2002–03 Maltese Premier League

Maltese Premier League
Season2002–03
Dates24 August 2002 – 11 May 2003
ChampionsSliema Wanderers
(24th title)
RelegatedMarsa
Mosta
Champions LeagueSliema Wanderers
UEFA CupBirkirkara
Valletta
UEFA Intertoto CupHibernians
Matches played132
Goals scored419 (3.17 per match)
Top goalscorer3 players (18 goals)

The 2002–03 Maltese Premier League was the 23rd season of the Maltese Premier League, and the 88th season of top-tier football in Malta. The league started on 24 August 2002 and finished on 11 May 2003. Hibernians were the defending champions.

Teams

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Locations of the 2002–03 Maltese Premier League teams

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:

First phase

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Sliema Wanderers 18 14 2 2 51 16 +35 44 Qualification for the Top Six
2 Birkirkara 18 13 1 4 46 24 +22 40
3 Valletta 18 12 1 5 42 18 +24 37
4 Hibernians 18 9 3 6 35 26 +9 30
5 Pietà Hotspurs 18 6 5 7 19 22 −3 23
6 Marsaxlokk 18 7 0 11 27 38 −11 21
7 Floriana 18 6 2 10 22 31 −9 20 Qualification for the Play-out
8 Ħamrun Spartans 18 5 2 11 25 40 −15 17
9 Marsa 18 4 4 10 25 45 −20 16
10 Mosta 18 2 4 12 14 46 −32 10
Source: RSSSSF

Results

Home \ Away BKR FRN HIB ĦMR MRS MXK MST PTA SLM VLT
Birkirkara — 1–2 0–3 4–2 3–0 4–2 2–0 2–1 1–3 1–3
Floriana 0–3 — 1–0 0–1 1–3 2–0 1–3 0–0 2–5 1–2
Hibernians 1–3 4–1 — 3–2 2–2 1–2 2–2 1–0 2–0 2–5
Ħamrun Spartans 2–3 2–0 0–3 — 2–3 1–4 2–2 2–3 0–5 2–1
Marsa 0–6 2–3 2–2 2–1 — 1–3 1–1 0–1 0–5 1–2
Marsaxlokk 1–3 1–3 0–4 1–3 2–0 — 3–0 1–0 0–3 3–5
Mosta 0–3 1–4 2–1 1–2 0–5 1–4 — 0–2 1–3 0–4
Pietà Hotspurs 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–1 2–2 2–0 3–0 — 2–2 0–3
Sliema Wanderers 3–3 1–0 2–3 2–0 3–1 2–0 4–0 5–0 — 2–1
Valletta 1–3 1–0 2–0 2–0 6–0 4–0 0–0 0–1 0–2 —
Source: RSSSF
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Second phase

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 22 points, Birkirkara 20, Valletta 19, Hibernians 15, Pietà Hotspurs 12 and Marsaxlokk 11.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SLM BKR VLT HIB PTA MXK
1 Sliema Wanderers (C) 10 6 2 2 19 12 +7 42 Qualification for the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League — 3–2 0–2 3–0 2–1 3–0
2 Birkirkara 10 5 2 3 18 10 +8 37 Qualification for the 2003–04 UEFA Cup 0–0 — 7–2 2–1 2–0 0–1
3 Valletta 10 4 4 2 15 13 +2 35 0–3 2–0 — 0–0 0–0 2–1
4 Hibernians 10 5 2 3 18 10 +8 32 Qualification for the 2003 UEFA Intertoto Cup 5–2 0–1 1–1 — 2–1 2–0
5 Pietà Hotspurs 10 1 4 5 8 21 −13 19 2–2 0–0 0–5 0–5 — 3–2
6 Marsaxlokk 10 1 2 7 7 19 −12 16 0–1 0–4 1–1 0–2 1–1 —
Source: RSSSF
(C) Champions

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: Floriana 10 points, Ħamrun Spartans 9, Marsa 8 and Mosta 5.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Relegation ĦMR FRN MRS MST
7 Ħamrun Spartans 6 3 3 0 7 3 +4 21 — 0–0 1–1 3–1
8 Floriana 6 2 4 0 10 3 +7 20 1–1 — 5–1 1–1
9 Marsa (R) 6 2 2 2 8 8 0 16 Relegation to the 2003–04 Maltese First Division 0–1 0–0 — 5–1
10 Mosta (R) 6 0 1 5 3 14 −11 6 0–3 0–1 0–1 —
Source: RSSSF
(R) Relegated

Season statistics

Top scorers

Rank Player Club Goals[1]
1 Serbia and Montenegro Danilo Dončić Sliema Wanderers 18
Malta Michael Galea Birkirkara
Malta Adrian Mifsud Hibernians
4 Nigeria Ndubisi Chukunyere Hibernians 12
Romania Lucian Dronca Birkirkara
6 Malta Daniel Bogdanović Valletta 11
Nigeria Chris Oretan Valletta
Malta Stefan Sultana Ħamrun Spartans
Malta Johann Zammit Marsaxlokk
10 Malta Malcolm Tirchett Marsa 10

Hat-tricks

Player[2][3] For Against Result Date
Malta Daniel Bogdanović Valletta Marsaxlokk 5–3 27 October 2002
Bulgaria Rumen Galabov Valletta Pietà Hotspurs 5–0 6 April 2003
Malta Adrian Mifsud Hibernians Sliema Wanderers 5–2 20 April 2003
Malta Nicolò Baldacchino Floriana Marsa 5–1 3 May 2003
Malta Adrian Mifsud Hibernians Pietà Hotspurs 5–0 4 May 2003

References

  1. ^ "Premier League Top Scorers". MaltaFootball.com. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  2. ^ "Premier League Results - 2002/03". MaltaFootball.com. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  3. ^ "Premier League Results - Championship Pool 2002/03". MaltaFootball.com. Retrieved 24 October 2018.