City, Stripes clash in opener

The 2009/10 BOV Premier League campaign will be off to an explosive start on Friday, August 21 when favourites Valletta take on rivals Birkirkara in the opening match of the season.

The draw for the first two rounds of the championship was held last month but the sequence and dates of the opening weekend of matches was only issued yesterday by the Malta FA.

All ten teams in the Premier League will be in action on the weekend of August 21-23 and the five matches are all scheduled for the National Stadium.

The Birkirkara-Valletta clash also means a reunion for coach Paul Zammit, now in charge of the Stripes. He left Valletta at the end of last season after four years on the City bench.

The Citizens have hired Dutchman Ton Caanen to replace Zammit.

Valletta, hugely disappointed to have finished the 2008-09 season empty-handed despite being in the running for the league and reaching the FA Trophy final, went on a spending spree this summer with the signing of various talented players, foreign and local.

The last in line to make the move was Malta international Kevin Sammut. He joined from Marsaxlokk.

Newcomers Dingli Swallows and Vittoriosa Stars will both be in action on August 22. Dingli play Tarxien and Vittoriosa face Trophy holders Sliema Wanderers.

League champions Hibs, again under the baton of the shrewd Mark Miller, start their title defence on August 23 against Marsaxlokk. Before this match, Floriana clash against Qormi.

A plum fixture is also reserved for the second weekend of the league as Valletta play eternal rivals Floriana on Friday, August 28.

Meanwhile, the domestic season curtain-raiser, the BOV Super Cup, will be played next Monday. The contenders will be Hibs and Sliema.

First Programme

Monday: Super Cup, 7.30 p.m. Hibs vs Sliema.

Friday, August 21: 7.30 p.m. Bir-kirkara vs Valletta.

Saturday, August 22: 5 p.m. Dingli vs Tarxien; 7 p.m. Sliema vs Vittoriosa.

Sunday, August 23: 5 p.m. Floriana vs Qormi; 7 p.m. Hibs vs Marsaxlokk.