2012–13 Maltese Premier League

Maltese Premier League
Season 2012–13
Champions Birkirkara
(4th title)
Relegated Hamrun Spartans
Melita
Champions League Birkirkara
Europa League Hibernians
Valletta
Sliema Wanderers
Top goalscorer Negrin
(22 goals)

The 2012–13 Maltese Premier League was the 98th season of the Maltese Premier League, the top-tier football league in Malta. It began in August 2012 and ended in May 2013. Valletta were the defending champions, having won their 21st title last season.

The Premier League consisted of two rounds. In the First Round, every team played each opponent twice, once "home" and once "away" (in actuality, the designation of home and away were purely arbitrary as most of the clubs did not have their own grounds), for a total of 22 games. The league was then split into two pools. Earned points were subsequently halved. Teams that finished in the positions 1–6 compete in the "Championship Pool" and teams that finished in positions 7–12 play in the "Relegation Pool".

Teams

Marsaxlokk were relegated to the First Division after finishing in last place of the relegation pool last season. This ended a three-year stay in the Premier League for them.

Promoted to the top flight were Rabat Ajax, who returned to the Premier League after an eleven season absence, and Melita, who became the first amateur club to reach the Premier League as well as being the only amateur club in the world taking part in the top tier of a professional league.

Stadia and training grounds

Only a few stadia have the infrastructure needed to host Premier League matches. These are Ta' Qali National Stadium and Centenary Stadium at Ta' Qali, Victor Tedesco Stadium at Ħamrun and Hibernians Ground at Paola. Additional to that, each team has been assigned to a dedicated training ground. On a few occasions, Hibernians and Hamrun Spartans play at their home ground, but otherwise all games are played on neutral ground, rendering "home" and "away" games purely symbolic.

Location of teams in 2012–13 Maltese Premier Division
Team Location of origin Ground Location of ground
Balzan Youths Balzan
Birkirkara Birkirkara Infetti Ground Birkirkara
Floriana Floriana Independence Parade Ground Floriana
Hibernians Paola Hibernians Ground Paola
Hamrun Spartans Ħamrun Victor Tedesco Stadium Ħamrun
Mosta Mosta Charles Abela Stadium Mosta
Melita St. Julian's Gianni Bencini Ground St. Julian's
Qormi Qormi Thomaso Grounds Qormi
Rabat Ajax Rabat Rabat Ajax Football Ground Mtarfa
Sliema Wanderers Sliema Tigné Point Sliema
Tarxien Rainbows Tarxien Tarxien Ground Tarxien
Valletta Valletta Zebbug Rovers FC Ground / Melita Ground Zebbug or St Julians

First phase

League table

Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Qualification or relegation
1 Valletta 22 13 7 2 49 15+34 46 Qualification for championship round
2 Hibernians 22 14 3 5 47 24+23 45
3 Birkirkara 22 12 7 3 47 19+28 43
4 Tarxien Rainbows 22 11 5 6 39 32+7 38
5 Sliema Wanderers 22 11 4 7 34 22+12 37
6 Mosta 22 11 1 10 39 33+6 34
7 Qormi 22 9 3 10 32 342 30 Qualification for relegation round
8 Balzan 22 7 6 9 34 362 27
9 Floriana 22 5 9 8 26 315 24
10 Hamrun Spartans 22 4 4 14 24 5834 16
11 Melita 22 3 5 14 18 5638 14
12 Rabat Ajax 22 1 8 13 16 4529 11

Source: Malta Football Association
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Results

Home ╲ Away BAL BIR FLOHAMHIBMELMOSQORRABSLITARVAL
Balzan 12 13 32 23 21 00 21 11 10 34 11
Birkirkara 22 11 13 10 40 71 21 20 13 50 11
Floriana 31 03 11 03 00 12 22 30 20 23 02
Hamrun Spartans 22 03 02 16 01 03 10 11 02 11 28
Hibernians 20 00 10 21 31 32 01 60 21 00 01
Melita 04 03 22 13 15 05 12 33 00 03 15
Mosta 20 01 31 41 01 31 42 20 02 13 13
Qormi 12 11 00 40 24 23 21 30 21 21 02
Rabat Ajax 02 33 11 13 03 00 32 01 02 13 11
Sliema Wanderers 32 00 11 21 40 40 02 31 10 12 02
Tarxien Rainbows 21 14 11 41 22 20 20 12 10 23 11
Valletta 11 10 30 60 41 12 01 30 11 11 10

Source: Malta Football Association
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Second phase

Championship group

Group table

Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Qualification or relegation
1 Birkirkara (C) 32 19 9 4 62 22+40 45 2013–14 UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round
2 Hibernians 32 21 4 7 70 33+37 45 2013–14 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round 1
3 Valletta 32 17 8 7 69 27+42 36 2013–14 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round
4 Sliema Wanderers 32 16 6 10 48 32+16 36
5 Tarxien Rainbows 32 14 6 12 54 51+3 29
6 Mosta 32 11 2 19 45 7227 18

Source: Malta Football Association
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
1The winners of the 2012–13 Maltese FA Trophy.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Results

Home ╲ Away BIR HIB MOSSLITARVAL
Birkirkara 10 71 10 10 10
Hibernians 11 60 02 30 42
Mosta 00 13 01 03 05
Sliema Wanderers 10 23 41 00 02
Tarxien Rainbows 01 03 42 34 32
Valletta 02 12 61 00 31

Source: Malta Football Association
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Relegation group

Group table

Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Qualification or relegation
7 Floriana 32 14 10 8 48 38+10 40
8 Qormi 32 15 4 13 61 50+11 34
9 Balzan 32 9 9 14 48 6113 23
10 Rabat Ajax 32 6 9 17 38 6022 22
11 Hamrun Spartans (R) 32 6 5 21 39 8849 15 Relegation to 2013–14 Maltese First Division
12 Melita (R) 32 4 8 20 31 7847 13

Source: Malta Football Association
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Results

Home ╲ Away BAL FLO HAMMELQORRAB
Balzan 02 31 00 44 05
Floriana 11 31 20 10 21
Hamrun Spartans 32 03 35 02 13
Melita 12 12 22 13 14
Qormi 52 24 62 20 40
Rabat Ajax 30 12 12 22 21

Source: Malta Football Association
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Championship play-off

Birkirkara and Hibernians finished the season level on points. A play-off decided the title.[1]

11 May 2013
18:00
Birkirkara 3–1 Hibernians
Herrera  56'
Vukanac  67'
Muscat  74'
Failla  33' (pen.)
Ta' Qali National Stadium, Ta' Qali
Attendance: 9,200
Referee: Alan Mario Sant

Season statistics

Top scorers

Rank Player Club Goals[2]
1 Spain Negrin Rabat Ajax / Melita 22
2 Brazil Daniel Bueno Tarxien Rainbows 19
3 Malta Michael Mifsud Valletta 18
4 Malta Ryan Darmanin Balzan Youths 14
Brazil Elton Balzan Youths 14
Brazil Jhonnattann Birkirkara 14
Brazil Igor Coronado Floriana 14
8 Malta Clayton Failla Hibernians 13
9 Bulgaria Danail Mitev Mosta 12
Nigeria Obinna Obiefule Mosta / Hibernians 12

References

  1. Birkirkara are 2012/13 Premier League winners
  2. "Top scorers". Malta Football Association. Retrieved 13 May 2013.

External links

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