[attach id=241596 size="medium"]Postcard issued in 1937 to mark the victory of St George’s over Floriana in the last match of the season.[/attach]
The opening match of the 1936-37 league campaign between St George’s and Hibernians was a tough, uncompromising affair.
The public, however, did not mind the rough play, they wanted action and they got it to the nth degree. Hibs tried to put the Saints out of their stride by harassing their rivals for the entire 90 minutes.
The Saints, however, led by Leo Drucker, stepped up their game and won the Cottonera derby 2-0.
As the match between Sliema and Floriana drew closer, many wild tales of betting were told, and on the day of the match the bookmakers gathered at the Sliema side of the stadium had their hands full as punters flocked to place their bets.
The match was played on November 8 and the 14,754 spectators had full value for their money.
Within four minutes, the Blues took the lead with a clinical finish by ‘Brownie’ Sammut. The Greens were not discouraged and when they finally settled down, they started sharing the exchanges.
On 13 minutes, DeCesare handled the ball inside the penalty area but Edwards saved Leli Cauchi’s penalty. Still the Greens were not to be denied and on the stroke of half-time Cauchi centred to Holland who dashed in to head the ball home.
There was never a dull moment in the second half but although both teams tried their utmost the score remained unchanged.
Floriana met Hibs in the third match and the Greens won 2-1. On December 6, St George’s held Sliema to a 1-1 draw.
On January 10, Hibs rose to the occasion and held Sliema to a 0-0 draw. The Blues piled on the pressure from the word go but Hibs grappled with their opponents and the Blues were never allowed to take the upper hand.
On January 24, thousands streamed to the stadium to watch the game between St George’s and Floriana. Interest for this encounter gathered momentum because both clubs were in the running for the championship.
However, the game failed to live up to expectations. Floriana won rather easily 3-1 with goals from Pawlu Friggieri, Storace and Kricl.
Hibs won their first league game of the season when they beat St George’s 1-0.
In the first half, St George’s pinned Hibs in their own half.
Once again, Bobby Walker was on top of his form and then, when the Saints’ attacks began to dwindle, Hibs struck back.
Josef Muster decided the issue when he scored the only goal of the game.
That season, Sliema were favourites to win the champion-ship. Floriana, however, won the 31st meeting between the two rival clubs 2-0. This result was not only a surprise but it also came against the run of play.
Needing only one point to clinch the championship, on March 14, Floriana entered the ground with the impression that they would easily beat Hibernians.
They were soon brought to their senses when, after six minutes, the Paolites drew first blood.
Floriana realised that they were up against a team that cared little for reputations.
Hauling up all sails, the Greens went forward and before half-time Borg and Cauchi had made the score 2-1.
At the start of the second half Hibs scored again. Floriana panicked and at the final whistle the score was still 2-2. Floriana were the new champions but not before going through many anxious moments when Hibs’ speedy forwards threatened to score a surprise victory.
Floriana’s last game of the competition was against their old rivals from Cospicua.
In the first round, Floriana beat St George’s 3-1. Thus, many expected Floriana to celebrate their championship victory with another win over the Saints.
In football, however, reversals have a habit of happening when least expected. St George’s won an exciting game 1-0 to spoil their rivals’ celebrations.