Patrick Curmi had good reason to be happy on Sunday after guiding Tarxien Rainbows to a 3-2 victory over his former club Birkirkara.
My primary concern was to lead my team to a good result.. revenge didn’t come into it
Tarxien’s win came just five weeks after the former Marsaxlokk mentor was shown the backdoor by the Stripes after only five league games.
Curmi admitted to being surprised by Tarxien’s success over the Stripes.
“I was a bit surprised because we managed to win against a more-quoted team,” Curmi told The Times. “I’m relatively new at Tarxien and the first two weeks were about trying to put everyone’s feet on the ground.
“That said, the win over Mqabba gave us a positive stimulus and these three points against Birkirkara are like a blessing in disguise.
“I had an advantage in that I knew Birkirkara well and this certainly boosted our tactical preparations. We worked hard in training on how to weather Birkirkara’s pressure and hit them with counter-attacks.
“I want to thank my players because they followed my instructions to near perfection.”
Not the flamboyant type, Curmi refused to countenance talk of revenge but he did confess that he felt vindicated by Tarxien’s success.
“If I say that I didn’t feel any pressure before this game, I would be lying,” Curmi said. “But, my intention was to work calmly, without pressure. I wanted to prepare my team as best as I could to improve our chances of taking something from the match.
“There is no denying that, since this was my first game against Birkirkara since my departure from the club, victory went down very well. However, I must stress that my primary concern was to lead my team to a good result.. revenge didn’t come into it.
“In today’s football, it only takes a couple of negative results for the coach’s work to be called into question. At Birkirkara, I feel that I was not given enough time to get things going but that’s in the past.”
Curmi’s arrival has sparked an upturn in Tarxien’s fortunes as the Rainbows, regarded as strong Championship Pool candidates in pre-season, have won back-to-back matches for the first time this term.
The Tarxien coach was quick to pay tribute to the work of Noel Coleiro, his predecessor.
“Credit is also due to the previous coach because he made my job easy,” Curmi said.
“The base was solid and this enabled me to immediately start working on implementing my philosophy.
“The players have shown a great desire to work hard and this is why we have gained two wins in a row... it’s not a coincidence.
“If we keep up the good work, we can reach our targets.”
Talking of targets, Tarxien’s initial struggles looked to have jeopardised their top-six aspirations but their mini-revival has restored optimism.
“The club’s main objective at the start of the season was to make the Championship Pool but the team’s negative results in the first few games raised question marks as to whether this target could be attained,” Curmi said.
“These two wins have improved the outlook as we’re now only point behind Mqabba and Balzan and four below the sixth-placed Sliema Wanderers. We can revive our top-six bid but it will not be easy.”
Curmi is glad to be back in business after passing through a difficult time following his sacking as Birkirkara coach.
“I’ve always had an ambition to move forward in my coaching career,” Curmi said. “I had six positive years with Msida St Joseph and Marsaxlokk. Birkirkara represented a bigger challenge because they are regularly fighting for the big honours.
“I was happy to be appointed Birkirkara coach as I felt that I was reaching the climax of my career but it turned sour after only a short period.
“The 15 days after I lost my job at Birkirkara were difficult but I was lucky that, at Tarxien, I’ve met two persons with a sound character and who really love the club, namely president Tony Cassar and team manager John Vella. We quickly came to an agreement for me to take over as coach.
“Tarxien have a hard-working committee and the environment at the club is very good. These two positive results definitely helped to strengthen the unity in the squad.”
Valletta regained top spot in the BOV Premier League last weekend.
A hard-earned 2-0 victory over Balzan Youths on Friday had given the champions a two-point lead over Hibs who missed the chance to leapfrog their rivals after being held to a one-all draw by Floriana.
The Citizens made hard work of beating a dogged Balzan Youths side who had been reduced to 10 men from as early as the 24th minute, Clifton Ciantar receiving a straight red card for a late tackle on Jonathan Caruana.
Balzan’s defensive strategy frustrated the dominant Valletta but late goals from Roderick Briffa and substitute Alfred Effiong eased the pressure on the Whites.
Hibs, the only unbeaten team in the Premier League, were fancied to return to the summit ahead of their meeting with Floriana but the latter salvaged a point with the last kick of the game.
Brazilian striker Luis Edison, aka Tarabai, atoned for his 41st-minute penalty miss by putting Hibs in front on the stroke of half-time but Polish-born midfielderAndre Grabowski scored a stoppage-time equaliser for the Greens who thus avoided a third consecutive defeat.
The draw left Hibs one point behind Valletta.
Qormi joined Floriana in third place, on 17 points, after sharing the spoils with Sliema Wanderers in an enthralling 3-3 draw.
Captain Joseph Farrugia hit a brace for Qormi, the first from a penalty, either side of Nigerian striker Daniel Nwoke’s goal early in the second half.
Sliema twice came from behind to level matters with goals from Danail Mitev and Jackson Lima before Rumen Galabov had temporarily put them 3-2 ahead 18 minutes into the second half. The Blues, without a win in their last five matches, are sixth on 14 points.
