Hibs coach Michael Woods lauded his side’s consistency while his Birkirkara counterpart Paul Zammit hailed his team’s resilience as the two faced the media ahead of the much-awaited title decider tomorrow at the National Stadium (kick-off 6pm).
The two title candidates finished the season level at the top on 45 points.
“As Hibs coach, it was not easy to build on the continuity of the previous season,” Woods, who took over last summer following the departure of Mark Miller, said.
“That was my main objective.
“Seven players left the club in the summer and four came in but two failed to fit in the team. Nevertheless, we remained competitive.
“In January, we signed Tarabai (Luis Edison) and Obinna Obiefule who are proving their worth after regaining their fitness.
“This season, we have also given more chances to our nursery players who have made more appearances than previous years. All in all, we’ve had a successful season as Hibs have gained the highest number of points and scored most goals.”
Zammit heaped praise on his Birkirkara players who have bounced back from a series of setbacks to maintain their title challenge.
“The ingredients around our squad are good,” Zammit remarked.
“The secret of Birkirkara lies in this group of players. All the hurdles we had to overcome this season have only made us stronger.
“Now we are approaching the title decider against Hibs. We dropped two points in our last game against Hibs where, with 50 seconds remaining, we had almost closed the championship issue.
“Last weekend, we had a crucial game (against Tarxien). It was important to take the three points and, although it’s normal to hope for a favourable result in the Hibs-Valletta game, we were prepared before Saturday to face a decider.
“If we are going to win the title, we want to win it on the pitch.”
Both Zammit and Woods have been involved in crucial league matches and finals in their playing and coaching careers but tomorrow’s showdown is a different proposition as it’s a final for the league title, the first of its kind since Sliema Wanderers beat Floriana 2-0 in a title decider at the end of season 1971-72.
“I told the players that we had to start thinking about this game from the beginning of the week,” Woods said.
“The game is 50-50 as both teams have their strengths but there are always episodes during a match that can influence the outcome.
“I’m expecting a balanced encounter. It’s a decider and the supporters are only talking about it. It’s definitely an important game for Maltese football.”
The Birkirkara coach insisted that his team are approaching the decider as they’ve done for previous games.
“Nothing has changed,” Zammit said.
“We’ve been preparing for big games for a long time now. This group of players is strong. We’ve had our ups and downs but the team has remained focused.
“A game of this kind is a unique occasion in the career of a player. We all have our experiences and we will try to put that into one bag for Saturday’s decider.”
Ghedin’s message
Malta coach Pietro Ghedin was also present for yesterday’s news conference as a mark of respect and appreciation for the efforts of the two title challengers.
“I only want to congratulate the two clubs,” Ghedin said in a short address. “After 41 years, Maltese football has a title decider and this is exceptional, especially after a difficult and long season.
“Birkirkara and Hibs have finished level on points. Who am I going to side with, Hibs or Birkirkara?
“I say both because we support good football, fair play and sporting spirit.”
Zammit must make one change from the team that started the 1-0 win over Tarxien Rainbows as wing-back Joseph Zerafa is suspended but the other players are all available.
Woods announced that Brazilian winger Marcelo Dias only has a slight chance of being fit for tomorrow’s game after pulling his hamstring in the 2-1 win over Valletta. Ryan Camilleri is struggling with a knee problem and Jean Paul Farrugia picked up an injury in training on Wednesday but Woods is hopeful that both will win their fitness battles.
Meanwhile, Mark Attard, the MFA media officer, announced that fans of Hibs and Birkirkara snapped up their allocation of tickets in the West Stand (Enclosure) within hours of going on sale on Wednesday.
This prompted the MFA to give the two clubs the go-ahead to sell a limited number of tickets for the North Stand (Birkirkara) and South Stand (Hibs) yesterday.
Hibs-Birkirkara in numbers
10 top-flight titles won by Hibs
3 league championships for Birkirkara
3 goals for Birkirkara against Hibs this term
2 league wins for Birkirkara against Hibs this season
2 draws between the two title contenders in 2012/13
1 goal for Hibs in four league clashes with the Stripes this season
Previous Results
BOV PREMIER LEAGUE
27/10/2012 Birkirkara vs Hibernians1-0
22/12/2012 Hibs vs Birkirkara0-0
02/03/2013 Birkirkara vs Hibs1-0
14/04/2013 Hibs vs Birkirkara1-1
EURO CUP
21/06/2012 Hibs vs Birkirkara5-0