Qormi FC stole the headlines for all the right reasons last week.
On Friday, the Yellow-Blacks completed the most sensational transfer deal of the season when securing the services of Malta striker Michael Mifsud who just days before was on the verge of joining Floriana before the move collapsed.
That shrewd signing reaped instant dividends on Saturday.
In fact, Mifsud immediately started repaying the faith shown in him by the Championship Pool hopefuls with a man-of-the-match display against Birkirkara. He scored a hat-trick to propel the team to a resounding 4-1 victory.
That outcome was a huge shot in the arm to Qormi’s aspirations of a top-six finish as they joined Ħamrun Spartans in sixth place on 20 points, three adrift of Marsaxlokk, their next opponents in the final round of fixtures before the second phase of the championship gets underway.
Saturday’s victory, their second on the trot, left Qormi masters of their own fate. Various possibilities exist to decide which two teams from Marsaxlokk, Qormi, Ħamrun and Sliema will make the top six.
However, Qormi must beat Marsaxlokk to, at least, force a decider with either the Southerners or the Spartans or even better a direct entry to the Championship Pool if Ħamrun fail to beat Vittoriosa Stars in their next match.
Stephen Azzopardi, the Qormi coach, admitted that Mifsud was instrumental in his team’s victory over Birkirkara on Saturday.
“Michael Mifsud’s transfer filled the players and officials at the club with huge confidence,” Azzopardi told The Times.
“His presence alone was enough to inspire the players and that was clearly mirrored in the excellent display of the team against Birkirkara.
“On Saturday, Michael gave a clear demonstration that he is the best Maltese player of his generation. He was at his clinical best and his early goals settled the team’s nerves.”
Despite being at the club for less than 24 hours, Mifsud showed great understanding with fellow attacking partners Aboubakar Bello-Osagie and Josue. He scored twice in the opening 17 minutes before adding a third early in the second half to send an ominous message of ability on his return to Maltese football.
Azzopardi said he was not surprised by the impact Mifsud left and said the former Coventry forward was the final jigsaw in his line-up.
“There is no hiding that Mifsud is a great acquisition,” Azzopardi said.
“The team was doing okay recently. Since our 4-0 upset to Valletta in December, we started to show significant progress. So much so that we recovered seven points off Ħamrun in the last five matches.
“Still our biggest concern was in attack. It looked difficult for us to turn chances into goals. Mifsud was the missing cog in our machine and that was evident on Saturday. He linked up well with Bello-Osagie and Josue and we expect more of the same in our next matches.
“We are strong in all departments now. So, we can look forward with optimism in our quest to finish among the top six.”
At the moment, very few are looking at the top of the standings where Valletta are dominating the scene even though they misfired badly on Saturday against Ħamrun.
Focus, instead, is on mid-table where Qormi, Mar-saxlokk, Ħamrun and Sliema are engaged in a tight battle to avoid the Relegation Pool.
Azzopardi has a clear mind on what is required to reach the ‘promised land’.
“There’s more than one way for us to make the Championship Pool but I’m not going into any equations or formulas,” he said.
“We have to beat Marsaxlokk by as many goals as possible in our next match and hope other results go our way. After several weeks hoping other teams drop points, our future is now in our hands. I insist, we have to take this opportunity with both hands.
“They told me that Marsaxlokk could have some key players suspended but I still expect a very difficult match.
“Football is played on the field not on paper. So, I hope my players can build on their recent good showings against Hibs and Birkirkara to secure a place in the Championship Pool. Nothing short of that suits Qormi FC.”
Simultaneous kick-offs
The three matches involving teams engaged in the race for the remaining two berths in the Championship Pool will all be played at the same time on Sunday, starting at 3 p.m.
Qormi vs Marsaxlokk, Vittoriosa vs Ħamrun and Sliema vs Hibernians will be played at the Hibs Stadium, the National Stadium and the Tedesco Stadium respectively.
Saturday’s two-match programme remained intact.
The changes effected for Sunday will see the two Division One matches (St Andrew’s vs Balzan and Dingli vs St George’s) being played at 9 a.m. and 11.15 a.m. respectively.
Valletta had one of their most disappointing outings of the season last weekend when they were held to a draw by a spirited Ħamrun Spartans team.
However, the general outcome after the weekend matches still favoured the Citizens who increased their lead at the top of the standings to 13 points as all their nearest rivals, Tarxien Rainbows, Floriana and Birkirkara, fell by the wayside.
The Spartans were facing a do-or-die situation and their performance lived up to expectations as they battled hard to earn a point in their bid to avoid playing in the Relegation Pool.
For the Reds, Dyson Falzon had a fine match against his former club. The winger scored a superb goal to cancel Roderick Briffa’s opener in the second half.
Valletta could have still won the match but Terrence Scerri saw his weak penalty stopped by keeper Omar Borg.
