March 2001

Sat 31

• Premier League Naxxar L. vs Pietà H. 2-2, Floriana vs Valletta 1-4
• First Division Marsaxlokk vs St. Patrick 1-2, Marsa vs Mosta 3-1
• Second Division Dingli S. vs Balzan Y. 0-0, Mqabba vs Gzira U. 1-0
• Third Division Gudja U. vs Msida SJ 0-4, Vittoriosa S. vs Ghaxaq 10-1
• Gozo - Freedom Day Cup Nadur Y. vs Ghajnsielem 0-8
• Gozo - Second Division Sannat L. vs Qala SJ 1-1

Fri 30

• The Special Olympics European Football Week is being organised next week, between Monday 2nd and Sunday 8th April. A number of activities will be held during the week which is meant to be a celebration of the game of football for children with special needs. These include 20-minute exhibition games by the Special Olympics seven-a-side team who will be playing together with the young players from the Valletta, Sliema and Birkirkara nurseries during the interval of the matches which will be held on Saturday and Sunday at the National Stadium. The main aim of this initiative is to collect funds to buy two buses which will be used to transport these youngsters with special needs to the venues of the training sessions, under the guidance of coach John Mottershead. Among the sponsors of these activities are McDonald's and Safari. On Thursday 5th, a number of Premier League players will be present at the McDonald's outlets in the evening to sign autographs and serve customers from behind the counter.

Thu 29

• Gozo - First Division Nadur Y. vs St.Lawrence S. 3-0

Wed 28

• Rothmans Trophy Marsa vs Tarxien R. 2-2 (4-1 pens), Marsaxlokk vs Hibernians 0-3
• An incredible incident took place in the Reserves League Section A on Tuesday. The scheduled game was Hamrun Spartans vs Naxxar Lions. Both teams were unable to field a team for this game and therefore both teams decided to award a walk-over. This is just the tip of an iceberg of ridiculous situations in the Premier Reserves League. The results of eight games were decided on table after protests by teams. It was also a regular scene at the Centenary Stadium to have teams playing with just 10 players or not having any reserves on the bench.
• Gozo - First Division Ghajnsielem vs Victoria H. 0-1

Tue 27

• Rothmans Trophy St. Patrick vs St. Andrews 4-4 (2-4 pens), Pietà H. vs Rabat A. 2-1 after extra-time
• MFA president Dr Joe Mifsud had meeting on Monday with a number of national team players and national coach Josif Ilic in two separate meetings. Mifsud met Ilic in the morning while the meeting for the players was held in the evening, before the training session. The topic of these meetings was the current problems hitting the national team, especially after the poor performances against Sweden and Denmark.
• The upgrading of the Salinos football pitch in Valletta was expected to be completed by the end of May. Works consisting of a synthetic pitch and a floodlighting system started three years ago. The pitch which is will be used by Valletta FC as a training ground. The Valletta Rehabilitation Project and the Works Department in the Ministry of the Environment had restored the bastions surrounding the pitch, putting up the fence and preparing the base for the floodlighting system. A layer of concrete is soon to be laid on the surface of the pitch which will then serve as a base for the synthetic turf. The project will cost almost Lm200,000.

Sun 25

• Second Division Attard vs Melita 1-1, Luqa SA vs Siggiewi 7-4
• Third Division Zejtun C. vs St. George's 0-4, Fgura U. vs Mgarr U.
• Women's League Hibernians vs Melita 1-0, Rabat A. vs Raiders 0-9
• Gozo - First Division Kercem A. vs Oratory Y. 2-4, Zebbug R. vs Xewkija T. 2-2

Sat 24

• World Cup 2002 Qualifying Round Group 3 Malta vs Denmark 0-5
• Gozo - First Division Ghajnsielem vs St. Lawrence S. 3-1, Victoria H. vs Nadur Y. 0-2

