Marlow dismisses crisis talk ahead of Marsaxlokk ‘six-pointer’

Heartened by their lively showing in the 2-2 draw with champions Birkirkara last weekend, Sliema Wanderers must be fancying their chances of snapping their six-match winless streak when they take on Marsaxlokk this afternoon at the Hibs Stadium (kick-off 4 p.m.).

Until a few weeks ago, Marsaxlokk were regarded as potential title challengers on the back of their strong start to the season but a 2-0 defeat to runaway leaders Valletta heralded a barren spell for the Blues who have taken only four points from their last four matches.

Back-to-back defeats to Qormi and Tarxien Rainbows have piled the pressure on Marsaxlokk to get back to winning ways as Patrick Curmi’s team descended to sixth in the table, three points ahead of the Blues who are third from bottom.

The proximity of the teams chasing Championship Pool berths means that almost every game is a direct clash between top-six hopefuls and today’s all-Blue encounter certainly falls in that category.

Mark Marlow, the Sliema coach, described the match against Marsaxlokk as a “six-pointer”.

“This is another direct encounter, a six-pointer,” he said.

“If we win, we will make up ground on the teams above us as three points would put us level with Marsaxlokk. On the other hand, if we lose, we will remain stuck in the bottom part of the table.

“The absence of five players has made our task more difficult but it hasn’t changed our attitude and objectives. Our aim is to win this game and our performances of late have strengthened our belief.

“After the 0-0 draw with Hibs, I thought we played much better against Birkirkara (2-2). The most pleasing aspect of our showing was that we attacked, we created chances and scored two goals.”

The one-match ban imposed on Clifford Gatt Baldacchino, Julian Briffa and John Mintoff leaves Marlow with no option but to make at least three changes from the team that started against Birkirkara.

Wing-back Alex Muscat is still recovering from a cruciate operation while striker Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza and right-back Beppe Muscat are injury doubts.

On the plus side, Clayton Failla may be included in the squad after making significant progress from a long-term groin injury.

Sliema’s winning drought has diminished their chances of claiming a top-six berth but Marlow rejected talk that the Blues are a team in crisis.

“We haven’t won in our last six games but we’re not a team in crisis,” Marlow stressed.

“Apart from Valletta, who have the strongest squad, every team has dropped points this season because the league is so competitive.

“We’ve had our fair share of difficulties due to player changes and injuries and for a coach, it’s not easy to solve these problems in a short period of time. However, we’ve been working hard to address our shortcomings.

“We’re also putting a lot of emphasis on psychological preparation in order to boost the players’ confidence. One of the biggest weaknesses in Maltese football is that our players tend to take it easy in training but I’m doing my utmost to change that mentality at Sliema.

“My motto is that you must train hard to play hard.”

Marsaxlokk coach Patrick Curmi admitted that there is added pressure on his team to keep their top-six bid on track.

“This match has become very important for us after the results of our last two games,” Curmi said. “If we lose, Sliema will join us on the 13-point mark and that would mean that in three games, we would drop to eighth place in the table.

“In many ways, this game is crucial for us but I have great confidence in my squad. There has been no slump in our performances but the results didn’t come our way. We didn’t deserve to lose our match against Qormi and we gave as much as we got against Tarxien (2-4).

“We must strive harder to make sure that we gain something for our efforts. Our next three games are all direct encounters as our opponents are Sliema, Floriana and Hibs… we can’t afford to drop many points if we want to stay in the top six.”

Defender Clive Brincat is set to return for Marsaxlokk after completing his recovery from a hamstring injury. Curmi is also hopeful of getting the all-clear to field newly-signed Italian defender Luca Lodetti.

Although Marsaxlokk are still bracketed among the favourites to book their place in the Championship Pool, Curmi is not taking anything for granted.

“It’s certainly not an easy task,” he said.

“Even when we were second in the table, we were always looking at the teams behind us. This game is important for both teams because we both want to be in the Championship Pool.”

First round – Sliema Wanderers vs Marsaxlokk 0-0.

Qormi-Vittoriosa

Qormi and Vittoriosa Stars will be striving to boost their own Championship Pool hopes when they meet in today’s opening match at the Hibs Stadium at 2 p.m.

Bottom of the table with only six points from 10 games, Vittoriosa clearly have a mountain to climb to claw their way into a top-six position but a win today would keep them in the reckoning.

Qormi are very much in the hunt to make the top six as they lie seventh with 11 points, only two adrift of Marsaxlokk, but they will be aware that a defeat today would seriously jeopardise their chances.

The two sides experienced similar fortunes in their last outings as both suffered narrow defeats after having a player sent off.

Jonathan Bondin was dismissed for Qormi in their 2-1 loss to Ħamrun and Vittoriosa lost midfielder Kevin Mifsud to an early red card in their 3-2 upset to Valletta.

Nevertheless, both Qormi and Vittoriosa produced gutsy performances that should have enhanced their optimism ahead of their clash.

“You have to motivate the players throughout the week,” Winston Muscat, the Vittoriosa Stars coach, said.

“Exactly after the Valletta game, we turned our focus to our match against Qormi. This is a very important game for us and we must take something from it. It will be difficult because Qormi are still a valid team despite all the changes they made in the close season.”

Mifsud is out for Vittoriosa after receiving a two-match ban while Pierre Aquilina and Mauro Brincat are still recovering from injuries. Leighton Grech is available after serving his one-match ban.

Stephen Azzopardi, the Qormi coach, is concerned about the fitness of Nigerian forward Abubakar Bello Osagie who suffered a recurrence of a hamstring injury against Ħamrun.

Bondin has received a one-match ban, Croatian striker Kosta Bjedov is out with a fractured wrist and winger Matthew Bartolo is doubtful.

Despite playing for more than an hour with 10 men against Ħamrun, Qormi felt hard done by after their 2-1 defeat.

“It was the fourth or fifth time this season that we didn’t deserve to lose,” Azzopardi said.

“Together with my technical staff, I’ve analysed our games this season and the performances of the team have been generally good.

“We’re struggling to score but we have the third best defence in the league and that shows that our team is well-organised.

“I hope that we improve our finishing in the game against Vittoriosa. We’re not panicking because we’re growing as a team. With regards to our foreign players, Vinicius da Silva has not left the desired impact but we’re working to bring in a valid striker in January.”

First round – Qormi vs Vittoriosa 4-2.