The wait is finally over.

The 2013-14 BOV Premier League will be decided this afternoon when Birkirkara and Valletta go head to head in the final match of the championship at the National Stadium (kick-off: 17.00).

Birkirkara, the champions, are enjoying a two-point lead over nearest rivals Valletta and need only a draw from this match to retain the title.

Valletta have no margin of error. Only a win will do for them to claim the honour for the 22nd time in their glorious history.

Paul Zammit, the Birkirkara coach, is predicting a very close encounter. He believes the issue will be decided in favour of that team which copes better with psychological demands such a big occasions warrant.

“There is no doubt that Birkirkara and Valletta deserve to be fighting it out for this year’s championship crown,” Zammit told Times of Malta.

When I was coaching back home there were three occasions when my team was involved in deciders... fortunately we always won – Paus

“These two teams have been the major forces in the title race and I’m expecting another tight battle.

“Our performances over the course of the season have been outstanding. We certainly raised the bar from last season’s title success.

“The team have also embarked on a run of consecutive victories when winning 13 matches in a row. We have scored the second-highest number of goals and have one of the best defences.

“Valletta, too, have their merits. Since January they look more solid than before. Their tactical organisation on the pitch has improved. Indeed, they have several members in their squad who could decide the match single-handedly.

“We are expecting a huge crowd at the stadium so the tension will be very high.

“However, I’m optimistic on our chances. All our players have been in these kind of situations before, including young players like Ryan Scicluna, Rowen Muscat and Ryan Camenzuli. That will be very important.

“It may well end up into a battle of nerves and if that is the case my players have enough experience to prevail in this important match.”

This is not the first time that the Premier League has been decided on the final day of the season.

Birkirkara and Valletta were the protagonists of an exciting end-of-season finale in 1998.

On that occasion, the Stripes also required a point to win the title for the first time but nine-man City rose to the occasion and beat their rivals 2-1 following goals from Stefan Giglio and a Joe Zarb penalty.

Eleven years later, Valletta found themselves in the same situation, this time against Hibernians.

However, on this occasion, the Citizens could not go beyond a goalless draw to hand the title to the Paolites.

Last year, Birkirkara were in-volved in a shodown against Hibs after both teams finished with the same number of points.

The Stripes came from behind to win 3-1 and claim their fourth league championship.

Andre Paus, the Valletta coach, may be a novice to our game but the former Vitesse player is no newcomer to such do-or-die scenarios.

“It’s not a new situation for me,” the Dutchman said.

“When I was coaching back home there were three occasions when my team was involved in deciders... fortunately, we always won.

“Now, I’m looking forward to the match against Birkirkara. I’m relaxed as I know that if the team reaches a high level of performance we have a very good chance of winning this one.

“ I prefer to be in our situation where only a win will do as my team can focus on a single objective.

“Being in Birkirkara’s shoes, where two results will do, could be tricky as one cannot be sure of how it could work in terms of mental preparation.

“For this reason only I think that Valletta have a slight edge.”

Paus emphasised the importance that both sides show respect towards each other to ensure a great day for the sport.

“From what I’m hearing it appears that the stadium will be full and that is very good news for Maltese football,” Paus said.

“For me, I want to see my players giving their all on the pitch but, most importantly, both sides have to accept the final outcome of this massive match.

“At the end of the day this is sport so hopefully the occasion will provide the best advert for Maltese football.”

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Tension, drama and entertaining play characterised all three head-to-head league clashes between Birkirkara and Valletta this season with the record showing a perfect balance as each of the two rivals chalked up a win and a draw.

September 29, 2013

Valletta 0
Birkirkara 1

• Before this match, Birkirkara were beaten by Hibernians. So, the Stripes were looking to get back on track not to lose the initiative to the Paolites who were on a scorching run of successive wins in those early stages of the championship.

The Citizens’ early-season form indicated they had lots of work to do to reach their objectives. In the end, however, it was only a Yessous Camilleri own goal that gave Birkirkara victory.

Frank Temile failed to spark in his first showing against former club Valletta but the Stripes held on to their narrow lead.

Valletta: P. Marino, J. Caruana, R. Fenech, R. Briffa, H. Barry, Denni, D. Falzon (E. Agius), J. Vandelannoite (A. Corr Nyang), Y. Camilleri (J.P. Mifsud Triganza), A. Nafti, L. Dimech.

Birkirkara: J. Haber, R. Muscat, A. Mendoza, Jhonnattann (D. Toure), P. Fenech, J. Zerafa, G. Sciberras, Z. Muscat, S. Haruna (T. Vella), F. Temile (D. Zerafa), R. Camenzuli.

Scorer: Camilleri 32og.

February 2, 2014

Valletta 2
Birkirkara 1

• Valletta finally showed their true mettle and stopped Birkirkara from opening a significant lead at the top of the standings with a fine performance highlighted by the presence of new coach Andre Paus and goalkeeper Nukri Revishvili impressing on his debut.

In front of a bumper crowd at the National Stadium, Ryan Fenech and Hamza Barry fired two great goals for Valletta who were momentarily pegged back by a Shola Haruna penalty nine minutes after the restart.

Birkirkara applied some late pressure but City closed all avenues to Revishvili’s goal.

Valletta: N. Revishvili, J. Caruana, S. Borg, R. Fenech, E. Agius, R. Briffa, A. Owonikoko (J.P. Mifsud Triganza), H. Barry, S. Bajada, J. Vandelannoite (A. Da Silva Souza), A. Nafti (I. Azzopardi).

Birkirkara: J. Haber, Z. Muscat, A. Mendoza, N. Vukanac, R. Camenzuli, G. Sciberras (D. Zerafa), R. Scicluna (F. Temile), R. Muscat, S. Haruna, P. Fenech (T. Vella), Jhonnattann.

Scorers: Fenech 13, Barry 63 (V); Haruna 54 penalty (B).

March 23, 2014

Birkirkara 0
Valletta 0

• This Championship Pool encounter attracted 5,551 spectators to the stadium but no goals were scored despite the commitment shown by both teams, particularly Birkirkara in the opening half.

Victory would have taken Valletta to the top of the standings for the first time in several weeks but it was evident that their major objective was to avoid defeat to stay in the reckoning and keep within striking distance of the leaders.

Birkirkara had a couple of legitimate shouts for a penalty as Valletta sorely missed the influence of chief goal-getter Denni in their line-up.

Birkirkara: J. Haber, Z. Muscat, N. Vukanac, A. Mendoza, J. Zerafa, G. Sciberras, P. Fenech, S. Haruna (Ronaille), E. Herrera, Jhonnattann (K. Zammit), F. Temile (R. Camenzuli).

Valletta: N. Revishvili, J. Caruana, S. Borg, E. Agius, R. Fenech (J.P. Mifsud Triganza), R. Briffa, O. Reyes Sanchez, L. Elford-Alliyu (H. Barry), A. Da Silva Souza, S. Bajada, I. Maisuradze.