2003–04_Maltese_Premier_League
2003–04 Maltese Premier League
Football league season
The 2003–04 Maltese Premier League (known as the MIA Premier League[1] for sponsorship reasons) was the 24th season of the Maltese Premier League, and the 89th season of top-tier football in Malta. The league started on 22 August 2003 and finished on 9 May 2004. Sliema Wanderers successfully defended last season's league triumph, equalling Floriana's league title record of 25 championships.
| Season | 2003–04 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 22 August 2003 – 9 May 2004 |
| Champions | Sliema Wanderers (25th title) |
| Relegated | Balzan Ħamrun Spartans |
| Champions League | Sliema Wanderers |
| UEFA Cup | Birkirkara Marsaxlokk |
| UEFA Intertoto Cup | Hibernians |
| Matches played | 132 |
| Goals scored | 407 (3.08 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Danilo Dončić (19 goals) |
← 2002–03 2004–05 → | |
The following teams were promoted from the First Division at the start of the season:
From the previous Premier League season, the following teams were relegated to the First Division:
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sliema Wanderers | 18 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 37 | 15 | +22 | 41 | Qualification for the Top Six |
| 2 | Birkirkara | 18 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 41 | 18 | +23 | 35 | |
| 3 | Hibernians | 18 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 31 | 25 | +6 | 34 | |
| 4 | Marsaxlokk | 18 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 30 | 22 | +8 | 31 | |
| 5 | Floriana | 18 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 33 | 26 | +7 | 27 | |
| 6 | Pietà Hotspurs | 18 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 28 | 25 | +3 | 27 | |
| 7 | Valletta | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 27 | 29 | −2 | 23 | Qualification for the Play-out |
| 8 | Balzan | 18 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 22 | 37 | −15 | 18 | |
| 9 | Msida Saint-Joseph | 18 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 18 | 35 | −17 | 10 | |
| 10 | Ħamrun Spartans | 18 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 11 | 46 | −35 | 4 |
Results
| Home \ Away | BZN | BKR | FRN | HIB | ĦMR | MXK | MSD | PTA | SLM | VLT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balzan | — | 0–1 | 1–5 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 |
| Birkirkara | 3–0 | — | 0–2 | 2–4 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 5–1 | 0–1 | 4–1 |
| Floriana | 2–2 | 2–1 | — | 1–2 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| Hibernians | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–4 | — | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 |
| Ħamrun Spartans | 1–1 | 0–6 | 1–1 | 1–2 | — | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 2–2 |
| Marsaxlokk | 5–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 |
| Msida Saint-Joseph | 1–1 | 1–7 | 2–4 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | — | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| Pietà Hotspurs | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 0–3 | 3–3 |
| Sliema Wanderers | 4–2 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 1–3 | — | 1–0 |
| Valletta | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–4 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | — |
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Top Six
The teams placed in the first six positions in the league table qualified for the Top Six, and the points obtained during the first phase were halved (and rounded up) before the start of second phase. As a result, the teams started with the following points before the second phase: Sliema Wanderers 21 points, Birkirkara 18, Hibernians 17, Marsaxlokk 16, Floriana and Pietà Hotspurs 14.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | SLM | BKR | HIB | MXK | PTA | FRN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sliema Wanderers (C) | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 24 | 12 | +12 | 43 | Qualification for the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League | — | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | |
| 2 | Birkirkara | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 12 | +6 | 39 | Qualification for the 2004–05 UEFA Cup | 2–1 | — | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | |
| 3 | Hibernians | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 13 | +3 | 35 | Qualification for the 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup | 3–0 | 0–1 | — | 0–3 | 1–0 | 3–1 | |
| 4 | Marsaxlokk | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 16 | 17 | −1 | 27 | Qualification for the 2004–05 UEFA Cup[lower-alpha 1] | 0–2 | 3–4 | 1–4 | — | 0–0 | 0–0 | |
| 5 | Pietà Hotspurs | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 15 | −3 | 23 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | — | 2–3 | ||
| 6 | Floriana | 10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 25 | −17 | 18 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–5 | 1–4 | — |
- Marsaxlokk qualified to the 2004–05 UEFA Cup as losing finalists in the 2003–04 Maltese FA Trophy.
