The 360 Sports Malta Premier could be set for a decisive chapter as Floriana have the chance to lift the championship trophy with victory over rivals Birkirkara as the final fixtures of the Top Six are played concurrently on Wednesday evening (kick-off: 18.30).
All eyes will be on the National Stadium where Floriana, who have already placed first in the Opening Round, can secure a record 27th league title if they beat Birkirkara.
Should they fail in their task, their championship rivals will be ready to pounce and force the much-talked-about play-off finals to decide who will be crowned the first Malta champions under this new format.
At present, Floriana are sharing top spot with Marsaxlokk on 26 points but enjoy a better head-to-head record over the southerners.
Should both teams win their respective matches against Birkirkara and Ħamrun Spartans it would be the Greens who will be declared Closing Round winners and Malta champions.
Darren Abdilla, the Floriana coach, said that the team’s main focus was to take all three points from their next match.
“We are approaching this match with the same mindset as any other game – to try and take all three points,” Abdilla said.
“This group of players have done extraordinary things this season, and if you look at the statistics, there is no team that has performed better than us.
“We collected the highest number of points, won the highest number of matches, scored the highest number of goals, boast the best defence, and the list goes on.
“We are now just 90 minutes away from achieving the unthinkable and being crowned champions. But there is nothing certain, and everything can happen. We might win, draw, or lose, but the mindset has to remain the same – to go out for the win.
“Floriana are the only team that can win the title tomorrow and the other teams are hoping that we slip up to force the play-offs. If we don’t win the title tomorrow (Wednesday), we will have another chance, but not all of our rivals will have the same opportunity.
“Unfortunately, we only had two days to prepare for this match, but we know well how to beat Birkirkara, and the players don’t need much to be motivated, as the stakes are high.
“In football, all that counts is how you perform on the pitch, and hopefully, the better team on the day will win.”
Dunstan Vella, the Floriana captain, attributed his team’s strong run of form to their high level of consistency throughout the system.
“Our biggest strength this season has been our high level of consistency,” Vella said.
“Every year, the Premier League becomes tougher and tougher, and while in previous years only two teams were challenging for the title, this year there are four or five teams who are still in with a chance.
“There is a strong spirit in the dressing room and the coach has managed to change our mentality and we are just determined to finish off what we have started in the best possible way.”
For Birkirkara, the match against Floriana is their last opportunity to force their way into title contention and coach Stefano De Angelis said the Stripes are determined to beat Floriana and fight for the league crown via the play-offs.
“Our goal at the start of the season was to improve the team’s performances from the previous seasons and return to Europe,” De Angelis said.
“But having arrived at this point, we want to go all the way, and our goal is to beat Floriana and fight for the title. This season, we had some exciting duels against Floriana, and I hope that our title challenge will not come to a close tomorrow.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t have a lot of time to prepare for this match, but we know Floriana’s qualities very well and we are going to be ready to go to war against them.
“This season, we suffered a lot from injuries and bad decisions from officials that cost us important points. Tomorrow is the perfect opportunity to show our anger and determination to bring home the right result that keeps us in the title race.”
Winning mindset
Alex Satariano, the Birkirkara captain, said that he is focused fully on the next match against Floriana with the only goal on his mind, to lead his team to victory.
“Our approach has to be the same as for any other game – to try and win the match,” the Malta midfielder said.
“Our fate is still in our hands, and it’s up to us to ensure that we can extend the battle for the title, which hopefully will see us as protagonists.
“At the start of the season, the club set minimum targets, that included qualification to European football. But we want to aim big, and our goal is to beat Floriana and give it our best shot to challenge for the title.
“All the players are very motivated, and hopefully our fans will be behind us to help us reach this objective.”
