St George's see off St Patrick's challenge to win title

League football is not just the Premier Division. Although it is obvious that this championship steals most of the attention, sometimes the lower divisions can also generate a lot of interest.

One such instance was the 1971-72 Division Two league which developed into a battle between neighbours St George's, St Patrick and Vittoriosa Stars. Other contenders that year were Melita, Mosta Athletic and Msida St Joseph.

The 1971-72 Division Two championship was the first to be contested by 10 teams. This made the competition, perhaps, a little bit too long.

Adding to the 90 league games another 12 knock-out ties, the season dragged on until June before it was finally completed.

Yet, despite the heat and discomfort of the Maltese weather, the interest never waned and it was kept up to the last kick of the competition.

At the start of the season, St Patrick were considered as firm favourites to win the championship and a place in the top division. They played the best football in the early stages but they soon began to falter and what seemed certain at first, looked more and more improbable as the season progressed.

St George's did not shine at the start of the league but they were consistent, chalking one positive result after another. In fact, it was only when they beat St Patrick 5-1 in their first round direct encounter that they took over the mantle of favourites.

In the meantime, Vittoriosa Stars and Mosta were also showing promotion potential.

The Stars, in their first season in the Second Division after a long spell in the third grade, were the revelation of the year. They missed out on winning promotion but their performances helped in no small way to make this campaign one of the best for many seasons.

Vittoriosa fought their way to the final of the knock-out competition.

They lost but could count themselves unlucky not to have beaten their arch-rivals from Cospicua in a thrilling 'derby' final.

Mosta, led by old fox Tony Cauchi, continued to reap the rewards for their sound youth policy.

Their young side played some of the best football at the old Schreiber Sports Ground that season. The team was typical of those formed by Cauchi in his long and successful career as a coach.

At the start of the second round, St George's began to pull away from the chasing pack. A series of positive results strengthened their hold on top spot.

St Patrick, on the other hand, fizzled out. A succession of draws and an unexpected 1-0 defeat to Little Rainbows kept them hovering near the top of the table. They only needed a handful of points to make sure of promotion but it took all their strength and resolve to finally land their target. In fact, it had to be a 2-1 victory over St George's that finally set them on their way.

Most consistent

St George's won the championship in style. They were the best team in the division and also the most consistent. They lost two games in the league, against St Patrick and Rabat. However, apart from those two setbacks, they maintained their strong title challenge from start to finish.

With players of the calibre of Grima, Scicluna, Bonnici, Mizzi, Grech and Waite, all of whom had First Division experience, the Saints were well above the other contenders.

With the championship and promotion wrapped up, St George's turned their attention to the knock-out competition.

The Saints, however, did not show the same constructive play that characterised their league campaign. Against Mosta and Msida they struggled to scrape through and as already mentioned, they were rather lucky to beat Vittoriosa in the final.

Fortune, however, favours the brave and one surely could not begrudge the Saints their merited success that season.