A sequence of three consecutive draws has inevitably augmented the pressure on Valletta but coach Mark Miller has dispelled talk of crisis as he prepares his team for tomorrow’s clash with Tarxien Rainbows at the Hibs Stadium (kick-off: 16.00).
Valletta ended the first round atop the Premier League table but a meagre haul of three points from their last three games enabled the chasing pack to narrow the gap on the leaders with Birkirkara now only two points adrift.
While expressing his disappoint-ment at Valletta’s results of late, Miller insisted that his team’s blip is no cause for alarm.
“We’re still top of the league and we haven’t lost,” Miller said.
“We’re the only team with an unbeaten record so far.
“I don’t think that there should be a crisis but there is disappointment, especially from me, because we have lost six points in the last three games.
“We have to get back on track and return to our best by moving the ball around like we were doing before.”
In blaming Valletta’s recent slump on a number of factors, in-cluding the state of the artificial pitch at the Tedesco Stadium, Miller called on the Malta FA to address the situation.
“Our foreigners, the Brazilians, are more comfortable playing on grass, that goes without saying,” Miller said.
“We’re training on artificial turf but the pitch at Ħamrun is not as good as the one we practise on.
“I criticise the MFA for this as I’m sure that we can find a better pitch than this (Ħamrun) or at least make the surface better not only for us, but for the sake of everyone. At the end of the day, we all want to watch a decent game of football.”
Defender Steve Borg is still out for Valletta as he’s recovering from knee surgery while wing-back Dyson Falzon is also sidelined with injury. Striker Michael Mifsud may return as he looks to have shaken off a slight groin injury.
The one big lesson Valletta ought to have learnt after their last three games is that no team can be under-estimated, moreso after the cham-pions were held by Rabat Ajax who are bottom of the table.
“What I’ve noticed with Valletta is that every match is like a cup game for us because all the other teams want to beat us, they want to knock us off the top,” Miller said.
“We have a tougher game than everyone else but we should be able to cope because we have the best players.
“We have to adapt when facing smaller teams, because they defend and try to be compact. We always try to be ourselves and in all the games we’ve played, we’ve scored, so it wasn’t the case that we dropped points because we failed to score or create chances.
“But, in the last three games, we’ve conceded after going ahead and we have to stop letting other teams get back into the game.
“We have also been poor in defending set-plays and I don’t understand why because we practise this in training and we have tall players in our team.
“We’re working on all the things we’re not good at.
“Everyone says that Valletta have the strongest squad and the best players but we’re also the team with the most disruptions because we have six to seven players with the national team plus the injured ones.
“We’re having problems to make a training session because we don’t have enough players.”
Tarxien are themselves keen to get back to winning ways after their 2-1 defeat to Qormi halted a run of four matches without a defeat but they know that they are in for a rough ride.
“This is the toughest game on paper,” coach Clive Mizzi said.
“Valletta have not won in their last three games, so they will be eager to win this one.
“From our side, we will try to make up for our low-key perform-ance against Qormi.”
Although Valletta will be hellbent on ending their winless run, Mizzi acknowledged that the champions’ recent wobbles should increase his team’s optimism.
“It should give you confidence knowing that teams like Rabat and Balzan have gained a point off Valletta,” Mizzi said.
“It’s a motivating factor for the players but we must work hard to improve our performance.
“We’re facing a team that can’t afford to drop more points. We have to challenge ourselves to raise our game and boost our chances of getting something from this match.”
Left-back Carlo Mamo is ex-pected to be out for seven weeks as he has a tear in his groin while Manuel Caruana and Roderick Bajada are doubtful.
First round – Valletta vs Tarxien Rainbows 1-0.
Qormi recall Wellman, Wasiu back for Greens
Melita vs Birkirkara (today at 14.00, Tedesco Stadium).
Birkirkara will go top of the lea-gue if they beat Melita as Valletta will be in action tomorrow.
Captain Gareth Sciberras, suspended for the 1-0 win over Mosta, has a slight adductor pro-blem but is expected to play.
Edward Herrera, who like Sciberras started Malta’s 1-0 midweek friendly win in Liech-tenstein, will serve the second of a two-match ban.
