Highlights from the Premier League matches

Blue is the colour, football is the game. Three days after the blue shade of the European Union adorned the Grand Harbour during the spectacle marking Malta's accession to the EU, blue was also the dominant colour at the National Stadium after Sliema Wanderers were declared champions of Malta for the second year running.

Their 25th championship in an illustrious history was secured on Sunday evening after Birkirkara were forced to concede defeat in the title race with Sliema.

A 1-1 draw with Pietà Hotspurs removed the remote mathematical possibility of Birkirkara catching the Wanderers at the top of the standings.

On Monday, Sliema were able to approach their match with Hibernians in relaxed mood, safe in the knowledge that nothing untoward could spoil their party.

As it turned out, Sliema would still have wrapped up the title issue even in case of a Birkirkara success the day before as a three-goal blitz in the space of 13 second-half minutes propelled them to a convincing victory.

Two Michael Mifsud strikes either side of a Danilo Doncic goal killed off Hibs' hopes of victory in their club's 1,000th successive match in the MFA top flight. A late goal by Terence Scerri was of little solace for Hibs who have also relinquished their hopes of overtaking Birkirkara into second place.

On paper, Birkirkara possessed abundant ammunition to shoot down Pietà on Sunday but once Alain Ekwe gave the latter an 18th-minute lead, their mission to clinch victory became rather complicated. In the end, Lucian Dronca's 70th-minute penalty was not enough.

Pietà's 1-1 draw with Birkirkara, coming after Marsaxlokk had trounced Floriana 5-1 on Thursday, meant that fourth slot in the table has been taken by the southseasiders. Daniel Bogdanovic crowned a five-star display by notching a hat-trick against the Greens.

In Relegation Pool matches, Balzan Youths and Msida St Joseph obtained victories to move on the 15-point mark before their relegation showdown on Saturday.

Goals from Nikolai Filipov and Stefan Zahra earned Balzan Youths a 2-0 victory over Hamrun Spartans.

Msida St Joseph provided a determined response to Balzan's victory by beating Valletta 3-1 on Sunday. Their goals were scored by Daniel Nwoke, Joseph Farrugia and Alan Tabone.

If Saturday's match ends all-square a decider will be needed between Msida and Balzan to determine who joins Hamrun Spartans in Division One next season.

The 2003/04 Premier League trek proper comes to a close on Sunday, as originally scheduled, when Sliema Wanderers face Birkirkara.

Scorers

Balzan Youths - Zahra 9 (1 pen.); EviParker 8; Scerri 2 (2 pens.), Valenzia 2; Muscat, Arpa, Tellus, Gera, Filipov - W. Attard (Hamrun) own goal.

Birkirkara - M. Galea 14; Doda 10; Calascione 8; Dronca 7 (5 pens.); Nwoko 6; Camenzuli 4 (1 pen.); Mallia 3; Mifsud Triganza 2; Monye, Bonnici, Zahra.

Floriana - Do Nascimento 8 (3 pens.); Baldacchino 6; Holland 5; Da Silva 4; Cilia 3, Mifsud Triganza 3 (now with Birkirkara); Mattocks 2, Gango-Rtsa 2, Bajada 2; Galea, Wellman, Darmanin.

Hamrun - Sultana 6 (4 pens.); Spiteri 3, Brincat 3; Bajada 2; Fabri, Bencini (now with Sliema).

Hibs - A. Mifsud 8; Paiber 6 (6 pens.), Scerri 6, Cohen 6; Chukunyere 5, Schembri 5; M. Mifsud 2; Zahra, Xuereb, Pulis, Baldacchino - S. Pace (Valletta) o.g.

Marsaxlokk - Barbara 14 (4 pens.); Bogdanovic 12 (1 pen.); Licari 7; Slavtchev 3 (1 pen.), Buhagiar 3; Asechemie 2; Bartes, Formosa, Carabott, Walker.

Msida - Nwoke 12; Aganun 9 (4 pens.); Boni 3, Sciberras 3; Tabone 2; Tirchett, A. Farrugia; J. Farrugia.

Pietà - Woods 11 (4 pens.); Debono 6; Frendo 3, Borg 3; Azzopardi 2, Omam 2, Okoh 2, Ekwe 2; Fenech, Nisevic, G. Sciberras, Okonkwo, Abdilla.

Sliema - Doncic 18 (1 pen.); Giglio 10 (1 pen.); Mifsud 8; Brincat 5; Sammut 4; Anonam 3, Turner 3 (1 pen.); Veselji 2 (now with Valletta), Mangion 2; Sylla, Bogdanovic (now with Marsaxlokk), Said, Grima (now with Valletta) - Penchev (Valletta) own goal.

Valletta - Agius 10 (1 pen.); Ian Zammit 4, Ivan Zammit 4 (2 pens.), Theuma 4 (3 pens.); Sacco 3, Veselji 3; Forace 2, Tonchev 2, Bondin 2, Stajic 2; Penchev, K. Zammit, J. Pace (pen.), Grima.

Next Fixtures

Friday (Ta' Qali)
6 p.m. Hamrun S. vs Valletta
8 p.m. Pietà H. vs Floriana

Saturday (Ta' Qali)
3 p.m. Msida SJ vs Balzan Y.
5 p.m. Marsaxlokk vs Hibernians

Sunday (Ta' Qali)
4 p.m. Birkirkara vs Sliema W.