2018–19 Maltese Premier League
Season | 2018–19 |
---|---|
Dates | 17 August 2018 – 5 May 2019 |
Champions | Valletta (25th title) |
Relegated | St. Andrews Qormi Pietà Hotspurs |
Champions League | Valletta |
Europa League | Hibernians Gżira United Balzan |
Matches played | 182 |
Goals scored | 495 (2.72 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Taylon Nicolas Correa (18 goals)[1] |
Biggest home win | Valletta 6–0 Qormi (21 September 2018)[2] |
Biggest away win | Tarxien Rainbows 0–7 Valletta (8 December 2018)[3] |
Highest scoring | Tarxien Rainbows 0–7 Valletta (8 December 2018)[3] |
← 2017–18 2019–20 →
All statistics correct as of 4 May 2019. |
The 2018–19 Maltese Premier League was the 104th season of top-flight league football in Malta. The season began on 17 August 2018 and ended in April 2019. Defending champions Valletta won their 25th title, following a penalty shootout win against Hibernians in a championship decider match.[4]
Teams
[edit]Lija Athletic and Naxxar Lions were relegated after they finished thirteenth and fourteenth the previous season.[5] They are replaced by Qormi and Pietà Hotspurs, the 2017–18 Maltese First Division champions and runners-up respectively. Tarxien Rainbows retained Premiership status by defeating Żejtun Corinthians in a play-off decider.[6]
Team | In league since | City | Training Stadium | Capacity |
---|---|---|---|---|
Balzan | 2011–12 | Balzan | St. Aloysius Sports and Recreational Complex | 100 |
Birkirkara | 1990–91 | Birkirkara | Mġarr Ground | 0 |
Floriana | 1986–87 | Floriana | Independence Arena | 0 |
Gżira United | 2016–17 | Gżira | Gżira Football Ground | 0 |
Ħamrun Spartans | 2016–17 | Ħamrun | Victor Tedesco Stadium | 6,000 |
Hibernians | 1945–46 | Paola | Hibernians Ground | 2,968 |
Mosta | 2011–12 | Mosta | Charles Abela Memorial Stadium | 600 |
Pietà Hotspurs | 2018–19 | Pietà | Trinity Stadium | |
Qormi | 2018–19 | Qormi | Thomaso Ground | 500 |
Senglea Athletic | 2017–18 | Senglea | Ta' Qali National Stadium | 17,797 |
Tarxien Rainbows | 2008–09 | Tarxien | Tony Cassar Sports Ground | 1,000 |
Sliema Wanderers | 1984–85 | Sliema | Tigne Sports Complex | 1,000 |
St. Andrews | 2015–16 | St. Andrew's | Luxol Stadium | 800 |
Valletta | 1944–45 | Valletta | Sirens Stadium | 600 |
Personnel and kits
[edit]Team | Manager | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
---|---|---|---|
Balzan | Jacques Scerri | Joma | Investors Mutual Limited |
Birkirkara | John Buttigieg | Adidas | McDonald's |
Floriana | Guido Ugolotti | Joma | Scotts Supermarket, Guess? |
Gżira United | Jesmond Zerafa | Joma | Jeep |
Ħamrun Spartans | Giovanni Tedesco | Sportika SA | |
Hibernians | Stefano Sanderra | Joma | Bezzina |
Mosta | Mark Miller | Macron | Dimbros, Nilmar |
Pietà Hotspurs | Ramon Zammit | Nike | Famalco.net |
Qormi | Matthew Psaila | Macron | |
Senglea Athletic | Enzo Potenza | Macron | Palumbo |
Sliema Wanderers | Stefano Maccoppi | Adidas | DIZZ, DSM Sports |
St. Andrews | Michael Woods | Macron | |
Tarxien Rainbows | Jose Borg | Erreà | Cassar Ship Repairs |
Valletta | Gilbert Agius (caretaker) | Joma | Iniala |
- Additionally, referee kits are made by Adidas, sponsored by TeamSports and FXDD, and Nike has a new match ball.