Fri 23

• Under 21 European Championship Malta vs Denmark 0-0
  Malta and Denmark shared the spoils in a goalless draw in a match from the UEFA Under 21 Championship Group 3 played at the Hibernians Ground. The two sides shared the exchanges for the whole 90 minutes. This is the first point for Malta after four games since the point Malta had won in a draw in Northern Ireland was lost after Malta had used an ineligible player. The Maltese had good attempts at goal going close with efforts by Claude Mattocks early in the first half and then late in the game. William Camenzuli had another good attempt late in the second half. In the final stages, Michael Mifsud missed a good chance hitting wide after an excellent run on the left. Goalkeeper Justin Haber who is currently playing for Dobrudzha in Bulgaria played an excellent game for Malta denying the Danish side on four clear scoring opportunities. MALTA: Justin Haber, Mark Anthony Bonnici, Carlo Mamo, Rennie Forace (35' Aaron Xuereb), Kenneth Scicluna, Massimo Grima, Claude Mattocks (76' Kevin Sammut), William Camenzuli, Michael Mifsud, Matthew Galea, Miguel Mifsud (76' William Borg).
• Following a meeting between his employers Maltacom and the MFA, Valletta defender Darren Debono was included once again in the national squad. Debono had been dropped from the squad on Wednesday after the player was late for two training sessions as he had yet received authorisation from his place of work to attend training sessions in time. Meanwhile Ilic named the squad for Saturday's game. The squad is made up of goalkeepers Ernest Barry (Sliema), Saviour Darmanin (Pietà) and Mario Muscat (Hibs); defenders David Carabott, Darren Debono and Daniel Theuma (Valletta), Luke Dimech (Sliema), Chris Okoh (Naxxar); midfielders Joe Brincat and Antoine Zahra (Birkirkara), David Camilleri, Carmel Busuttil and Noel Turner (Sliema), Stefan Giglio (CSKA Sofia), Nicky Saliba (Valletta), Jonathan Holland (Floriana) and strikers Gilbert Agius (Valletta), George Mallia (Floriana) and Chucks Nwoko (CSKA Sofia).

Thu 22

• Valletta defender Darren Debono was dropped from the national squad for Saturday's World Cup qualifier against Denmark. Debono arrived late for training on Tuesday and Wednesday and he was not allowed to join his team mates in the training session by Ilic. It seems that the player had informed Mr Ronnie Attard that he would be arriving late for the training session since Maltacom, his employers and sponsors, had not yet approved the new training schedule for the national team players. In fact those players who work for Maltacom who have to attend training sessions with the national team have to report for work at 6am. Before Wednesday's training session, Ilic asked the players whether they were mentally prepared for the game and Debono replied that he was not OK due to these problems. The Valletta defender was therefore removed from the squad. This is another deep blow for Malta as the defence is already orphan of Jeffrey Chetcuti, Brian Said and Michael Spiteri. Ironically, Darren Debono was the best player in the friendly game against Sweden last month.
• Sliema's Nigerian striker Chima Dozie is expected to be out of the game for the next five weeks as he is suffering from a recurrent groin injury. Dozie had aggravated his injury during Sliema's match with Hamrun and was advised to rest. This season is therefore over for him. Dozie is currently on loan from Naxxar although Sliema are expected to try and sign him for next season.