Joselito is recuperating from ankle surgery and strike partner Shola Shodiya Haruna is sidelined with a quad injury.
Rodrigo Pereira has rejoined the Stripes for training with speculation rife that the Brazilian defender is keen to stay until next May.
Patxi Salinas, Melita’s new coach, must watch the game from the stands after receiving a one-match touchline ban following his sending-off in the 2-2 draw with Floriana.
The Spaniard is not expected to make many changes from the team that started the last game.
First round – Melita vs Birkirkara 0-4.
Balzan vs Ħamrun Spartans (today at 16.15, Tedesco Stadium).
This is a direct clash between two teams who have hopes of qualifying for the Championship Pool.
Balzan are unbeaten in their last six outings but Ħamrun have suf-fered back-to-back defeats to Sliema and Hibernians.
Goalkeeper Matthew Camilleri and defender Jonathan Francica are still on the casualty list while forward Christian Caruana will undergo a late fitness test.
Otherwise, Balzan coach Ivan Zammit has no selection problems.
Bulgarian midfielder Lyubomir Vitanov is back for Ħamrun after seeing out his one-match ban.
Apart from Terrence Scerri, who is recovering from a cruciate operation, Reds coach Stefan Sultana can bank on a full squad.
First round – Balzan vs Ħamrun 2-2.
Qormi vs Rabat Ajax (tomorrow at 14.00, Hibs Stadium).
Former Malta defender Stephen Wellman is set to return for Qormi after a lengthy absence.
Wellman has not figured for the team since late August but has heeded coach Jesmond Zerafa’s call to make a comeback.
“I’d like to thank the coach for the faith he’s shown in me,” Wellman told The Times yesterday.
Joseph Chetcuti is back in the frame after serving his one-match ban in Qormi’s 2-1 win over Tarxien but Matthew Bartolo and Luke Sciberras are ruled out with injuries.
Rabat Ajax are dogged by a crippling injury crisis.
Nerijus Astrauskas may have played his last match for Rabat as the club are considering to part company with the Lithuanian striker who is plagued by a nagging ankle injury.
Besides Astrauskas, coach Silvio Vella is still without Adam Smeir, Ryan Micallef and Chris Schembri, all injured.
On the plus side, German midfielder Heiner Backhaus is available after missing the defeat to Balzan because of suspension.
First round – Qormi vs Rabat 1-0.
Mosta vs Hibs (Monday at 18.00, Tedesco Stadium).
Hibs will be looking to stay within sight of leaders Valletta after back-to-back wins moved them to within three points of the league leaders.
Mosta will be aiming to bounce back after their 1-0 loss to Birkirkara.
This week, Hibernians signed Brazilian striker Allan Kardeck Dos Santos Pereira Junior in the hope of increasing their fire-power.
Hibs coach Michael Woods must cope without playmaker Jackson Lima, who has an abdominal problem, but Marcelo Dias, who was suspended for the Spartans’ game, should recover from a slight injury.
Mosta midfielder Jonathan Caruana is out of the picture after twisting his ankle but coach Steve D’Amato is hopeful of recovering left-back Bryan Agius.
First round – Hibernians vs Mosta 3-2.
Floriana vs Sliema Wanderers (Monday at 20.15, Tedesco Stadium).
While Sliema Wanderers are flying high in the league, Floriana, their Old-Firm rivals, are third from bottom.
Floriana have stepped up their efforts to strengthen their squad with midfielder Haygnner Henrique Celestino following Brazilian compatriot Igor Coronado in joining the Greens.
Coach Stephen Azzopardi will also be hoping that the returning Sunday Wasiu will start to make his mark.
Wasiu has resumed training after resolving his contractual dispute with the club.
Valdo Alhinho and Kane Farrugia are available after serving suspension but Duncan Pisani is out after receiving a one-match ban.
Owen Bugeja (elbow), Trevor Cilia (knee) and Carl Tremarco (hamstring) are still injured.
Sliema coach Alfonso Greco will have been delighted with his team’s bold showing in the 1-1 draw with Valletta.
Striker Ivan Woods and flank defender Luca Martinelli will miss Monday’s game with injuries but Italian defender Stefano Bian-ciardi returns after recovering from a thigh problem.
First round – Sliema Wanderers vs Floriana 1-1.