Birkirkara’s 1-0 defeat to Hibs has breathed life into the title race, what with only two points standing between the champions and second-placed Valletta ahead of Sunday’s clash between these two contenders.

In midweek, Birkirkara looked to have made a giant stride towards retaining the Premier League crown after a 3-1 win over Sliema and Valletta’s 2-2 draw with Mosta had given them a five-point lead at the top but roles were reversed last weekend.

After Valletta had eked out a hard-fought 3-1 win over a battling Balzan side on Saturday to trim the gap at the top, few expected Birkirkara to drop points against the third-placed Hibernians but the pre-match cynicism proved misplaced as the Stripes slumped to an unexpected upset.

Although Birkirkara’s slip-up was seen as a blow for their hopes, captain Gareth Sciberras believes that they can derive many positives from their match on Sunday.

“Our wish was to win or, at least, gain a point from this game,” Sciberras told Times of Malta.

“But that’s football. We created enough chances to score one or two goals. We also produced a strong reaction after falling behind and I thought we were dominant in the second half.

“Although we were disappointed at the result, I believe that our performance bodes well for the next game.”

Sciberras was particularly encouraged by his team’s fighting spirit.

“The game never reached any heights,” Sciberras said.

“Hibs were closein defence whereas we failed to find our usual rhythm. Nevertheless, we showed a lot of fighting spirit in trying to save the game.”

Some suggested that the euphoria about Birkirkara going five points clear at the top last week may have alienated the players but Sciberras was having none of that.

“The euphoria was not for us,” the Malta midfielder insisted.

“Maybe, the public talked up the significance of last week’s results but we knew that the direct encounters with Valletta would be crucial.

“The way the league is, you can go from first to third place if you lose two games.

“We never got over-excited about our position. Ours is a game-by-game approach and we will go into the Valletta game with the usual mentality.”

Although Birkirkara remain in the driving seat, their grip on top spot is under serious threat as Valletta will go one point clear if they win on Sunday.

This scenario has inevitably turned up the heat on Birkirkara but Sciberras is convinced that they can handle the pressure.

“The pressure has been there from day one,” Sciberras said.

“Birkirkara’s targets at the start of the season were to win the league and the FA Trophy. Our hopes of winning the Trophy are gone, so we are now focusing only on the league and there will be pressure until the last day of the championship.”

Sciberras also dismissed suggestions that Sunday’s loss has brought Birkirkara back to earth amid growing talk about their supremacy in the Premier League.

“We never felt that we were superior to the rest,” Sciberras said.

“All the games in the Championship Pool are difficult and we respect every opponent.

“Some results in the top six this season were unexpected.

“There is balance among the six teams in the Championship Pool and the Relegation Pool is also tight. That may look good for the fans but it creates tension for players.”

On Saturday, the Premier Division Standing Committee (PDSC) announced that it had reached an agreement with the Malta FA over a new format for the Premier League.

The proposed template is for the cham-pionship to be spread over three rounds with points halved after the first two rounds but the teams will not be split into two groups ahead of the final round as has been the norm for several years.

Invited to give his opinion on the suggested format, Sciberras lamented the fact that the players were left out of the consultation process.

“The biggest point for me is that it’s really shameful that the main protagonists of football, the players, have not been consulted on this issue,” Sciberras said.

“A final decision on the new format has not been taken yet.

“At the end of the day, whatever the format, I believe that the league is always won by the best and most consistent team.

“As for the new format, I think that the proposal not to divide the teams is a positive step.”

BOV Premier League statistics

Balzan: Armario Negrin 9 (1 pen); Micallef 5; Darmanin 3; Bezzina 2, Scicluna 2, Spiteri 2; Agius, Aboulezz, Pereira, Sciberras, Grima.

Red cards: Agius (vs Vittoriosa Stars), Vignaroli (vs Sliema Wanderers), Aboulezz (vs Mosta), Falzon (vs Naxxar Lions), Grioli (vs Naxxar Lions).

Birkirkara: Jhonnattann 17; Haruna 11 (1 pen); Temile 6 (1 pen), Fenech 6 (1 pen); Mendoza 3, Herrera 3; Matheus 2, Scicluna 2, Vella 2, J. Zerafa 2, Vukanac 2; Toure, Camenzuli, D. Zerafa, Camenzuli.

Own goal: Camilleri (vs Valletta).
Red card: Bissi (vs Hibernians).

Floriana: Coronado 11; Muir 8 (5 pens); Diogo 6; Bogdanovic 2, Pisani 2, Emeka 2; Casha, Edet, Farrugia.

Own goals: Doffo (vs Naxxar); Bonnici (vs Tarxien); Pisani (vs Qormi).
Red cards: Edet (vs Rabat Ajax, vs Qormi).

Hibernians: Edison 17; Obiefule 12, Failla 12 (6 pens); Lima 7; Cohen 6; Soares 3, Farrugia 3; Levnaic, Kristensen, B. Muscat, Degabriele.

