exhort their senior players to show what they are truly made of when these two title contenders face off in Sunday's eagerly-awaited clash at the National Stadium.

Several prominent members of Malta's national squad will be engaged in Sunday's tiff with Valletta able to rely on no fewer than six fit internationals in goalkeeper Andrew Hogg, defenders Luke Dimech and Kenneth Scicluna, midfielders Jamie Pace and Roderick Briffa and veteran forward Gilbert Agius who is also the captain of the national team.

Hibs, who enjoy a two-point lead over Valletta, also have a host of Malta players in their ranks, the likes of goalkeeper Mario Muscat, defenders Jonathan Caruana and Aaron Xuereb, wing-back Clayton Failla, Andrew Cohen, the team's playmaker, and striker Terrence Scerri whose participation on Sunday is still in the balance due to an ankle injury.

As Malta's daunting qualifier away to Sweden draws closer, Fitzel is eager to see whether his key personnel will step up to the challenge in what promises to be a nailbiting encounter.

"To have the title race decided in a direct clash on the last day of the league can only be good for Maltese football," Fitzel told The Times. "When you play football, you want to be involved in these kind of matches and hopefully the stadium will be full come Sunday.

"There is a lot of interest in the match between Valletta and Hibs and the focus will inevitably be on the players. They will be under huge pressure but this is a great opportunity to prove themselves and demonstrate their quality.

"As national coach, I'm willing to see how my players will cope with the burden of expectation in such a high-pressure game."

Fitzel is not surprised that Hibs and Valletta are the two sides vying for the title but he also had words of praise for Birkirkara.

"Hibs and Valletta are two of the best teams in the Premier League," Fitzel said. "Birkirkara have also played good football this season but they lack spark in the final third. Their scoring record is not very good.

"Hibs and Valletta are two attack-minded sides and they have scored many goals. Statistics show that Hibs have the best attack with 73 goals scored and that is an amazing total. That said, Hibs' record also raises questions about the defensive competence of the other teams.

"Considering that Valletta have the best defence (only 18 goals conceded), Sunday's game will pit the league's best forward line against the best defence. It's a pity that Terrence Scerri is unlikely to play the whole match on Sunday because it'd have been interesting for me to watch how he'd perform against a tough defender like Luke Dimech."

Fitzel is hopeful that Sunday's title clash as well as the FA Trophy final today week will help the Malta players stay fit and sharp ahead of the June 5 friendly against the Czech Republic and, more importantly, the World Cup qualifier against Sweden in Gothenburg on June 10.

"I'm glad that the last weekend of this season's league campaign is closer to our international commitments in June," Fitzel said.

"I wanted it to be this way to help our preparations for the qualifier against Sweden but frankly, I didn't expect the title race to remain undecided until the final day.

"I haven't seen much of the Hibs and Valletta players in training lately because they have been spending more time with their clubs. I understand the importance of the matches at this late stage of the season and I know that the club coaches want to have their best players at their disposal.

"The season is drawing to an end and the players are mentally tired. The national team players did some physical tests recently and the results were very positive. So, my priority is to keep them focused and injury-free."

Fitzel offered an interesting insight into some core characteristics of Hibs and Valletta.

"Hibs sometimes have this tendency of playing long balls to their forward line," Fitzel said. "Maybe Hibs have been favouring this approach because in Terrence Scerri, they have a fast and powerful striker but personally, I think they can improve their transition from defence to attack.

"When I look at the two teams, I see balance. Hibs and Valletta are on a par."

When I suggested to Fitzel that Valletta will have more experienced players in their starting XI, Fitzel responded: "In terms of experience, I really don't think there's a big difference between the two.

"Valletta have Agius, Dimech and Pace but they also have several young, former Malta U-21 players in their team. The same goes for Hibs who also have experienced players in Muscat, Xuereb and Cohen."

Like all fans, Fitzel hopes Sunday's title finale will produce entertaining football but he's also wary of the negative effect pressure can have on players' performances.

"It's going to be a tough game," the Czech coach said. "There will be intense pressure on both teams and this could affect the performance of the players. Local fans may not like to hear this but Maltese players tend to lose concentration when the stakes are so high. This is why I'm so willing to gauge the players' reaction to this kind of situation.

"I'm looking forward to Sunday's game and I hope the two sets of fans create an excellent atmosphere. I'm confident that the match will attract a big crowd because it's also appealing to the neutrals.

"My wish is that the occasion is not spoiled by some stupid behaviour from the supporters. My message to the fans is to enjoy themselves and avoid doing silly things. Sunday's match should be a celebration of football."