Venues
[edit]Ta' Qali | Ta' Qali | Paola | Hamrun | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ta' Qali National Stadium | Centenary Stadium | Tony Bezzina Stadium | Victor Tedesco Stadium | |
Capacity: 16,997 | Capacity: 3,000 | Capacity: 2,968 | Capacity: 1,962 | |
Managerial changes
[edit]Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ħamrun Spartans | Jacques Scerri | Mutual consent | 31 May 2018[7] | Pre-season | Giovanni Tedesco | 31 May 2018[7] |
Hibernians | Mario Muscat Neil Zarb Cousin |
End of caretaker | 4 July 2018[8] | Stefano Sanderra | 4 July 2018[8] | |
Senglea Athletic | Steve D'Amato | End of contract | 30 June 2018 | Bruno Russo | 17 July 2018 | |
Floriana | Nicolás Chiesa | Sacked | 27 August 2018[9] | 12th | Luís Oliveira | 29 August 2018[10] |
Senglea Athletic | Bruno Russo | Sacked | 15 September 2018[11] | 13th | Enzo Potenza | 20 September 2018[11] |
Qormi | Brian Spiteri | Resigned | 6 November 2018[12] | 13th | Matthew Psaila | |
Floriana | Luís Oliveira | Sacked | 14 November 2018[13] | 9th | Guido Ugolotti | 14 November 2018[14] |
Mosta | Enrico Piccioni | 16 November 2018[15] | 12th | Mark Miller | 22 November 2018[16] | |
Sliema Wanderers | John Buttigieg | 26 January 2019[17] | 6th | Stefano Maccoppi | 11 February 2019[18] | |
Balzan | Marko Mićović | Resigned | 3 February 2019[19] | 6th | Jacques Scerri | 5 February 2019[20] |
Gżira United | Darren Abdilla | 12 February 2019[21] | 3rd | Jesmond Zerafa | 12 February 2019[21] | |
Birkirkara | Paul Zammit | 26 March 2019 | 7th | John Buttigieg | 18 April 2019[22] | |
Valletta | Danilo Dončić | 8 April 2019[23] | 1st | Gilbert Agius (caretaker) | 8 April 2019[23] |
League table
[edit]Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Valletta[a] (C) | 26 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 61 | 18 | +43 | 58 | Qualification for the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League |
2 | Hibernians[a] | 26 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 54 | 27 | +27 | 58 | Qualification for the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League |
3 | Gżira United | 26 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 42 | 21 | +21 | 50 | |
4 | Ħamrun Spartans | 26 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 35 | 20 | +15 | 46 | |
5 | Sliema Wanderers | 26 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 37 | 26 | +11 | 45 | |
6 | Balzan | 26 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 41 | 31 | +10 | 43 | Qualification for the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League[b] |
7 | Birkirkara | 26 | 12 | 3 | 11 | 33 | 26 | +7 | 39 | |
8 | Floriana | 26 | 9 | 5 | 12 | 28 | 25 | +3 | 32 | |
9 | Mosta | 26 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 30 | 45 | −15 | 29 | |
10 | Tarxien Rainbows | 26 | 8 | 2 | 16 | 29 | 58 | −29 | 26 | |
11 | Senglea Athletic | 26 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 33 | 46 | −13 | 26 | |
12 | St. Andrews (R) | 26 | 7 | 3 | 16 | 25 | 45 | −20 | 24 | Qualification for the Relegation Play-Offs |
13 | Qormi (R) | 26 | 6 | 2 | 18 | 25 | 51 | −26 | 20 | Relegation to the 2019–20 Maltese First Division |
14 | Pietà Hotspurs (R) | 26 | 3 | 4 | 19 | 25 | 59 | −34 | 13 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Play-offs (only if needed to decide champions, teams for relegation or teams for UEFA competitions).[24]
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ^ a b Valletta and Hibernians finished equal on points, and a championship play-off to determine the winner was won by Valletta
- ^ Balzan qualified for the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League as the 2018–19 Maltese FA Trophy winners
Results
[edit]Positions by round
[edit]The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards.