Red cards: Pearson (vs Vittoriosa, vs Naxxar), Camilleri (vs Mosta); Levnaic (vs Valletta); Failla (vs Sliema); Kristensen (vs Sliema); Bezzina (vs Naxxar).

Mosta: Kaljevic 10 (3 pens), Piccioni 10 (2 pens); Fernandes 6 (2 pens); Micallef 4; Pereira 3, Messias 3; R. Grech 2, T. Farrugia 2; Brincat, Silva Faria, Duriska, Martins, Zammit, I. Grech.

Own goals: S. Gauci (vs Rabat Ajax), Bugeja (vs Qormi), Camilleri (vs Vittoriosa Stars).
Red cards: Ekani (vs Tarxien); Grech (vs Birkirkara); Piccioni (vs Floriana), Farrugia (vs Sliema).

Naxxar: Scerri 8; Gilmar 6 (1 pen); Rocha Da Silva 4 (1 pen); Thiago 3, Falzon 3, Buhagiar 3; Ani, Bonnici, Evaldo, Debono.

Red cards: Drago (vs Sliema Wanderers); Buhagiar (vs Tarxien Rainbows), Del Negro (vs Vittoriosa); Gilmar (vs Mosta), Decesare (vs Qormi).

Qormi: Effiong 17 (2 pens); Bajada 5 (4 pens), Jorginho 5, Grech 5; Innocenti 2, Gabriel 2; Sammut, Bugeja, Del Giudice, Nucera, Terribile, Cantoro, Vella.

Red cards: Bugeja (vs Floriana, Balzan), Farrugia (vs Floriana), Pisani (vs Sliema), Gianola (vs Floriana).

Rabat: Micallef 5 (1 pen); Licari 4; Pelaez 3 (2 pens), Carrillo 3; Avila Perez, Gauci, Azzopardi, Bajada.

Red cards: Falzon (vs Mosta); S. Gauci (vs Qormi); A. Azzopardi (vs Naxxar); Velimirovic (vs Naxxar); Z. Tanti (vs Naxxar), Bajada (vs Tarxien).

Sliema: Ohawuchi 18; Muchardi 7; Cilia 5; Woods 4 (2 pens); Navarra 3, Bello-Osagie 3 (2 pens), A. Muscat 3, Vladavic 3 (1 pen); Bianciardi 2; Gueye, Mintoff.

Red cards: Gatt Baldacchino (vs Tarxien Rainbows, vs Hibernians), Mintoff (vs Valletta), Scerri (vs Qormi), Rapino (vs Naxxar Lions), Vladavic (vs Mosta).

Tarxien: Ronaille 10 (2 pens); Jorge 8; Toure 5 (1 pen); Pulo 3; Ciantar 2; Potezica, Martinelli, Mamo, Bonnici, Barbosa, Lopez, Bueno.

Red cards: Potezica (vs Hibernians), Jorge (vs Sliema), Lopes (vs Rabat), Vella (vs Valletta, vs Qormi), Mifsud (vs Naxxar), Bonnici (vs Naxxar).

Valletta: Denni 15; Nafti 10; Agius 6; Mifsud Triganza 5; Briffa 4, Fenech 4, Nyang 4, Caruana 4; Elford-Alliyu 3; Barry 2; Camilleri, Zammit, Romulo, Da Silva.

Red cards: Agius (vs Mosta), Denni (vs Hibs), Vandelannoite (vs Balzan), Borg (vs Naxxar).

Vittoriosa: Guerrero 11 (3 pens); Pereira10; Martin 5; Teruel, Samir Arab, Aguiar, Sammut.

Red cards: Aguiar (vs Tarxien, vs Qormi), Sidibe (vs Qormi).

Next fixtures

U*Bet FA Trophy SFs

Tomorrow
National Stadium: 2pm Gżira vs Val-letta; 4pm Sliema vs Qormi.

BOV Premier League

Saturday
Hibs Stadium: 2pm Balzan vs Mosta; 4pm Sliema vs Hibernians.
Tedesco Stadium: 2pm Tarxien vs Qormi; 4.15pm Naxxar vs Vittoriosa.

Sunday
National Stadium: 2pm Rabat Ajax vs Floriana; 4pm Valletta vs Birkirkara.

Standings

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Birkirkara	26	21	2	3	61	22	37
Valletta	26	19	4	3	61	19	35
Hibernians	26	17	2	7	64	34	30
Sliema	26	13	9	4	50	29	27
Mosta	26	13	4	9	49	43	24
Balzan	26	8	4	14	28	45	14
Floriana	26	10	5	11	37	43	18
Tarxien	26	7	5	14	35	48	18
Qormi	26	7	4	15	43	50	17
Naxxar Lions	26	8	5	13	31	48	16
Vittoriosa	26	6	4	16	30	57	13
Rabat Ajax	26	1	4	21	19	70	4