Wed 21

• Eight Premier League players were suspended by the MFA Disciplinary Commissioner. Birkirkara defender Djordje Pintac and Hibs midfielder Ndubisi Chukunyere were suspended for two games each. On the other hand, Dominic Scicluna and Fatos Daja (both Hamrun), Joe Galea and Keith Fenech (both Rabat), together with Daniel Theuma (Valletta) and Jonathan Holland (Floriana) were handed a one game ban.
• MFA president Dr Joe Mifsud and national coach Josif Ilic had strong words for the national team players, accusing them of lack of commitment and motivation while playing for the national team. Dr Mifsud said that it is now evident that some of the players in the national team are not taking it seriously. Their talent is being wasted as they cannot concentrate on working, training, enjoying themselves and maybe running their own private business at the same time. Dr Mifsud was clearly annoyed by the fact that a number of players withdrew from the squad for the friendly against Sweden but then played for their clubs the following weekend. He pointed out that clubs have the right to protest if their opponents make use of a player or players who were certified unfit to play for their national teams a few days before since there is a FIFA rule which states that players who are not fit to play for the national team because of injuries are ineligible to play for their respective teams in the five days' time. Ilic said that the game against Sweden was one of the worse performances by the local side. He said that he is not ready to accept another similar display and in such case, some players could be removed from the national squad.
• The atmosphere in the national team camp is definitely not serene. On Wednesday, only twelve players attended the training session. On the other hand, on Tuesday there was an incident in which Darren Debono arrived late for training and was not allowed to join his team mates in the training session by Ilic. Debono was at the centre of controversy a couple of weeks ago when during the programme Replay on Net TV, he accused the MFA of giving them a ridiculous amount as compensation after the friendly game between the Malta XI and Bayern Munich.
• National coach Josif Ilic has yet to name a squad of 18 players for the game against Denmark on Saturday. The 21 players at his disposal are: goalkeepers Ernest Barry (Sliema), Saviour Darmanin (Pietà) and Mario Muscat (Hibs); defenders David Carabott, Darren Debono and Daniel Theuma (Valletta), Luke Dimech (Sliema), Chris Okoh and Digger Okonkwo (Naxxar); midfielders Joe Brincat and Antoine Zahra (Birkirkara), David Camilleri, Dybrill Sylla, Carmel Busuttil and Noel Turner (Sliema), Stefan Giglio (CSKA Sofia), Nicky Saliba (Valletta), Jonathan Holland (Floriana) and strikers Gilbert Agius (Valletta), George Mallia (Floriana) and Chucks Nwoko (CSKA Sofia). Under 21 coach Ray 'Zazu' Farrugia has the following players at his disposal: goalkeepers Matthew Camilleri (Floriana) and Justin Haber (SK Dobrudzha); defenders Mark Anthony Bonnici, Massimo Grima and Carlo Mamo (Sliema), Rene Forace (Valletta), Kenneth Scicluna (Qormi) and Aaron Xuereb (Hibs); midfielders Etienne Barbara and Claude Mattocks (Floriana), Victor Bellia (Naxxar L.), Joseph Farrugia (Pietà), William Camenzuli (Birkirkara), Matthew Galea and Kevin Sammut (Hamrun) and strikers William Borg (Rabat), Anatole Debono (Pieta), Michael Galea (Birkirkara), Michael Mifsud (Sliema), Miguel Mifsud (Hibernians).
• The Danish squads arrived in Malta on Tuesday in order to prepare well for the two games against Malta. The senior squad is coached by Morten Olsen, assisted by Michael Laudrup. Denmark has been hit by very cold weather making it very difficult to carry out the necessary preparation. Olsen named two uncapped players in their squad for this game - defender Martin Albrechtsen and Silkeborg goalkeeper Peter Kjaer. Kjaer is likely to play understudy to Sunderland goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen, who will take the number one shirt from Sporting Lisbon's Peter Schmeichel. Schmeichel has announced his retirement from international football and will play his 129th and final match in a friendly against Slovenia in Copenhagen on April 25. Denmark are currently second in Group Three with five points from three games. The Czech Republic lead the group with seven points. The squad is made up of goalkeepers: Thomas Sorensen (Sunderland), Peter Kjaer (Silkeborg); defenders: Martin Albrechtsen (AB Copenhagen), Jan Heintze (PSV Eindhoven), Thomas Helveg (AC Milan), Rene Henriksen (Panathinaikos), Niclas Jensen (FC Copenhagen), Martin Laursen (Verona); midfielders: Bjarne Goldbaek (Fulham), Thomas Gravesen (Everton), Claus Jensen (Charlton), Brian Steen Nielsen (AB Copenhagen), Stig Toefting (Hamburger SV) and strikers: Jesper Groenkjaer (Chelsea), Martin Jorgensen (Udinese), Jan Michaelsen (AB Copenhagen), Marc Nygaard (Roda), Dennis Rommedahl (PSV Eindhoven), Ebbe Sand (Schalke 04), Jon Dahl Tomasson (Feyenoord).

Tue 20

• Four players will be missing for Malta in next Saturday's World Cup qualifier against Denmark at the National Stadium. Birkirkara defender Michael Spiteri underwent a surgery in Rome, Brian Said and Jeffrey Chetcuti are suspended while Hubert Suda is injured. National coach Josif Ilic will be naming the squad on Wednesday.
• First Division Marsaxlokk vs Gozo 3-1

Mon 19

• Second Division Sta. Lucia v Mqabba 0-1, Mellieha v Sta. Venera L. 4-2
• Third Division Senglea A. v Ta' Xbiex 5-0, Kirkop U. v Birzebbuga SP 2-2

Sun 18

• Premier Division Birkirkara v Floriana 2-1, Hibernians v Sliema W. 1-3
• First Division Mosta v Lija A. 2-4, St. Andrews v Qormi 1-3, Tarxien R. v Zurrieq 2-2
• Second Division Gzira U. v Luqa SA 0-2, Balzan Y. v Zebbug R. 0-0
• Third Division Ghaxaq v Fgura U. 2-1, Msida SJ v Zejtun C. 1-1
• Women's League Raiders v Hibernians 0-6, Mosta v Birkirkara 1-0
• Gozo - First Division Kercem A. vs Ghajnsielem 0-7, Xewkija T. vs Nadur Y. 2-1
• Stefan Giglio scored a decisive goal for CSKA Sofia in an away 1-0 win over Botev Plovdiv. After that CSKA missed a penalty in the first half, Giglio gave them the three points with a goal on the 66th minute. CSKA are second with 42 points, three points behind leaders Levski Sofia.