The top four teams in the standings are sure of their place in the Championship Pool but Marsa-xlokk, Ħamrun, Qormi and Sliema Wanderers are in the running for the remaining two berths with one match to go.
Marsaxlokk were held to a 2-2 draw by Vittoriosa Stars who will surely be joined by Hibernians in the Relegation Pool. The Paolites, at least, lifted their morale significantly last weekend with a belated victory over derby rivals Tarxien 3-1.
Andrew Cohen, Edward Herrera and Brian Fairbairn were the scorers for Hibs as the Rainbows had Brazilian striker Daniel Mariano Bueno sent off and Cristiano pulling one back late in the match but to no avail.
The Wanderers are still hoping for a miracle escape. They had Danilo Doncic making his debut on the bench and his presence was felt as Sliema, who also had new signing Etienne Barbara in the team, lifted their game by several notches to beat Floriana 1-0.
Their goal only came in the last minute, via an Obinna Obiefule penalty. The three points will keep Sliema hoping that other results will favour their cause next weekend to force their presence in the top-six group.
Perhaps, the match that attrac-ted most interest on Saturday was Qormi-Birkirkara not least for the presence of Michael Mifsud.
The Malta striker was making his first showing for the Yellow-Blacks after signing a short-term contract only the day before.
Qormi looked to have made the right deal, albeit a little bit late, as Mifsud hit a hat-trick against the champions.
Rodolfo Kumbrevicius gave the Stripes some hope when reducing the deficit to 1-2 but Qormi were not to be denied as Mifsud and Josue Souza made victory more pronounced with two other goals for a final 4-1 scoreline.
Premier League statistics
Scorers, red cards
Birkirkara: Lattes 6; Fenech 4, Galea 4 (1 pen); Vella 3; Cilia 2, Tabone 2 (1 pen); Vukanac, Borg, Agius, Kumbrevicius.
Floriana: Woods 6 (2 pen.), Nwoke 6; Caruana 3; Mecerod 2, Draganov 2; Dzhorov, Darmanin, Agius, Said, Micallef, Farrugia.
Red cards: Farrugia (vs Tarxien), Paris (vs Sliema Wanderers).
Ħamrun Spartans: Spiteri 9; Grima 5; Pereira 4, Shields 4 (1 pen); Fenech 2 (1 pen), Anizoba 2, Mangion, Falzon.
Red cards: Hrubsa (vs Floriana, vs Valletta), Bonnici (vs Floriana), Ryan Fenech (vs Floriana).
Hibernians: McManus 5; Cohen 4 (1 pen), Herrera 4; Pisani 2; Pulis, Caruana, Clarke, Farrugia, Pearson, Kristensen, Fairbairn.
Own goal: Micallef (vs Vittoriosa).
Red card: Pulis (vs Ħamrun Spartans).
Marsaxlokk: Effiong 9; Templeman 3, Guerreiro 3; Raimy 2, Sciberras 2; Alcorse pen, Kokavessis, Deanov, Licari.
Red cards: Alcorse (vs Valletta), Mamo (vs Floriana), Galabov (vs Vittoriosa).
Qormi: Josue 4 (3 pens), Frendo 4; Mifsud 3, Mallia 3; Bello Osagie 2; Bjedov, J. Farrugia, Chetcuti, Camilleri.
Red cards: Bondin (vs Ħamrun), Hojung (vs Vittoriosa), Bartolo (vs Floriana).
Sliema Wanderers: Mifsud Triganza 5, Lima 5 (1 pen), Obiefule 5 (1 pen); Lachkhim 2; Scerri.
Red cards: Mintoff (vs Birkirkara), B. Muscat (vs Vittoriosa), Lima (vs Valletta).
Tarxien Rainbows: Cristiano 7 (1 pen); Bueno 6; Sergio 4, Ricardo 4; Caruana, Everton.
Own goals: Pearson (vs Hibernians); Kang (vs Qormi).
Red card: Bueno (vs Hibernians).
Valletta: Scerri 14 (4 pens); Denni 8 (1 pen), Sammut 5; Falzon 2, Pace 2, G. Agius 2, Fenech 2; Zammit, E. Agius, Temile, Borg, Briffa.
Red cards: Ramon (vs Floriana), Falzon (vs Ħamrun).
Vittoriosa Stars: Ewurum 6; Santos Silva 5; Edison 4 (2 pen); Micallef, Grech.
Own goal: Gauci (vs Hibs).
Red cards: Campagnoli (vs Valletta), Edison (vs Birkirkara, vs Sliema), Mifsud (vs Valletta).
Next fixtures
Saturday: (National Stadium) 2 p.m. Tarxien Rainbows vs Birkirkara; Floriana vs Valletta.
Sunday: (Hibs Stadium) 3 p.m. Qormi vs Marsaxlokk. (Tedesco Stadium) 3 p.m. Sliema vs Hibs. (National Stadium) 3 p.m. Vittoriosa vs Ħamrun.