Four teams eye end-of-year booster

Sliema Wanderers, Hibernians and Birkirkara, the three leading candidates for the Premier League title, and Valletta, embroiled in a fierce fight to join the elite six-team pool at the end of the first phase of the league campaign, will be seeking to achieve an end-of-year tonic this week.

With Premier League action on hold during the festive season, the top item on the local football schedule this week is the Quadrangular Tournament for Top Clubs, previously known as the Super Five Cup.

Conceived as a pre-season competition contested by the top four teams in the previous league championship, this tournament has been held in the latter part of December since 1999.

The first semi-final, to be played tomorrow evening at the Centenary Stadium (kick-off 7.30 p.m.), is a clash between rivals Birkirkara and Valletta.

Sliema and Hibernians, who are sure to finish the year as joint-leaders of the Premier League with 31 points from 13 matches, face each other in the second semi-final on Tuesday.

The winners of the two semi-finals progress to the final which will be played on Friday at the National Stadium.

Although this competition is not classified as one of the major domestic honours, the rivalry between the clubs and their eagerness to finish the year on a high should eliminate the risk of an indifferent approach.

Birkirkara's evaluation of this year's tournament is likely to have increased over the last few weeks.

Their status as the last winners of the Super Five Cup aside, the Stripes will be keen to make up for the disappointing 2-0 loss to Marsaxlokk earlier this month.

By going down to Marsaxlokk, Birkirkara fell slightly further off the title pace as the leading duo stayed undefeated in the interim.

Tomorrow's semi-final is Birkirkara's first competitive match in three weeks after their much-awaited clash with the champions was postponed due to bad weather and will now be played on January 3.

"Birkirkara will do their best to be successful in this tournament. Last year, we managed to bring the curtains down on 2004 on a high after beating Sliema Wanderers 2-0 in the Super Five Cup final," Stephen Azzopardi, the Birkirkara coach, said.

"Although this end-of-year tournament is essentially the fourth-most important competition in Maltese football, we always set out to win every competition we enter."

Skipper Antoine Zahra and former Malta midfielder Jonathan Holland are still nursing injuries and will miss tomorrow's clash with Valletta.

Otherwise, Azzopardi has no other injury woes. "I will field the strongest formation as the circumstances permit," Azzopardi said.

Birkirkara's ambition to wrap up their commitments for this year on a positive note is likely to be matched by Valletta.

The Citizens' participation in this elite event is a reward for their credible performance in the 2004-2005 league campaign which they finished in fourth place.

This season, Valletta have found the going much tougher than last year as their sixth position in the standings, 17 points behind Sliema and Hibs, clearly testifies.

As the Citizens gear up for a sequence of vital matches in the first two months of the new year, a place in Friday's final at the detriment of their rivals would surely yield a significant confidence-booster.

Paul Zammit, who succeeded J.J. Aquilina as Valletta coach last month, craves a positive showing from his team.

"Given that I've been coach of Valletta for only six weeks, my objective is that the players refine the work we have been putting in on the training pitch," Zammit told The Sunday Times.

"The focus has been on improving the team's tactical shape and this fixture provides us with a good opportunity to replicate our work in practice during a proper match.

"It's going to be a useful test because we will be up against one of the top teams in Birkirkara.

"Ideally, Valletta turn in a sound performance and reach the final in order to get more matches under our belt before our important fixtures in the league next month."

Zammit does not have the luxury of picking his best formation as Sharlon Pace and Gozitan midfielder Chris Camilleri are abroad. Kevin Cassar and Ndubisi Chukunyere will also skip tomorrow's semi-final as they have medical advice not to play on the artificial turf of the Centenary Stadium.

Leaders clash

Hibernians will hope that the championship form they have shown in the last few months will guide them to success in this event.

Their bid will be subjected to a stiff test by Sliema Wanderers, three-time winners of the Super Five Cup.

The fact that Tuesday's semi-final pits the joint-leaders of the Premier League against each other should give the tie an extra edge.

Hibernians' striker Haruna Doda has fond memories of last season's final when, as a Birkirkara player, he scored his team's clincher in the 2-0 defeat of Sliema.

Robert Gatt, the Hibernians coach, is not expected to rush Doda back into first-team duty for the semi-final after the Nigerian missed his team's last three matches with injury.

However, Doda could figure as a substitute if he gets the go-ahead to play. Malta midfielder Peter Pullicino is out with a knee problem.

"It's high time Hibs win this competition," Gatt said. "This cup has eluded us despite coming close to winning it on a number of occasions. I believe that our negative record in this end-of-year tournament will motivate our players to do their best to clinch this cup."

Like the other three teams, Sliema have their own, valid reasons to want to leave their mark on this competition.

Having won the league for the past three consecutive years, the Wanderers usually perceive every competition as an opportunity to underline their status as the no. 1 team in Malta.

However, Sliema coach Edward Aquilina has mixed feelings about his team's participation in this year's tournament. The reasons for his scepticism are the choice of the Centenary Stadium as the venue for the semi-finals and the Wanderers' impending clash with Birkirkara on January 3.

"Every competition has its value and as such, we always try to finish on top but frankly, I think that we could have done without a competition at this time of the year," Aquilina said.

"The fact that the semi-finals are going to be played at the Centenary Stadium is a downside because players are very sceptical about playing there due to a higher risk of getting injured. In our case, these considerations have to be given due importance since on January 3, we have an important league match against Birkirkara."

Aquilina's comments indicate that he will not send out his best line-up against Hibs.

Orosco Anonam and Noel Turner are likely to miss out as they have just recovered from long-term injuries while goalkeeper Murphy Akanji, Joe Brincat and Daniel Bogdanovic are ranked as doubtful.

Programme

Centenary Stadium:Tomorrow, 7.30 p.m.
Birkirkara vs Valletta
Tuesday, 7.30 p.m.
Sliema Wanderers vs Hibernians
Friday - Final at National Stadium, 7.30 p.m.