Sat 17

• Premier League Naxxar L. vs Rabat A. 3-3, Valletta v Hamrun S. 2-0
• Third Division Gharghur v Sirens 0-3, San Gwann v Pembroke A. 1-1
• Gozo - First Division Zebbug R. vs Victoria H. 0-0, Oratory Y. vs St. Lawrence S. 5-0

Fri 16

• First Division St. Patrick vs Marsa 0-0

Thu 15

• The Rothmans Footballer of the Month for February 2001 is Hamrun Spartans 22-year old Congolese goalkeeper Daniel Dengaky. Dengaky joined Hamrun in December where he played first in the Rothmans Trophy match against Marsa, making his Premier League debut against Valletta in the second round of the first phase. Before coming to Malta, he played for Mogas 90 Benin. With this club, he won the League Championship in 1998 and the National Cup in 1999 in Benin. His debut in the Top League in Congo was in 1995. In that year, he also played in the CAF Cup with Interclub (Congo). Dengaki's ambition is to play well at top level for a long time and to represent the Republic of Congo at international level. Among his other interests and hobbies are reading, general knowledge, modern Congolese music and handball.
• Malta dropped two places in the FIFA World Rankings as published on Wednesday after the 0-3 defeat to Sweden in a friendly match last month. Malta now lies in the 121st place. Among the other European countries, Malta is in the 47th place. In front of Malta are Azerbaijan (117th) and Faroe Islands (119th) while Luxemburg (142nd), Andorra (146th), Liechtenstein (149th) and San Marino (168th) are behind.
• CSKA Sofia moved closer to leaders Levski Sofia after defeating Neftochimik Bourgas 4-0 in the Bulgarian Premier League. Stefan Giglio was included in the starting line-up for CSKA but was substituted in the 59th minute. Levski have 42 points and CSKA 39.

Wed 14

• Four Premier League players were suspended for one game: Michael Cutajar (Birkirkara), Jeffrey Chetcuti (Valletta), Clive Mizzi (Hamrun) and Martin Gregory (Sliema). These players will miss the Championship Pool matches Valletta-Hamrun, B'Kara-Floriana and Hibs-Sliema.

Tue 13

• The draws of the Rothmans Trophy second round were held on Tuesday at the MFA Headquarters. The main fixture is that which puts two Premier sides against each other - Pietà Hotspurs vs Rabat Ajax. The other Premier side Hibernians meet Marsaxlokk. The other two games are between First Division sides: St. Patrick vs St. Andrews and Marsa vs Tarxien Rainbows. The second round matches will be held on the 27th and 28th March at the National Stadium. Birkirkara, Sliema Wanderers, Valletta and Floriana enter the competition in the quarter-finals.
• The draws of the Rothmans Division II & III Knock-Out semi-finals which were also held on Tuesday resulted as follows: Zebbug Rangers vs St. George's, Vittoriosa Stars vs Dingli Swallows.
• The First Division games between St. Patrick and Marsa, Marsaxlokk and Gozo which were postponed last Sunday were rescheduled as follows: St. Patrick-Marsa to be held on Friday 16th while M'Xlokk-Gozo will be held on Tuesday 20th, both at the Centenary Stadium.

Mon 12

• Stefan Giglio played the whole 90 minutes for CSKA Sofia in the away win over Lokomotiv Sofia. CSKA are second in the Bulgarian Premier League, five points behind Levski.

Sun 11

• Premier League Pietà H. v Xghajra T. 5-0, Floriana v Hamrun S. 3-1
• First Division St. Patrick v Marsa and Marsaxlokk v Gozo postponed
• Second Division Attard v Dingli S. 1-1, Melita v Siggiewi 2-1
• Third Division Mgarr U. v Vittoriosa S. 0-1, St. George's v Gudja U. 3-0
• Women's League Melita vs Mosta 1-1, Birkirkara vs Rabat A. 4-0

Sat 10

• Premier League Birkirkara v Hibernians 1-1, Valletta v Sliema W. 2-0
• Second Division Sta. Venera L. v Balzan Y. 0-4, Mqabba v Mellieha 1-1
• Gozo - Second Division SK Victoria W. vs Xaghra U. 1-7, Sannat L. vs Qala postponed due to lack of security at the Sannat Ground

Fri 9

• UEFA Under 16 Group 9 Mini-Tournament Malta vs Ukraine 0-5

Wed 7

• Birkirkara sacked coach Atanas Marinov following a dispute between the club and the Bulgarian coach that had led the Stripes to winning their first Premier League title in 50 years. The incident which sparked the dispute was the inclusion of Freddie Cardona in the technical board which had to supervise Marinov's work. Cardona signed for the Stripes till the end of the season. He was part of the coaching duo together with Robert Gatt three years ago.
• Sliema defender Ian Ciantar was suspended for two games by the MFA Disciplinary Commissioner after playing in the Reserves' League while he was still serving a one-match suspension. Another player to be suspended for two games was Ludwig Bartolo of Xghajra. Carmel Spiteri (Naxxar), Hubert Suda (Birkirkara), Pavel Mraz (Valletta), Silvio Vella and Branko Nisevic (Hibs) were suspended for one game.