Championship play-off
[edit]At the end of the season, Valletta and Hibernians finished off equal on 58 points; in the last matchday, Valletta were few minutes away from winning the title as they were leading 1–0 against Ħamrun Spartans, but a goal in stoppage time levelled the match.[26] Hibernians had a convincing 5–1 win over Balzan to force a championship decider to be played between the two on 4 May.[27]
4 May 2019 | Valletta | 2–2 (a.e.t.) (4–2 p) | Hibernians | Ta' Qali |
16:30 CEST |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Ta' Qali National Stadium Attendance: 9,544 Referee: Malcolm Spiteri Man of the Match: Taylon Nicolas Correa (Hibernians) |
Penalties | ||||
|
- Valletta qualified for the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League First qualifying round.
- Hibernians qualified for the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round.
Relegation play-offs
[edit]A play-off match took place between the twelfth-placed team from the Premier League, St. Andrews, and the third-placed team from the First Division, St. Lucia, for a place in the 2019–20 Maltese Premier League. St. Lucia became the first First Division club to win a Premier League play-off, thereby booking a place in next season's Premier League for the first time in their history.[28]
5 May 2019 | St. Andrews (1) | 1–4 | St. Lucia (2) | Paola |
16:00 CEST |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Hibernians Stadium Referee: Etienne Antoine Mangion |
Season statistics
[edit]Top goalscorers
[edit]- As of 5 May 2019[1]
Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Taylon Nicolas Correa | Hibernians | 18 |
2 | Mario Fontanella | Valletta | 17 |
3 | Haruna Garba | Gżira United | 12 |
4 | Bojan Kaljević | Valletta | 11 |
Tiago Adan | Hibernians | ||
Jake Grech | Hibernians | ||
7 | Andrija Majdevac | Balzan | 10 |
Miguel Alba | Valletta | ||
9 | Alfred Effiong | Balzan | 9 |
10 | Younes Bnou Marzouk | Sliema Wanderers | 8 |
Kevin Tulimieri | Ħamrun Spartans | ||
Augusto Cáseres | Senglea Athletic |
Hat-tricks
[edit]Player[29] | For | Against | Result | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kevaun Atkinson | St. Andrews | Mosta | 3–1 | 18 August 2018 |
Bojan Kaljević | Valletta | Senglea Athletic | 5–1 | 28 September 2018 |
Haruna Garba | Gżira United | Balzan | 3–0 | 27 October 2018 |
Mario Fontanella | Valletta | Tarxien Rainbows | 7–0 | 8 December 2018 |
Diego Venancio | Senglea Athletic | St. Andrews | 5–0 | 14 March 2019 |
Justin Mengolo | Gżira United | Pietà Hotspurs | 5–2 | 30 March 2019 |
Taylon Nicolas Correa | Hibernians | Balzan | 5–1 | 27 April 2019 |
Awards
[edit]Monthly awards
[edit]Month | Player of the Month | |
---|---|---|
Player | Club | |
August[30] | Michele Paolucci | Tarxien Rainbows |
September[31] | Bojan Kaljević | Valletta |
October[32] | Mario Fontanella | Valletta |
November[33] | Martin Davis | St. Andrews |
December[34] | Taylon Correa | Hibernians |
January[35] | Augusto Cáseres | Senglea Athletic |
February[36] | Wilfried Domoraud | Ħamrun Spartans |
March[37] | Younes Bnou Marzouk | Sliema Wanderers |
April/May | Jake Grech | Hibernians |
Annual awards
[edit]Award[38] | Winner | Club |
---|---|---|
MFA Footballer of the Year | Andrei Agius | Hibernians |
Coach of the Year | Stefano Sanderra | Hibernians |
Young Player of the Year | Matthew Guillaumier | Birkirkara |
Foreign Player of the Year | Miguel Alba | Valletta |
Best Goal Award | Jurgen Degabriele (vs Floriana) | Hibernians |
Best Fans Award | Valletta |
References
[edit]- ^ a b "BOV Premier League Top Scorers". Malta Football Association. Archived from the original on 16 August 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- ^ "Valletta 6 - 0 Qormi". Malta Football Association. Archived from the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- ^ a b "Tarxien R 0 - 7 Valletta". Malta Football Association. Archived from the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- ^ Camilleri, Valhmor; Lia, Gianluca (4 May 2019). "Valletta win 25th league title on penalties". Times of Malta. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
- ^ "Live commentary: BOV Premier League relegation battle". Times of Malta. 20 April 2018.
