Balzan Youths are on the up.

Seven years after losing their Premier League status following a painful defeat to Msida St Joseph in a relegation clash, Balzan are back among the elite.

Their domination of Division One last season was such that the Youths wrapped up the title with plenty to spare, finishing 12 points clear of runners-up Mqabba.

Having missed out on promotion by a whisker the previous year, Balzan were in-stalled among the favourites to claim a berth in the top flight as, in the eyes of many, theirs was one of the strongest teams in Division One last season.

Led by player-coach Ivan Zammit, Balzan could count on several experienced players, the likes of Renie Forace, Clifton Ciantar, Silvan Ciscaldi and Uchanna Anywanna as club president George Borg left no stone unturned in his efforts to assemble a competitive squad.

“The driving force is my desire to win,” Borg told The Times as he looked back on Balzan’s successful season.

“I’m a bad loser and get very frustrated when the team lose but this season we have won many games in the league.

“I’m delighted that we have been promoted to the Premier League. It’s been a good year because we’ve reached our main target.”

Although Balzan were widely regarded as the team to beat in Division One last season, Borg said their chief priority was to secure their status.

“At the start of the season, our no.1 aim was to steer clear of the relegation zone,” Borg said.

“Halfway through the cam-paign, we analysed our perfor-mance and identified those areas that needed to be improved.

“The season before, we narrowly missed out on promotion. It was a tough league as there were two Premier League clubs in Division One, Marsaxlokk and Vittoriosa Stars.

“It was a last-minute penalty in the decisive game against Vittoriosa that denied us promotion to the Premier League.”

For Borg, the 4-3 comeback win over Pietà Hotspurs in January was the defining moment of Balzan’s season.

“From day one, the players showed a great resolve to challenge for promotion,” he reflected.

“It was a collective effort as we were all pulling in the same direction. Every game was like a final and the players stayed determined throughout the season.

“The game against Pietà Hotspurs strengthened my belief in the team’s potential. We were 3-0 down in that match but we made a terrific comeback to win 4-3.

“A lot of people jumped to conclusions after that game but what many didn’t realise was that the changes effected by our coach turned the game around.

“That match was not a one-off because we also came from behind to beat St George’s.”

After dominating the league, Balzan had good cause to be positive about their chances of ad-ding the KO to their championship title but optimism turned to despair as they lost 3-2 to Dingli Swallows after leading 2-0 in the final.

The manner of that upset incensed Borg who claimed that the dismissal of Renato Conceicao for two yellow cards penalised his team.

“Losing the KO was a big disappointment because we failed to make it a double,” Borg said.

“But, it was the manner of our defeat that hurt most. Our player (Conceicao) was sent off after earning a second yellow card for lifting his shirt to celebrate his goal.

“He didn’t take off his shirt but the referee went by the book and showed him a second yellow card. We had just gone 2-0 up but it was still very early in the game. I don’t want to detract from Dingli’s merits but that decision penalised us.”

Balzan are a small club but under Borg’s guidance, they have improved by leaps and bounds. Promotion to the Premier League was the icing on the cake for a club who have also invested heavily to improve their facilities.

Borg singled out Anton Tagliaferro, the director of their Australian-based sponsor In-vestors Mutual Limited, for special praise.

“Without the backing of our sponsor and the MFA, it would have been impossible for a club like Balzan to achieve its objectives in such a short time,” Borg said.

“We continued with our ground project. We have built a new club-house and installed an artificial turf pitch and new floodlights.

“These works cost hundreds of thousands of euros. The support of Anton Tagliaferro has been vital for the club.”

Speculation has been rife that Borg may leave Balzan in the close season to take up a prominent role with champions Valletta but he has yet to make a decision.

“The only thing I can confirm is that I’ve received an interesting proposal from a top club but I’m still weighing up my options,” Borg said.

“Before making a decision, I want to make sure that Balzan are in a good, stable position to move forward.”