The title showdown which saw Valletta take on Hibernians in front of almost 10,000  spectators at the National Stadium on Saturday mirrored the trek of the topsy-turvy race which characterised the 2019/2019 Premier League campaign.

Within the space of two weekends, the Citizens let slip crucial leads from their hands which almost cost them the coveted honour in the end.

Against Ħamrun Spartans, the last fixture in the calendar, City were a few minutes away from being declared champions before the Reds profited from a mistake at the back to net an unexpected leveller.

Then, an identical situation repeated itself against Hibernians as a late Marco Sahanek goal sent the decider into penalties.

While such situations could have started to expose a few cracks at the back for Valletta, mainly due to fatigue and pressure after an intense season run-in, on the contrary, it highlighted Valletta’s ‘garra charrua’ mentality – they become stronger in do-or-die situations.

Such strength was underlined by Valletta defender Steve Borg, winner of the MFPA Player of the Year Award last week.

“Honestly, I don’t remember Valletta starting so poor in the championship,” Borg told the Times of Malta.

“However, persistence and determination is what helped us chase the likes of Gżira United and Hibernians before ultimately claiming the spoils.

“At the end of the day, I feel that we did not steal anything from anyone. We thought we had sealed the top placing last week, but that is football, and our collective strength is what helped us bring this championship home.”

Taking into account the crucial decider, one could have thought that coach Gilbert Agius might have taken it too far with his gung-ho attacking way when he deployed Mario Fontanella, Bojan Kaljevic and Kyrian Nwoko right from the start.

Yet, the former Citizens skipper was at the same time forced to be more offensive given that defender Joseph Zerafa was suspended and fellow defensive colleague Ryan Camilleri was not fully fit and started the match on the bench. On the other hand, Raed Saleh, a hybrid winger who can give a helping hand at the back, was serving a one-match ban on Saturday.

That set-up on the field allowed Valletta to make their intentions clear right from the kick-off as they took the game to their opponents with a lot of combinations between the wing-backs and the strikers.

Nonetheless, the pragmatic and vertical style of Hibernians’ football enabled the Paolites to draw first blood, also going close to extend their lead on a couple of occasions as well.

Hibs had a lot of momentum but it seemed a matter of time before their counter-attacking solution, full of intensity and pace, was going to lose its effectiveness.

In fact, in the closing stages of the first-half, Valletta started to dictate proceedings which they continued to do so even after the change of ends.

Miguel Alba, one of Valletta’s symbolic presences, took centre-stage with his numerous crosses and combinations – his skill and ball progression was enabling the Citizens to gain inches on the field of play.

Hibernians were pinned into their own half as early as the start of the second 45 minutes with Valletta looking dangerous on every occassion, even though they could not capitalise on their chances.

Yet, whenever strikers misfire, usually defenders come into the fore to save the day, which was the case for Valletta as captain Jonathan Caruana made his team’s pressure count.

For Caruana the goal was a significant moment in a season that saw him coming back to competitive action after an absence of 17 months following a doping ban.

“Obviously, it is a personal satisfaction for me to score but at the end of the day the most important thing was to help the team to get back into contention in such an important match. In these kind of matches, it’s not important who scores but that team achieves the right result,” he explained.

Despite Valletta’s dominance they failed to go and grab a winner notwithstanding the inclusion of pacey winger Bogdan Gavrila.

However, that all changed eight minutes into extra-time when it was another stalwart who became decisive as Mario Fontanella’s work ethic paid dividends by putting City ahead.

The Italian player joined Valletta from rivals Floriana prior to this campaign with the objective of winning some silverware at club level. On Saturday all his hunger and determination to return home with the winners’ medal was clear after putting on a huge shift for the team’s cause.

“I joined this club to win trophies and I have to thank my team mates, especially those who had already won some honours here because it enabled me to be part of something special,” Fontanella said.

Hibs’ late leveller late on gave City custodian Henry Bonello a chance to repeat what he did for the national team in the 2-1 win over the Faroe Islands – blocking Taylon’s penalty which allowed Fontanella to convert the decisive spot-kick and send the Valletta clan into jubilation.

At the end of the day, it was a victory that fits nicely with Valletta’s DNA.

The Citizens have given proof time and again that they always tend to deliver in crucial matches, particularly when the silverware is at stake.

This latest league success had a further cause for celebration for them as they have now joined sporting rivals Floriana in the all-time league winners, just one adrift of Sliema Wanderers who top the list with 26 titles.

But given their thirst of success there is no doubt that Valletta will now set their sights on matching the Wanderers’ record tally. Given the quality they boast in their squad it may not take them long to reach that objective.

Last ten champions

2009-10: Birkirkara
2010-11: Valletta
2011-12: Valletta
2012-13: Birkirkara
2013-14: Valletta
2014-15: Hibernians
2015-16: Valletta
2016-17: Hibernians
2017-18: Valletta
2018-19: Valletta