- ^ Camilleri, Joanna (27 April 2018). "Tarxien Rainbows iżommu posthom fil-kampjonat BOV Premier" (in Maltese). TVM.
- ^ a b "Ħamrun appoint Tedesco as coach". Times of Malta. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- ^ a b "Stefano Sanderra named new Hibernians coach". Times of Malta. 4 July 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
- ^ "Floriana sack coach Chiesa". Times of Malta. 27 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
- ^ "Floriana appoint Lulù Oliveira as coach". Times of Malta. 29 August 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
- ^ a b Lia, Gianluca (20 September 2018). "Potenza named new Senglea coach". Times of Malta. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
- ^ Attard, Mark (6 November 2018). "Futbol lokali: Brian Spiteri jirriżenja minn kowċ ta' Qormi FC" (in Maltese). TVM. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
- ^ "Floriana and Luis Oliveira part ways". Floriana F.C. 14 November 2018. Archived from the original on 21 June 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
- ^ Camilleri, Valhmor (14 November 2018). "Ugolotti named as new Floriana coach after Oliveira dismissal". Times of Malta. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
- ^ "Enrico Piccioni no longer Mosta FC coach". MaltaFootball.com. 16 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
- ^ "Mark Miller is new Mosta FC coach". MaltaFootball.com. 22 November 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
- ^ Falzon, Chris (26 January 2019). "Sliema Wanderers u John Buttigieg itemmu r-relazzjoni ta' bejniethom" (in Maltese). TVM Sport. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
- ^ Camilleri, Valhmor (11 February 2019). "Sliema name Maccoppi as new coach". Times of Malta. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
- ^ Camilleri, Valhmor (3 February 2019). "Micovic steps down as Balzan coach". Times of Malta. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
- ^ Camilleri, Valhmor (5 February 2019). "Scerri appointed Balzan coach". Times of Malta. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ a b Camilleri, Valhmor (12 February 2019). "Zerafa replaces Abdilla at Gżira United". Times of Malta. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
- ^ Galea, Ayrton (18 April 2019). "Birkirkara FC appoints John Buttigieg as their new Head Coach". Birkirkara F.C. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
- ^ a b Camilleri, Valhmor (8 April 2019). "Doncic resigns as Valletta coach". Times of Malta. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
- ^ "Premier League 2018/2019 - Season rules". Scoresway. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
- ^ "Malta FA Protests Board decision". Malta Football Association. 28 December 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- ^ "Drama as last-minute equaliser forces Hibs vs Valletta championship decider". Times of Malta. 27 April 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
- ^ "Updated: Valletta, Hibs to play title decider on Saturday". Times of Malta. 28 April 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
- ^ Busuttil, Antoine (5 May 2019). "Historic promotion for Santa Lucia after fine 4-1 win over St. Andrews in Play-Off". MaltaFootball.com. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
- ^ "BOV Premier League 2018/19". MaltaFootball.com. Archived from the original on 10 September 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
- ^ "BOV Player of the Month - Tarxien's Michele Paolucci wins first award for 18/19 season". Bank of Valletta. 19 September 2018. Archived from the original on 21 October 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
- ^ "BOV Player of the Month - Valletta's Kaljevic wins September award". Bank of Valletta. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2018.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "BOV Player of the Month – October 2018 - Fontanella lands Valletta's Second award this season". Bank of Valletta. 8 November 2018. Archived from the original on 9 November 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
- ^ "BOV Player of the Month - Martin Davis (St Andrews FC) wins November award". Bank of Valletta. 7 December 2018. Archived from the original on 27 December 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
- ^ "BOV Player of the Month Hibernians' Taylon wins award for December 2018". Bank of Valletta. 11 January 2019. Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
- ^ "BOV Player of the Month - Senglea's Caceres wins January Award". Bank of Valletta. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2019.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "BOV Player of the Month - Hamrun's Domoraud wins February Award". Bank of Valletta. 14 March 2019. Archived from the original on 10 September 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
- ^ "BOV Player of the Month - Sliema's Marzouk wins March Award". 16 April 2019. Archived from the original on 10 September 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ "Hibs defender Agius named MFA Footballer of the Year". Malta Football Association. 25 May 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
External links
[edit]- Official website Archived 11 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine