BoV Premier League highlights

Birkirkara's three-point lead over Valletta at the top has been whittled down to one after the Stripes were held to a three-all draw by Tarxien Rainbows last weekend.

Malta striker Michael Mifsud scored on his debut for Valletta as the title hopefuls bounced back from the 2-1 upset to Sliema Wanderers with a 3-0 victory over Qormi.

A sizeable crowd turned up at the National Stadium on Friday to watch Valletta's clash with Qormi.

The first half was short on creative fare as Valletta struggled to find a way past the resolute Qormi rearguard but the tone of the game changed when the Whites opened the scoring inside the opening three minutes of the second half through Terrence Scerri.

It soon became 2-0 for the Citizens, captain Gilbert Agius hitting the target with a thumping drive.

Valletta pressed home their supremacy when Mifsud scored with a half-volley to cap a three-goal blitz in 12 second-half minutes.

Victory moved Valletta level with Birkirkara on 29 points before the latter's meeting with Tarxien on Saturday.

The Stripes had been tipped to emerge victorious from their clash with Tarxien but pre-match forecasts proved off the mark as the Rainbows unnerved their more-quoted opponents.

Gianluca Calabretta gave Tarxien a 17th-minute lead but Shaun Bajada equalised for Birkirkara two minutes later.

Tarxien went 2-1 up thanks to a second goal from Calabretta on 27 minutes and when Brazilian forward Anderson Ribeiro increased their lead early in the second half, a shock looked on the cards.

Birkirkara dragged themselves back into contention when Bajada reduced the deficit with a perfectly-hit free-kick and captain Michael Galea completed their fightback with a headed equaliser five minutes from time.

Sliema Wanderers made it three wins on the trot after coming from behind to edge Hibs 2-1 in Friday's opening match.

Miguel Lopes de Pina looked to have bolstered Hibs' chances of halting a two-match losing streak when he fired his team ahead midway into the first half but Sliema levelled matters through Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza early in the second period.

The in-form Mifsud Triganza, who scored Sliema's winner against Valletta, gave the Blues the three points with a last-gasp goal.

In the only match from the Relegation Pool, Floriana netted three times in the second half to cruise to a 3-0 victory over the already-doomed Dingli. Ryan Darmanin, Michael Ghebru and Clifton Ciantar were on target to all but dispel the Greens' relegation worries.

Scorers

Birkirkara: Comvalius 13 (2 pens); Galea 10; Cilia 6; Pulo 5; Bajada 5; Mallia 4; Fenech, Buhagiar, Vukanac, Nisevic. Own goals - Wellman (vs Qormi); Ciantar (vs Floriana). Red cards: Paris (vs Hibs), Zerafa (vs Qormi).

Dingli: Okonkwo 10 (2 pens), Borg, Cachia, Da Silva. Own goals - Tabone (vs Birkirkara); Bonnici (vs Ħamrun). Red cards: Fiteni (vs Ħamrun), Cachia (vs Tarxien), Tellus (vs Sliema, vs Qormi), Caruana (vs Msida), E. Farrugia (vs Msida).

Floriana: Darmanin 13; Wasiu 3, Caruana 3; Anonam 2, Ciantar 2; Simmonds, M. Briffa, Doffo, Zlydarev, Ghebru. Own goal - Herrera (vs Hibs). Red cards - J. Briffa (vs Hibs, vs Qormi); Said (vs Dingli); Doffo (vs Sliema), Zlydarev (vs Msida).

Ħamrun: Pereira 12 (4 pens); Mawete 4, Spiteri 4, Fenech 4; Cucciardi 2, Micallef 2, Zammit (pen), Mifsud, Obifuele. Own goal - Magro (vs Tarxien). Red cards - Micallef (vs Birkirkara), Pereira (vs Floriana), Fenech (vs Tarxien).

Hibs: Cohen 6 (3 pens.); J. Caruana 4, Malasenoks 4; Barbara 3, Galabov 3, Pulis 3, Callejas 3; Herrera 2, B. Camilleri 2, Lopes de Pina 2; Cauchi. Own goals - Conceicao (vs Dingli), Fenech (vs Ħamrun). Red cards - Grech (vs Msida SJ), Muscat (vs Tarxien), Barbara (vs Qormi), Lopes de Pina (vs Valletta).

Msida: T. Farrugia 4; Lattes 3; Kalenga 2, Spiteri 2; Aganun, Formosa, Ciantar, Sciberras. Own goal: Conceicao (vs Dingli).

Qormi: Camilo 18 (1 pen.); Effiong 9; Grima 3; Farrugia 2 (1 pen.), Deguara 2, Bartolo 2; Chetcuti, Wellman, Giglio. Red cards - Fenech (vs Hibs), Bondin (vs Birkirkara).

Sliema: Mifsud Triganza 13; Woods 7 (1 pen); Dronca 4 (3 pens); Bartolo 2, Alcorse 2, Azzopardi 2; Failla, Isaac, Mintoff, Pedrinho, Fenech. Own goal - T. Farrugia (vs Msida). Red card - Gatt Baldacchino (vs Floriana), Pedrinho (vs Msida), Fenech (vs Hibs), Muscat (vs Hibs).

Tarxien: Denni 11 (1 pen); Ribeiro 11; Calabretta 4; Decesare 3; Tanti 2; Shead, Everton, Camilleri. Own goal - Gatt Baldacchino (vs Sliema). Red cards - Ribeiro (vs Dingli, vs Ħamrun), Camilleri (vs Sliema), Cassar (vs Ħamrun).

Valletta: Scerri 16; Cruyff 9 (2 pens); Priso 7 (3 pens); G. Agius 7; O'Brien 6; Pace 4; Sammut 3; Zammit 2; Den Ouden, Briffa, Mifsud. Red cards - G. Agius (vs Sliema), Priso (vs Ħamrun Spartans), Scicluna (vs Sliema).

Next fixtures

Anniversary Cup SFs
Tomorrow: (National Stadium): 6 p.m. Mosta vs Floriana; 8 p.m. Tarxien vs Valletta.

Premier League
Saturday: (National Stadium) 2 p.m. Msida SJ vs Ħamrun; 4 p.m. Sliema vs Qormi.
Sunday: (National Stadium) 2 p.m. Tarxien vs Hibs; 4 p.m. Birkirkara vs Valletta.