Tarxien Rainbows pulled off an upset on Sunday as they downed Birkirkara 3-2. Rodrigo Andreis Galvao capped a man-of-the-match performance with two goals for Tarxien whose coach Patrick Curmi was facing the club that gave him the sack only five weeks ago.
Rodrigo Pereira scored an unfortunate own goal early in the second half to give Tarxien a 2-1 lead after Rowen Muscat had fired Birkirkara ahead after only four minutes.
Spanish striker Moises Avila Perez made it 2-2 for Birkirkara but Tarxien claimed the three points thanks to Galvao.
Marsaxlokk brushed aside their off-field problems to halt their losing run with a 5-3 win over the beleaguered Ħamrun Spartans.
Obinna Obiefule scored a hat-trick for Marsaxlokk with the other goals coming from Carlos Campagnoli and Emiliano Lattes. Massimo Grima, with two goals, and Dene Shields were on the scoresheet for the Spartans.
In Friday’s opening match, newly-promoted sides Mqabba and Mosta took a point each in a 1-1 draw. Gilbert Martin opened the scoring for Mosta on 21 minutes but Marko Potezica equalised for Mqabba.
Premier League statistics
Scorers, red cards
Balzan Youths: Ciantar 3, Bright 3; Tasic, Camilleri, Farrugia, Grima.
Red cards: Pedrinho (vs Qormi, vs Mqabba), Francica (vs Hibs), Forace (vs Tarxien), Ciantar (vs Valletta).
Birkirkara: Avila 7; Cilia 4 (3 pens); Grech 2, Pereira 2; Buhagiar, Zerafa, Vella, Muscat.
Red card: Decesare (vs Mosta).
Floriana: Caruana 4; Woods 3 (1 pen); Cassar, Odwong, Mintoff, Farrugia, Micallef, Grabowski.
Own goal: Everton (vs Tarxien).
Red cards: Amamoo (vs Sliema); Bartolo (vs Birkirkara).
Ħamrun Spartans: Grima 4; Ribeiro 3; Shields 2; Luis Silva, Sammut, Toneto Porcari.
Red cards: Agius (vs Balzan), Polli (vs Birkirkara).
Hibernians: Edison 11; Failla 7; Caruana 2; Soares, Cohen, Anizoba.
Red card: Pulis (vs Valletta).
Marsaxlokk: Obiefule 10; Deanov 4; Farrugia 2; Lattes 2; Kokavessis, Campagnoli.
Red card: Templeman (vs Hibernians), Brincat (vs Qormi).
Mosta: Zammit 2 (1 pen), Mvondo 2, Martin 2; Aboulezz, Arilson.
Own goal: Buhagiar (vs Birkirkara).
Red cards: Ossok (vs Hibs); Tisbi (vs Qormi).
Mqabba: Mamic 5, Mazzitelli 5 (1 pen); Azzopardi, Briffa, Potezica.
Red cards: Mazzitelli (vs Marsaxlokk), Mamic (vs Hibs), Timotic (vs Hibs).
Qormi: Farrugia 8 (4 pens); Jorge Pereira 4, Nwoke 4; Bello Osagie 3; Bartolo, Sciberras, Bondin.
Sliema: Mitev 4 (2 pens), Lima 4; Jorge 2, Mifsud Triganza 2, Bajada 2; Scerri, Ani, Frendo, Galabov.
Red cards: Scerri (vs Hibs), Grech (vs Floriana), Mitev (vs Marsaxlokk).
Tarxien Rainbows: Bueno 6 (1 pen); Ricardo 3; Anonam 2, Galvao 2; Everton.
Own goal: Pereira (vs Birkirkara).
Red cards: Anonam (vs Mosta), Costa (vs Balzan).
Valletta: Barbosa 5, Effiong 5; Denni 3, Mifsud 2, Pace 2, Borg 2, Briffa 2; Zongo.
Red cards: G. Agius, Borg, Fenech (all vs Hibs).
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Valletta | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 9 | 25 |
| Hibernians | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 23 | 8 | 24 |
| Qormi | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 22 | 15 | 17 |
| Floriana | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 9 | 17 |
| Birkirkara | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 19 | 13 | 16 |
| Sliema | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 18 | 17 | 14 |
| Balzan | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 11 |
| Mqabba | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 19 | 11 |
| Marsaxlokk | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 20 | 25 | 10 |
| Tarxien | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 15 | 23 | 10 |
| Ħamrun | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 21 | 8 |
| Mosta | 10 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 23 | 5 |
Next fixtures
Thursday (Tedesco Stadium)
19.30 Mqabba vs Ħamrun
Friday (Tedesco Stadium)
18.00 Birkirkara vs Balzan
20.15 Mosta vs Floriana
Saturday (Hibs Stadium)
14.00 Sliema vs Tarxien
16.00 Hibs vs Qormi
Sunday (Tedesco Stadium)
15.00 Marsaxlokk vs Valletta