Ħamrun Spartans and Hibernians will be determined to keep up the pressure on the league pacesetters when they go head-to-head in the 360 Sports Malta Premier at the National Stadium on Wednesday evening.
The Malta champions and the Paolites are currently tied in fourth place on 12 points, five adrift of leaders Birkirkara and just one behind Sliema Wanderers and Floriana who are occupying second place.
With Birkirkara and Sliema facing each other on Thursday, the winner of this match can make significant inroads into the league’s top positions.
Ħamrun and Hibernians head into the match on the back of key victories, albeit secured in contrasting circumstances.
The Spartans broke little sweat to brush aside Naxxar Lions 6-0 while the Paolites had to battle more than expected to overcome the challenge of Żabbar St Patrick 2-1.
Ħamrun Spartans coach Alessandro Zinnari sounded pleased with his team’s improvements in recent weeks.
“The team has come a long way since the start of the season and our performance against Naxxar Lions was very good and looked very sharp at both ends of the pitch, particularly in front of goal where we finally capitalised on the chances we created.
“What pleased me most in the match against Naxxar is the fact that despite taking an early lead, the players kept up the tempo throughout the whole 90 minutes and never backed off. We continued to create chances and scoring goals and that was important.
“We are aware that now we have a very tough challenge against a strong Hibs team, guided by a great coach like Branko Nisevic. Both teams have a common approach in matches as both play possession football so it will be interesting to see who will come out on top.”
Prior to Ħamrun’s win over Naxxar Lions, the team had struggled to score goals in their 1-0 defeat to Mosta and the 1-1 draw against Balzan.
Winger Joseph Mbong maintained that the team needed to make some tactical changes to their game to become more effective upfront while new signing Chris Ondong took some time to settle in the new surroundings.
“It was clear that we need to make some changes to our attacking play as despite all the possession we had, we were not sharp enough in front of goal,” Mbong said.
“A bad pass or taking the wrong decision in key areas costs us a lot. Besides Chris Ondong was a very good addition for us but he hadn’t played a competitive game since last August, so he needed time to gain his match sharpness.
“Against Naxxar, everyone saw that he is finally in top shape and how much he can make a difference for us not just in front of goal but also through his work rate.”
The Spartans will again be without some key personnel for today’s match as Steve Borg and Emerson Marcelina are still out injured while Daniel Letherby felt some discomfort during training and is out of the equation.
For Hibernians, the clash against Ħamrun Sparte Paolites ans represents the final match from the second block of matches which has so far seen them face five of the top six sides in the division.
“It was a very challenging start to the season for us,” Nisevic said.
“Looking at our performances as apart from the match against Birkirkara, where we struggled a bit, I believe have done pretty well in the other matches and the players showed great character to win games, particularly like the one of last Sunday against Żabbar St Patrick.
“Tomorrow we have another tough match against the champions who are a big powerhouse in Maltese football. But it’s another excellent test for us and we will be ready to try and get the best possible result in what I believe will be another very entertaining match.”
Nisevic admitted that he was short in numbers in recent weeks because he was without five first-team players but said that for the match against Ħamrun, he will have forwards Alex Bruno and Giannis Bastianos back in the fray, which was a major boost for his team.
Hibernians defender Kurt Shaw is expecting a very tight match against Ħamrun Spartans.
“It’s going to be a fierce battle between two teams who enjoy playing possession football and creating scoring chances from the back rather than just kicking the ball forward and hoping something happens,” Shaw said.
“I sincerely hope that the pitch at the National Stadium is watered before the match as that would help both teams to express their best football and provide a great spectacle to the crowd present.
“Being part of the block of Maltese players at Hibernians, we are aware of how crucial our input is to ensure that we give the new foreigners the chance to adapt quickly.
“So far, everything is going well, and everyone is following the standards that have been set inside the changing room and the group is very much united.
“Hopefully, we can continue to grow as a team and be able to enjoy a successful season.”
PROGRAMME
PLAYING ON WEDNESDAY
NATIONAL STADIUM
Ħamrun vs Naxxar L. 18.00
Żabbar SP vs Marsaxlokk 20.30
PLAYING ON THURSDAY
TONY BEZZINA STADIUM
Mosta vs Floriana 18.00
Birkirkara vs Sliema 20.30
TEDESCO STADIUM
Naxxar L. vs Melita 18.00
Balzan vs Gżira 20.15
