Stars finally start to shine

Finally, Vittoriosa Stars seem to have found their feet in the top echelons of Maltese football after a rather shaky start to life in the BOV Premier League.

Four defeats on the trot had left many football critics predicting that the team from the Cottonera triangle did not have enough potential to retain their status and were heading back to Division One football next season.

However, that notion changed in the last couple of weeks as the Stars gave a strong indication that they were ready to fight to avoid an immediate drop. First, they held Floriana to a goalless draw and on Sunday they went one step further when stunning Hibernians 2-0 at their own lair in Corradino.

Winston Muscat has to be accredited with Vittoriosa’s change in fortunes as the former St Patrick coach seems to have made the right adjustments to turn his side into a more solid outfit. Vittoriosa found the back of the net twice against Hibs, but, more importantly, they have chalked up two successive clean sheets.

Muscat heaped praise on his players. They pulled up their socks at the training ground and results started to show, he said.

“After the first four matches we were all frustrated to see that the team had not picked up a single point despite our fighting displays,” Muscat said.

“But, I knew that we could emerge from the crisis and told the players that all they needed was to maintain their high-level of commitment in training as it was only a matter of time before they would be rewarded for their efforts.

“We also worked on our defensive play as we were conceding too many goals.

“That also paid rich dividends as we did not concede against Floriana and Hibs. True, luck was also on our part at times, like the instance when Hibs missed a penalty. But, we were excellent throughout in that match, taking the chances that came our way to clinch the points.”

The Stars may be on a high but Muscat is under no illusions of the tough task that awaits his team to survive. He is calling on his players to keep their feet firmly rooted at the ground.

“The last two results filled us with great confidence,” Muscat said.

“However, we cannot get carried away, there’s so much still to play for. We want to avoid relegation and to achieve that we have to stay focused all the way. Now we have other tough matches coming up, starting against Birkirkara this week.

“But, the only way to go for Vittoriosa is to keep the good work going and train harder than ever. The last two matches showed that we do have potential in this squad but it’s up to us to turn that into valuable points that could lead us to safety.”

Simon Agius, the former Sliema Wanderers goalkeeper, has been one of the revelations at Vittoriosa this season.

His inspirational performances of late were a vindication for the torrid time he endured last season when off-field problems ahead of a decisive play-off almost threatened to derail his entire football career.

“I am very happy to be playing a prominent role for Vittoriosa Stars this season after the most difficult period in my career at the end of last season,” Agius said.

“I was made to fight to preserve my reputation. During this time I was seriously pondering to quit the game completely but thanks to the insistence of those around me, particularly my wife, I decided to continue.

“Back in training, I felt a great relief. Vittoriosa is a modest club but now I want to play a more prominent role and help my team achieve most of its goals.”

Looking ahead, Agius is optimistic on the Stars’ chances of survival.

“There’s great talent in this team, no doubt. Honestly, I was not surprised that we beat Hibernians. Actually, some of us are still ruing the team’s failure to pick up points against Tarxien and Sliema which would have put us in a better position in the standings.

“But it’s useless to cry over split milk now. We can’t look back surely... our objective is to continue winning points and to achieve our goals we have to do that on a consistent basis.”

Premier League statistics

Scorers

Birkirkara: Vella 3, Galea 3 (1 pen); Lattes 2, Cilia 2, Fenech.
Floriana: Mecerod 2; Dzhorov, Darmanin, Caruana, Woods pen.
Ħamrun Spartans: Pereira 4; Shields 3; Grima 2, Anizoba 2; Spiteri, Mangion.
Red cards: Hrubsa (vs Floriana), S. Bonnici (vs Floriana).
Hibernians: McManus 4; Cohen 3 (1 pen); Caruana, Clarke, Herrera, Farrugia.
Red card: Pulis (vs Ħamrun Spartans).
Marsaxlokk: Effiong 5; Temple-man, Alcorse pen, Kokavessis.
Red card: Alcorse (vs Valletta).
Qormi: Mallia 3; Bjedov, J. Farrugia, Frendo, Bello Osagie.
Sliema Wanderers: Mifsud Tri-ganza 3; Obiefule 2; Lima.
Red cards: Mintoff (vs Birkirkara); B. Muscat (vs Vittoriosa).
Tarxien Rainbows: Ricardo Costa 3; Cristiano 2 (1 pen), Bueno 2.
Valletta: Scerri 5 (1 pen); Sammut 4; Falzon 2, Pace 2; Zammit, Denni (pen).
Vittoriosa Stars: Ewurum 3. Own goal: Gauci (vs Hibernians).
Red card: Campagnoli (vs Valletta).

Next fixtures

Tomorrow: (Tedesco Stadium) 7.30 p.m. Birkirkara vs Vittoriosa Stars.
Friday: (Tedesco Stadium) 7.30 p.m. Valletta vs Sliema Wanderers.
Saturday: (Tedesco Stadium) 2 p.m. Floriana vs Tarxien Rainbows; 4 p.m. Marsaxlokk vs Ħamrun Spartans.
Monday: (Hibs Stadium) 7.30 p.m. Hibernians vs Qormi.