Season 1964-65 will always be remembered with delight by all Sliema fans especially those who, like me, have seen the wrong side of 60.
Flipping through the dusty pages of the history of association football in Malta, one would find it difficult to trace another season up to that time when a club achieved as much as Sliema did in 1964-65.
Trained by Hungarian coach Janos Bedl, the Wanderers brushed aside all opposition. When they turned up at the Gżira stadium on Sunday, May 16, 1965, for the FA Trophy final against old rivals Floriana, they had already retained the championship with a game to spare and added the Reserves League, the U-21 League, the Minors League and the Independence and Testaferrata cups for good measure.
The Sliema supporters went to the stadium for the Trophy final carrying banners, streamers and fireworks to celebrate the occasion.
They were not disappointed as the Blues won 4-2.
In a one-sided first half, they should have been ahead by more than one goal and Floriana’s goals only came after Joe Cini had fired Sliema into an unassailable lead with a fine hat-trick.
It took the Blues 11 minutes to open the scoring. Robbie Buttigieg caught Fabri out of position with a lob. The keeper dropped the ball and Cini rushed in to slam home.
After going behind Floriana did have a couple of chances. A Lolly Borg humdinger hit Debono in the face and was cleared. Lolly Aquilina shot straight at goal from a good position but the ball was deflected for a corner by Bonnici.
The rest of the chances in the first half were all for Sliema. Shots rained on Fabri’s goal but somehow the goalkeeper managed to keep the score down to 1-0 until half-time.
Sliema came out for the second half even more determined. Leli Micallef nodded the ball down to Cini who smashed it in from an acute angle after 10 minutes.
Cini then hit the foot of the post with a hard drive and ran in to convert the rebound despite Fabri’s frantic efforts to stop the shot. Cini was now the centre of attention.
For a while, Sliema threatened to overrun their opponents as Ronnie Cocks and Vincent Vassallo led their markers a merry dance.
Floriana were about to crumble when first Aquilina hit the base of the upright, and then, Tony Cauchi gave them fresh hope with a perfect header off Alamango’s cross.
Sliema, however, soon restored their lead when, with eight minutes to go, Cocks robbed Bartolo of the ball, ran clear of Fabri and pushed the ball into the net.
A minute later, Salvu Bonnici committed a classic own-goal but it was of no consequence.
The Blues had won squarely and fairly, thereby setting a record which stood for many years.