Without any doubt, 1967-68 was an eventful season as far as the third division was concerned. The competition was played in two grounds, the Schreiber Sports Ground and Manoel Island.
The third division league generated a lot of interest as the battle for promotion raged on until the final game of the season.
The public responded in kind and the attendances at the Schreiber sometimes even surpassed those for first division matches.
Żurrieq, Żebbuġ and Żejtun won their respective sections after seeing off the challenge of Marsaxlokk, Vittoriosa, Siġġiewi and St Peter’s respectively.
Żurrieq carried off the honours in Section A but had to wait until their final game, against Marsaxlokk, to seal top spot. The Blues had a very good team that season and they kept up the pressure on leaders Żurrieq throughout the championship.
At the start of the season, Żurrieq were not expected to challenge for the honours. The team was considered to be too young and raw for the hustle and bustle of football in the third division. Żurrieq’s youngsters, however, were up for the challenge and they were deservedly crowned section winners.
With Żurrieq and Marsaxlokk having two more games to play, the latter led the table by two points.
Marsaxlokk defeated Mqabba 3-1 but Żurrieq lost their unbeaten record with a 2-1 defeat to Balzan Youths.
With just one game remaining, both teams were equal on points. A record crowd turned up for the deciding match and they were not disappointed. Żurrieq won an exciting encounter 2-0.
In Section B, the destination of honours was decided in the final game between Żebbuġ and Vittoriosa Stars who had been neck-and-neck until the penultimate game of the season.
The Stars suffered an unexpected defeat against bottom side Gudja United, much to the satisfaction of the Rangers who needed only one point from the last game against Vittoriosa to win section honours. Rangers, who played the best football during the season, secured the title in style as they beat their rivals by two clear goals.
In Section C, Żejtun Corinthians claimed section honours and a place in the promotion play-offs for the second year running.
They did this after fending off the strong challenge put up by Siġġiewi and St Peter’s.
Promotion deciders
The stage was now set for the promotion deciders. The first game was between Żebbuġ and Żurrieq.
The result was 1-1 and the performances of the two teams left much to be desired. In their next game, Rangers slipped to the Corinthians who beat them 1-0 courtesy of a Jimmy Briffa goal.
Żejtun closed in on promotion when they beat Żurrieq 2-0 with goals from Spiteri and Balzan.
Żurrieq lost all hope of returning to the second division when they lost their important game against Żebbuġ 1-0. The table at that point read: Żejtun 4 points; Żebbuġ 3, Żurrieq 1.
Thus, Żejtun needed only one point from their next game with Żebbuġ to make sure of promotion but in a very drab match, Rangers beat their rivals 2-1 to go the top of the table, with the Corinthians having a game in hand.
The last day of the play-offs was a festive occasion for the long-suffering Corinthians suppor-ters who turned up in large numbers to cheer their heroes against their age-long rivals from Żurrieq.
Żejtun put on a great display to beat Żurrieq 3-0 and justify their status as new champions.