Written off as no hopers as recently as December, Balzan have defied the odds after clawing back an eight-point deficit to pip Naxxar Lions to a place in the Championship Pool.

The race for the final top-six berth in the two-tiered Premier League went down to the wire after Balzan reeled off four consecutive wins to move one point clear of Naxxar whose erstwhile bright prospects were undermined by a dismal run of three successive defeats.

It was still all to play for when Balzan and Naxxar Lions took to the field to face Valletta and Hibs respectively in their final match of the first phase but defeats for both confirmed Balzan’s entry into the top six.

Balzan were floored by Aziz Corr Nyang’s superb finish six minutes from time but their growing anxiety turned into euphoria as news of Hibs’ late scoring surge against Naxxar reached the club officials at the Tedesco Stadium.

It was a particularly sweet moment for coach Jesmond Zerafa, the catalyst of Balzan’s top-six comeback after replacing Italian Riccardo Tumiatti in October.

Balzan’s ascent into the Championship Pool represents Zerafa’s most notable achievement since he led Valletta to their second consecutive title in season 2011-12.

“This success has a different dimension,” Zerafa said. “The two titles I won with Valletta gave me great satisfaction, especially the first as it was my first league success as a coach and the team remained unbeaten that season.

“I’m very happy to have helped Balzan secure a coveted place in the Championship Pool. This club has given me a lot. The people who run Balzan are very down-to-earth and work very hard for the team.

“At one point, we were far off the Championship Pool zone but we didn’t give up.

“We needed to win our last few games to revive our hopes and we managed to do that while always keeping our feet on the ground.

“The reshuffle of the foreign players in January was crucial. I told (club official) George Borg that we risked relegation if we didn’t bring in better foreigners.

“During that period, we didn’t even talk about the top six but the players deserve great credit for turning it around.

“I’m also glad that the efforts of people like George Borg and Anton Tagliaferro (Balzan’s sponsor) have been rewarded... they have also played a big part in this success.”

A 2-2 draw against bottom side Rabat Ajax in December looked to have ended Balzan’s top-six hopes but Zerafa and his allies responded to the team’s struggles by revitalising their squad in January.

A host of foreigners, namely Rodrigo Pereira, Joselito, Erjon Beu and Spanish goalkeeper Daniel Martinez, were jettisoned in favour of players with seen-it and done-it experience in the Premier League, the likes of Brazilians Ramon and Pedrinho, Chilean midfielder Edison Bilbao Zarate, arguably Balzan’s most reliable player since his arrival in January, goalkeeper Manuel Bartolo and Kurt Magro.

“The quality of the foreigners makes a big difference,” Zerafa said.

“Some of the foreigners we had in the first months of the season were not up to standard to the point that, in some games before January, I only included two or three in the starting team.”

Facing title candidates Valletta in a potentially make-or-break game for their Championship Pool hopes was certainly not the ideal scenario for Balzan but Zerafa stayed calm, knowing that Naxxar also had a very tough test against Hibernians.

“Our objective was to take something from the match,” Zerafa remarked.

“But it was not going to be easy for Naxxar to beat Hibernians.

“As I said before the game, we were going to try and reach our top-six goal without having to depend on other results.

“Our performance was good. Valletta were the more dangerous side but we only conceded five minutes from time.

“We contained them well and could have taken a point.”

Amid the escalating euphoria in the Balzan dug-out during the closing stages of Saturday’s game against Valletta, Zerafa kept his composure before joining in the celebrations at the final whistle.

“I was tranquil,” Zerafa said.

“It was important to transmit the right message to the players. Obviously, the reserve players, committee members and supporters knew what was happening at the Hibs Stadium.

“But I wanted the players to remain concentrated until the end.

“Although it was a very important game for us, I told the players that there was no pressure on us because we were playing Valletta.

“I tried to take the pressure off the players but they badly wanted to reach the Championship Pool.

“I can sympathise with Naxxar because they had been sixth for a long time... they’ve had a good season so far.”

New targets

Mindful of Balzan’s low-key showings in the Championship Pool two seasons ago, Zerafa is determined to avoid a repeat this term.

“The most important thing is to keep the players motivated,” Zerafa said. “On Thursday, we are checking in at a local hotel ahead of a four-day training camp.

“It’s important for us to play in the top six because the other teams have got more potential than those in the Relegation Pool.

“I believe that the experience of playing in the Championship Pool will make the club stronger for next year.

“I will do my best to keep the momentum going.”

Balzan will start their top-six campaign with 14 points, five behind Mosta and eight adrift of the fourth-placed Sliema Wanderers.

Asked if Balzan harbour hopes of joining the race for European football, Zerafa replied: “Europe is a difficult target for us because we are far behind Sliema but you never know.

“We will take it game by game.

“I believe that we can give a good challenge to any team as we have already shown this season.”

Championship Pool
Opening fixtures: Balzan vs Birkirkara; Valletta vs Sliema Wanderers; Mosta vs Hibernians.

Relegation Pool
Opening fixtures: Floriana vs Qormi; Tarxien Rainbows vs Vittoriosa Stars; Rabat Ajax vs Naxxar Lions.

