Unbeaten in their opening five league games, Balzan will be going all out to make it three wins in a row but they will be wary of the threat posed by the resurgent Mosta when the two sides meet tomorrow at the Tedesco Stadium.

A 5-1 victory over Pembroke Athleta cemented Balzan’s position in the upper reaches of the standings but Mosta are also flying high after defying expectations by collecting 10 points from their first five outings.

In midweek, the Blues delivered further notice of their ambitions to fight for a top-six position as Edin Murga’s late goal earned them a deserved point in a 1-1 draw against Birkirkara.

Oliver Spiteri, the Balzan coach, has a lot of respect for his former club.

“Mosta have a good team,” Spiteri told Times of Malta.

“We had seen this in the pre-season friendlies. They can rely on valid Maltese and foreign players and in Ivan Zammit they have a smart coach who is clearly bringing the best out of his squad.”

In their midweek clash with Pembroke, Balzan were slow out of the blocks as they went behind early and had a number of scares before finding their feet towards the end of the first half after Spiteri switched from 3-4-1-2 to 4-3-3.

The Balzan coach knows that a repeat of the mistakes that marred their performance in the opening half-hour of the Pembroke match could prove costly against more experienced opponents.

“We have to be careful not to repeat the mistakes we did in the early stages of our last game,” Spiteri said.

“In the first 35 minutes, Pembroke had three clear chances but we also had two one-on-one opportunities.

“That said, I’m the first to admit that we were not good in the first half-hour of our match and we have to improve.”

Their bright start to the season has added weight to suggestions that Balzan are well-equipped to compete with the big boys after finishing fourth last season but Spiteri is refusing to countenance talk of a title challenge.

“Challenging for the title is a very heavy phrase,” Spiteri said.

“We know that the club’s committee, led by Anton Tagliaferro, are always behind us.

“They know what we are doing and how far we can go but there is no excessive pressure.

“Our aim is to improve in a steady and constant manner.

“We are in a good position in the championship but we know that, the moment we relax a bit, we will be punished.

“We are taking it game by game.”

For tomorrow’s match, Spiteri will again have to make do without left-back Steve Bezzina, out with a foot injury, and Montenegrin striker Bojan Kaljevic, who is still recovering from ankle surgery, but Aleksandar Vujacic is set to return.

Ivan Zammit, the Mosta coach, is hopeful of having a full squad at his disposal.

“We played well against Birkirkara,” Zammit said of Mosta’s last game.

“We could have gained three points as we had some good chances before they scored. They also finished the game with 10 men and I felt that we should have had a penalty but that’s in the past now.

“I was mostly pleased with the collective spirit shown by my players as this was lacking in the Sliema game and we ended up losing.

“The Sliema defeat was a lesson for us. We can only move forward if we are united, play as a team and with lot of enthusiasm like we did against Birkirkara.”

No surprise

Having been in charge of Balzan when these were still finding their feet in the top flight, Zammit is not surprised by their progress in recent years.

“Balzan have spent a lot of money on new players,” Zammit said.

“They are not a surprise any more... the only surprise for me will be if they don’t finish in the top three this season.

“Balzan have already beaten Valletta and are second in the table.

“On paper, this looks like an easy game for them but matches are won on the field of play.

“This is how we approach our games.”

Programme

Playing today
Hibs Stadium: 17.00 Tarxien vs Floriana; 19.00 Pembroke vs Hibs.

Tomorrow
National Stadium: 17.00 Valletta vs Naxxar; 19.00 Qormi vs Birkirkara.
Tedesco Stadium: 17.00 St Andrew’s vs Sliema; 19.15 Mosta vs Balzan.