The futsal Premier League continued with another round of matches last week but there were other developments off the Corradino Pavilion as well as Futsal Malta Association have just signed a two-year sponsorship deal with foreign exchange trading firm FXDD.
With the new sponsors’ financial assistance, the futsal association intends to continue developing the game locally, focusing mainly on educational programmes for technical staff and administrators as well as grassroots level.
Title hopefuls Balzan and Hibernians continued with their impressive march at the top of the standings after com-fortable wins over Sliema Wanderers and Luxol respectively.
Balzan, the defending Maltese futsal champions, opened well against the Wanderers and had a five-goal lead at half-time, 7-2.
Once again, it was a collective effort from Balzan with Cosmin Anton showing clear signs of full integration with the team set-up.
In the second half, Balzan player-coach Florin Anton gave more space to his substitutes, including Gary Busuttil, son of former Malta captain Carmel Busuttil. The final score was 9-3.
Luxol St Andrew’s also proved no match for current leaders Hibernians despite fielding newcomer Ilija Milivojsa.
Hibs were enjoying a three-goal lead at the break. And, with key player Xavier Saliba sidelined, they still succeeded in producing a near-faultless display.
Again mastered by the usual Boycho Marev, Hibs had the better of Simone Montagno’s highly-erratic Saints 10-3.
The Paolites are still leading the standings with 20 points, one better off than second-placed Balzan who have a game in hand.
Tarxien Rainbows earned three precious points in a very close match against Valletta despite missing the services of their key Romanian duo who were on international duty.
With both teams fielding depleted formations, it was Tarxien who took the upperhand when they scored a last-minute goal through Raul Mora Safort to beat the Citizens 2-1.
Meanwhile, Ħamrun Spartans offered stern resistance to title contenders Lija Athletic but left the pavilion empty-handed after an 8-5 upset.
The Reds included Gianluca Cala-bretta along with Massimo Grima and as the final score shows, the game was fairly balanced with both sides having their good share of ball possession and scoring opportunities.
Standings
Hibs (6-2-0) 20; Balzan (6-1-0) 19; Żejtun (5-1-1) 16; Lija (4-2-1) 14; Floriana (3-2-2) 11; Tarxien (3-1-3) 10; Sliema (2-0-5) 6; Valletta (1-1-5) 4; St Andrew’s (0-2-6) 2; Ħamrun (0-0-7) 0.
Next fixtures
Today: 19.45 Valletta vs Floriana; 21.15 Żejtun vs Ħamrun Spartans.
Friday: 20.00 Sliema Wanderers vs Tarxien Rainbows; 21.30 Lija vs Balzan.