Mon 5

• UEFA Under 16 Championship Group 9 Mini-Tournament Malta vs Turkey 0-3. Malta lined-up as follows: B. Maher, C. Micallef I, C. Micallef II, M. Abdilla, J. Mifsud, S. Cappitta, S. Ciscaldi (T. Scerri), D. O'Flaherty, C. Camilleri, C. Frendo (A. Decesare), M. Brincat (R. Newell). Maltese-Australian goalie Brian Maher had a fine performance in goal, even saving a penalty.
• Malta Under 16 goalie Andrew Hogg did not travel to Turkey for the the UEFA Under 16 Championship Group 9 Mini-Tournament for some reason while his passport was being checked at the Malta International Airport. The reasons behind this are not yet known officially. There were rumours that his passport had expired. However other sources claimed that his passport was an English one and was therefore not eligible to play for Malta. If this was true, Pietà would have had four foreigners on their books early in the season since Hogg used to be included in the squad for Premier League matches.
• CSKA Sofia lost 1-4 to Litex Lovech in the first game from the second round of the Bulgarian Premier League. Stefan Giglio played the whole 90 minutes while Chucks Nwoko was not even included in the 18-man squad for the game. Meanwhile CSKA sacked coach Alexander Stankov and re-engaged italian coach Enrico Catuzzi. It seems that even technical director Emil Kostadinov was removed from his post.

Sun 4

• Premier League Naxxar L. vs Xghajra T. 4-3, Hibernians vs Floriana 1-0
• Rothmans Trophy Rabat A. vs Lija A. 4-3 pen
• First Division Zurrieq vs Mosta 0-3, Tarxien R. vs Qormi 1-0
• Second Division Zebbug R. vs Attard 1-0, Luqa SA vs Sta. Lucia 1-1
• Third Division Zejtun C. vs Birzebbuga SP 3-1, Fgura U. vs Ta' Xbiex 2-2
• Women's League Mosta vs Raiders 4-0, Rabat A. vs Hibernians 0-4
• Gozo - First Division Ghajnsielem vs Xewkija T. 0-2, Nadur Y. vs Kercem A. 1-4

Sat 3

• Premier League Sliema W. vs Hamrun S. 5-1, Birkirkara vs Valletta 1-2
• Third Division Msida SJ vs Kirkop U. 0-0, Ghaxaq vs Senglea A. 2-6
• Gozo - First Division St. Lawrence S. vs Zebbug R. 2-2, Victoria H. vs Oratory Y. 1-1
• Malta's Under 16 national team will be travelling to Turkey today to take part in the UEFA Under 16 Championship Group 9 Mini-Tournament. The team is under the guide of coach mark Miller, assisted by Pierre Brincat. The squad is made up of goalkeepers Andrew Hogg (Pietà)and Brian Maher (Green Gully - Australia); defenders Malcolm Abdilla (Pietà), Andrew Decesare, Josef Mifsud (Sliema), Clayton Micallef I (Hibs), Clayton Micallef II (Floriana); midfielders Mauro Brincat (Hamrun), Sergio Cappitta and Silvan Ciscaldi (Pietà), Andre Formosa (Sliema), Michael Martin (Melita), Than Micallef and Elliott Navarro (Floriana), Ryan Newell (San Gwann) and forwards Clive Camilleri, Andrew Coleiro, Cleavon Frendo, Darren O'Flaherty (Pietà), Terence Scerri (Hibs). Malta plays against hosts Turkey on Monday 5th and then against Ukraine on Friday 9th.
• The First Division Standing Committee made a request to stage First Division games at the Centenary Stadium. This request could be accepted only if the games are held on Mondays and Fridays.
• The National Stadium will be hosting a number of football matches as part of the Special Olympics which will be held in Malta between the 2nd and 8th April.
• FIFA referee Anton Zammit will be controlling two games from the UEFA Under 16 Championship Group 6 Mini-Tournament which will be held in Italy. He will be controlling Bosnia-Hercegovina vs Czech Republic and Bosnia-Hercegovina vs Bulgaria. He will be assisted by another Maltese official - assistant referee Charles Micallef.

Fri 2

• Rabat Ajax striker Dunstan Saliba was suspended for three years after assaulting a referee in a game from the Hotels and Restaurants Association league.