The 1978-79 league championship kicked off on October 13, 1979 when Ħamrun Spartans easily beat a poor Żebbuġ Rangers 4-0.

In the second match of the afternoon, a gift goal by goalkeeper Pace sank Qormi against St George’s. It was a yawn-laden match in which a draw would have been a fairer result.

Despite being very early in the season, these two matches already gave an indication of the teams that would eventually be relegated.

Żebbuġ, Qormi and St George’s had a poor season and at the end of the competition, the last two teams were relegated.

Reigning champions Hibernians were hot favourites to retain the title. They started their campaign with a 2-1 victory over Marsa and then beat Qormi and Birkirkara with the identical score of 3-1. In their next match, they edged Żebbuġ Rangers 2-1.

Hibs’ first real test came on December 2 when they met Valletta in what proved to be the best match of the season. With Sliema overcoming Rangers the day before, Hibs had to beat Valletta to retain top spot.

A lot was expected from the champions who were on top in the first 45 minutes with the Xuereb brothers dominating midfield.

After the interval, Valletta changed tactics. They took the initiative and after only five minutes Leli Cristiano opened the scoring.

Hibs were jolted. At first they could not find their feet but as time wore on, they threw caution to the wind.

Somehow, Valletta managed to keep Hibs out until five minutes from the end when John Cauchi headed in the equaliser.

Hibs were now sharing top spot of the table with Sliema. The two teams met on December 22. Naturally, a keen match was anticipated but the Paolites never had it so easy as they beat Sliema 2-0.

That same afternoon Valletta missed a great chance to keep the pace with Hibs when they lost 0-2 to the Spartans. It was an unexpected result which enabled the Paolites to open a three-point gap at the top of the table.

On October 29, Valletta recovered some lost ground with a 5-1 victory over St George’s. On the same afternoon Sliema edged Floriana 2-1 in one of the classic encounters of Maltese football.

These two results took Sliema to within a point of the league leaders.

Hibs, however, had a game in hand, and were not expected to fail against Ħamrun.

Anything can happen in football and the next day the unexpected did happen. Ħamrun took a two-goal lead by half-time but, in the second half, Hibs came back strongly, drawing level with 20 minutes to spare.

Hibs seemed set to score the winner but Ħamrun held on for a well-earned point. This result threw the title race wide open.

The match between Valletta and Sliema shed new light on the final destination of the title. Valletta took an early lead but Sliema dominated midfield.

Valletta erected a barrier outside their penalty area to repel Sliema’s pressure. In their efforts to open up the City defence, Sliema left their backdoor wide open and towards the end Vince ‘Maxi’ Magro scored Valletta’s second goal.

This victory took Valletta to the top of the table, one point ahead of Hibs. With a game in hand, the latter were expected to regain the lead when they met Marsa who were languishing near the bottom of the table.

Yet Marsa were not bothered by the reputation of their opponents. They went out like lions, scoring a goal in the early minutes. Then, they dropped back and resisted enormous pressure to secure an unexpected victory.

To make things worse for the champions, the next day Valletta and Sliema beat Floriana and Ħamrun, respectively.

The situation remained the same until Hibs met Valletta on March 15, 1980.

Although no goals were scored, the first half was full of entertaining football. Then, three minutes into the second half, Magro cleverly first-timed the ball past keeper John Bonello.

Scenting victory, Valletta dropped in de-fence. They came under great pressure as Hibs went all out in search of an equaliser.

A roar circled the ground when, three minutes from time, Chris Vella headed down to Ġużi Xuereb. With the goal at his mercy, Xuereb did the impossible and shot high.

That miss cost Hibs the championship. They never recovered from the setback and slowly slid down to fourth place.

Hibs’ downfall left only Valletta and Sliema in the race. When Sliema lost 0-1 to Floriana, the way was left clear for the Citizens.

And Valletta made no mistake. On April 19, they made sure of the title with an 11-0 victory over Qormi.