Premier League statistics – scorers and red cards

Balzan: Armario Negrin 8 (1 pen); Micallef 4; Darmanin 3, Bezzina 2; Agius, Scicluna, Aboulezz, Pereira, Sciberras, Spiteri, Grima.
Red cards: Agius (vs Vittoriosa Stars), Vignaroli (vs Sliema Wanderers), Aboulezz (vs Mosta), Falzon (vs Naxxar Lions), Grioli (vs Naxxar Lions).

Birkirkara: Jhonnattann 14; Haruna 10 (1 pen); Temile 6 (1 pen); Fenech 4 (1 pen); Mendoza 3; Herrera 2, Matheus 2, Scicluna 2, Vella 2; Toure, J. Zerafa, Vukanac, Camenzuli, D. Zerafa.
Own goal: Camilleri (vs Valletta).
Red card: Bissi (vs Hibernians).

Floriana: Coronado 10; Muir 8 (5 pens); Diogo 3; Bogdanovic 2, Pisani 2; Casha, Edet, Emeka.
Own goals: Doffo (vs Naxxar); Bonnici (vs Tarxien).
Red cards: Edet (vs Rabat, vs Qormi).

Hibernians: Edison 17; Obiefule 11; Failla 10 (5 pens); Cohen 6; Lima 5; Soares 3; Levnaic, Farrugia, Kristensen, B. Muscat, Degabriele.
Red cards: Pearson (vs Vittoriosa, vs Naxxar), Camilleri (vs Mosta); Levniac (vs Valletta); Failla (vs Sliema); Kristensen (vs Sliema); Bezzina (vs Naxxar).

Mosta: Piccioni 8 (2 pens), Kaljevic 8 (3 pens); Fernandes 6 (2 pens); Pereira 3, Micallef 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).

Naxxar: Scerri 6; Gilmar 5 (1 pen); Rocha Da Silva 4 (1 pen); Thiago 3, Falzon 3; Buhagiar 2; Ani, Bonnici, Evaldo, Debono.
Red cards: Drago (vs Sliema Wanderers); Buhagiar (vs Tarxien Rainbows), Del Negro (vs Vittoriosa); Gilmar (vs Mosta).

Qormi: Effiong 11 (2 pens); Bajada 5 (4 pens); Grech 2, Innocenti 2; Sammut, Bugeja, Jorginho, Del Giudice, Gabriel, Nucera, Terribile, Cantoro.
Red cards: Bugeja (vs Floriana, Balzan), Farrugia (vs Floriana), Pisani (vs Sliema), Gianola (vs Floriana).

Rabat: Micallef 5 (1 pen); Licari 3, Pelaez 3 (2 pens), Carrillo 3; Avila Perez, Gauci, Azzopardi.
Red cards: Falzon (vs Mosta); S. Gauci (vs Qormi); A. Azzopardi (vs Naxxar); Velimirovic (vs Naxxar).

Sliema: Ohawuchi 15; Muchardi 7; Cilia 5; Navarra 3, Bello-Osagie 3 (2 pens), A. Muscat 3; Bianciardi 2, Woods 2 (2 pens); Gueye, Vladavic (pen), Mintoff.
Red cards: Gatt Baldacchino (vs Tarxien, vs Hibernians), Mintoff (vs Valletta), Scerri (vs Qormi), Rapino (vs Naxxar).

Tarxien: Ronaille 10 (2 pens); Jorge 7; Pulo 3; Toure 2; Potezica, Martinelli, Mamo, Bonnici, Barbosa.
Red cards: Potezica (vs Hibernians), Jorge (vs Sliema), Lopes (vs Rabat), Vella (vs Valletta, vs Qormi), Mifsud (vs Naxxar).

Valletta: Denni 14; Nafti 8; Mifsud Triganza 5, Agius 5; Briffa 4, Fenech 4, Nyang 4; Caruana 2, Barry 2; Camilleri, Zammit, Romulo, Elford-Alliyu.
Red cards: Agius (vs Mosta), Denni (vs Hibs), Vandelannoite (vs Balzan), Borg (vs Naxxar).

Vittoriosa: Guerrero 9 (2 pens); Pereira 8; Martin 4; Teruel, Samir Arab, Aguiar.
Red cards: Aguiar (vs Tarxien, vs Qormi).

Next fixtures

FA Trophy (Quarter-finals)

Saturday
National Stadium: 2pm Naxxar Lions vs Valletta; 4pm Qormi vs Birkirkara.

Sunday
Hibs Stadium: 2pm Gżira vs Rabat; 4pm Sliema vs Pietà Hotspurs.

Standings

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Birkirkara	22	18	2	2	51	19	56 (28)
Valletta	22	17	2	3	52	14	53 (27)
Hibernians	22	15	2	5	57	27	47 (24)
Sliema W.	22	12	7	3	43	24	43 (22)
Mosta	22	12	2	8	44	35	38 (19)
Balzan	22	8	4	10	24	31	28 (14)
Naxxar	22	8	3	11	27	39	27 (14)
Floriana	22	8	4	10	30	36	22 (11)
Vittoriosa	22	5	3	14	24	47	18 (9)
Qormi	23	4	4	14	28	45	16 (8)
Tarxien R.	22	4	4	14	27	46	16 (8)
Rabat Ajax	22	1	3	18	17	61	6 (3)