Play-out
The teams which finished in the last four league positions were placed in the play-out and at the end of the phase the two lowest-placed teams were relegated to the First Division. The points obtained during the first phase were halved (and rounded up) before the start of second phase. As a result, the teams started with the following points before the second phase: Valletta 12 points, Balzan Youths 9, Msida Saint-Joseph 5 and Ħamrun Spartans 2.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Relegation | VLT | MSD | BZN | ĦMR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Valletta | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 4 | +10 | 27 | — | 1–3 | 3–1 | 3–0 | ||
| 8 | Msida Saint-Joseph | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 7 | +7 | 22 | 0–1 | — | 2–1 | 3–3 | ||
| 9 | Balzan (R) | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 14 | −8 | 11 | Relegation to the 2004–05 Maltese First Division | 0–5 | 0–3 | — | 2–0 | |
| 10 | Ħamrun Spartans (R) | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 14 | −9 | 3 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | — |
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[2] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Danilo Dončić |
Sliema Wanderers | 19 |
| 2 |  Etienne Barbara |
Marsaxlokk | 15 |
| 3 | Michael Galea |
Birkirkara | 14 |
| 4 | Daniel Bogdanović |
Sliema Wanderers/Marsxalokk | 13 |
 Daniel Nwoke |
Msida Saint-Joseph | ||
| 6 | Gilbert Agius |
Valletta | 10 |
| Haruna Doda |
Birkirkara | ||
| Ivan Woods |
Pietà Hotspurs | ||
| Stefan Giglio |
Sliema Wanderers | ||
| 10 | Olumuyiwa Aganun |
Msida Saint-Joseph | 9 |
| Stefan Zahra |
Balzan |
Hat-tricks
| Player[3][4] | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Nwoke |
Msida Saint-Joseph | Sliema Wanderers | 4–1 | 29 August 2003 |
| Michael Galea |
Birkirkara | Msida Saint-Joseph | 7–1 | 13 September 2003 |
| Etienne Barbara |
Marsaxlokk | Balzan | 4–2 | 10 October 2003 |
| Adrian Mifsud |
Hibernians | Valletta | 4–2 | 19 December 2003 |
| Danilo Dončić |
Sliema Wanderers | Pietà Hotspurs | 3–0 | 7 February 2004 |
| Jonathan Holland |
Floriana | Msida Saint-Joseph | 4–2 | 8 February 2004 |
| Danilo Dončić |
Sliema Wanderers | Pietà Hotspurs | 5–1 | 12 April 2004 |
| Ian Zammit |
Valletta | Balzan | 5–0 | 18 April 2004 |
| Daniel Bogdanović |
Marsaxlokk | Floriana | 5–1 | 29 April 2004 |
Monthly awards
| Month[5] | Player of the Month | |
|---|---|---|
| Player | Club | |
| August/September | Etienne Barbara |
Floriana |
| October | Gilbert Agius |
Valletta |
| November |  Daniel Dengaky |
Ħamrun Spartans |
| December | Gilbert Agius |
Valletta |
| January | Michael Mifsud |
Sliema Wanderers |
| February | Haruna Doda |
Birkirkara |
| March | Stefan Giglio |
Sliema Wanderers |
| April | Daniel Bogdanović |
Marsaxlokk |
| May | Stefan Giglio |
Sliema Wanderers |
- "MIA to sponsor Malta FA leagues". Times of Malta. 12 March 2004. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
- "MIA Premier League Scorers 2003/04". MaltaFootball.com. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
- "MIA Premier League Results - 2003/04". MaltaFootball.com. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
- "MIA Premier League Results - Championship Pool 2003/04". MaltaFootball.com. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
- "Player of the Month". MaltaFootball.com. Retrieved 21 October 2018.[permanent dead link]
