2018–19 Maltese Second Division
Season | 2018–19 |
---|---|
Dates | 5 September 2018 – 20 April 2019 |
Champions | St. George's |
Promoted | St. George's Fgura United |
Relegated | St. Venera Lightnings Siggiewi |
Matches played | 156 |
Goals scored | 2.61 (0.02 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Lazar Doric (15 goals)[1] |
Biggest home win | Mġarr United 5-0 Siggiewi (6 April 2019) |
Biggest away win | Mġarr United 0-6 Rabat Ajax (8 October 2018) |
Highest scoring | Fgura United 6-2 Kalkara (30 March 2019) |
← 2017–18 2019–20 →
All statistics correct as of 27 April 2019. |
The 2018–19 Maltese Second Division (known as the BOV Second Division for sponsorship reasons[2]) is the league competition for the third-tier league in the Maltese football league system. The opening fixture was played on 5 September 2018 and the league season ended on 20 April 2019. St. George's won the championship after winning the decider against fellow promoted team, Fgura United. At the other side of the table, St. Venera Lightnings and Siggiewi were relegated.
Overview
[edit]The number of teams will remain unchanged from the previous season and therefore the league will be contested by 13 teams, including 3 teams relegated from the 2017–18 Maltese First Division season and 2 teams promoted from the 2017–18 Maltese Third Division season. The 13 teams will play a round-robin tournament whereby each team plays each one of the other teams twice, once at 'home' and once 'away'. Thus, a total of 156 matches will be played, with 24 matches played by each team.
The top two teams will be promoted to the 2019–20 Maltese First Division, while the bottom two are relegated to the 2019–20 Maltese Third Division. The team which will place in the third position will get a second chance for promotion to the 2019–20 Maltese First Division by facing the third-last team of the 2018–19 Maltese First Division; while the team which ends in the ante-penultimate position participates in a similar play-off against the third placed team of the 2018–19 Maltese Third Division.
As is the norm in Malta, the matches will be played at a number of venues designated by the Malta Football Association. 4 different venues were assigned for this year's competition, with the Centenary Stadium in Ta' Qali hosting the largest share of matches. In a bid of drawing more supporters to the stadiums, admission prices for the season were slashed to €2, with those for children aged under 12 years and senior citizens abolished completely.[3]
Teams
[edit]Team | In league since | Location | Last season |
---|---|---|---|
Birżebbuġa St. Peter's | 2015–16 | Birżebbuġa | 7th |
Fgura United | 2017–18 | Fgura | 4th |
Kalkara | 2017–18 | Kalkara | 8th |
Luqa St. Andrew's | 2017–18 | Luqa | 10th |
Marsaxlokk | 2016–17 | Marsaxlokk | 6th |
Melita | 2018–19 | St Julian's | First Division, 13th |
Mellieħa | 2018–19 | Mellieħa | Third Division, 2nd |
Mġarr United | 2015–16 | Mġarr | 9th |
Rabat Ajax | 2018–19 | Rabat | First Division, 14th |
Siġġiewi | 2011–12 | Siġġiewi | 5th |
St. George's | 2016–17 | Cospicua | 11th |
St. Venera Lightnings | 2018–19 | Santa Venera | Third Division, 1st |
St. Patrick | 2018–19 | Żabbar | First Division, 12th |
Venues
[edit]Stadium | Location | Capacity |
---|---|---|
Centenary Stadium | Ta' Qali | 3,000[4] |
Luxol Stadium | Pembroke | 800[5] |
Sirens Stadium | St. Paul's Bay | 600 |
Victor Tedesco Stadium | Ħamrun | 1,962[6] |
League table
[edit]Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | St. George's (C) | 24 | 16 | 5 | 3 | 40 | 16 | +24 | 53 | Promotion the Maltese First Division |
2 | Fgura United (P) | 24 | 17 | 2 | 5 | 44 | 18 | +26 | 53 | |
3 | Mġarr United | 24 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 45 | 22 | +23 | 51 | Qualification for the promotion play-offs |
4 | Marsaxlokk | 24 | 14 | 5 | 5 | 40 | 23 | +17 | 47 | |
5 | Birzebbuga St. Peter's | 24 | 13 | 4 | 7 | 40 | 26 | +14 | 43 | |
6 | Melita | 24 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 40 | 27 | +13 | 39 | |
7 | Rabat Ajax | 24 | 11 | 4 | 9 | 37 | 26 | +11 | 37 | |
8 | Kalkara | 24 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 30 | 46 | −16 | 23 | |
9 | Mellieha | 24 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 21 | 36 | −15 | 22 | |
10 | Luqa St. Andrew's | 24 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 23 | 48 | −25 | 21 | |
11 | Żabbar St. Patrick (O) | 24 | 6 | 2 | 16 | 16 | 31 | −15 | 20 | Qualification for the relegation play-offs |
12 | St. Venera Lightnings (R) | 24 | 4 | 4 | 16 | 17 | 47 | −30 | 16 | Relegation to the Maltese Third Division |
13 | Siggiewi (R) | 24 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 14 | 41 | −27 | 13 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goals scored; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored.[7]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Results
[edit]Playoffs
[edit]Championship play-off
[edit]St. George's and Fgura United finished the regular season level on points and therefore a play-off was required to decide the winner of the 2018-19 Maltese Second Division.
26 April 2019 | St. George's | 2 - 1 | Fgura United | Ta' Qali |
CEST | Mentosa 12' Cassar 76' |
Report | Gilbert 18' | Stadium: Centenary Stadium Referee: Malcolm Spiteri |
Promotion play-off
[edit]A play-off match took place between the twelfth-placed team from the First Division (Vittoriosa Stars), and the third-placed team from the Second Division (Mgarr United), for a place in the 2019–20 Maltese First Division.
5 May 2019 | Vittoriosa Stars (2) | v | Mgarr United (3) |
Relegation play-off
[edit]A play-off match took place between the twelfth-placed team from the Second Division, (Żabbar St. Patrick), and the third-placed team from the Third Division, (Msida Saint-Joseph), for a place in the 2019–20 Maltese Second Division.
28 April 2019 | Żabbar St. Patrick (3) | 2 - 0 | Msida Saint-Joseph (4) | Pembroke |
Agius 75' 87' | Report | Stadium: Luxol Stadium Referee: Andrea Sciriha |
Top goalscorers
[edit]Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Lazar Doric | Mgarr United | 17 |
2 | Giovanni Galea | Fgura United | 15 |
3 | Thomas Timmy | Marsaxlokk | 14 |
Last updated: 27 April 2019[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "BOV Second Division Top Scorers". Malta Football Association. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
- ^ "BOV Football Leagues Fixtures Drawn". Bank of Valletta. 4 July 2018. Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
- ^ "Ticket price for Div. Two and Three matches reduced to €2". Malta Football Association. 3 August 2018. Archived from the original on 4 August 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
- ^ "The Centenary Stadium". Malta Football Association. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
- ^ "Welcome to Luxol Sports Club". Retrieved 4 August 2018.
- ^ "Sanctioning of upgrading at Victor Tedesco Stadium approved". The Malta Independent. 29 October 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
- ^ "Statute & Regulations". Malta Football Association. Retrieved 4 August 2018.