# 2008–09 Maltese Premier League

The Maltese Premier League 2008–09 was the 94th season of the Maltese Premier League, the top-tier association football competition in Malta. It began on 23 August 2008 with a scoreless draw between Floriana and Hamrun Spartans; and ended on 24 May 2009. The first goal in the season was scored by Ivan, who played for Qormi. Hibernians were crowned champions on 23 May 2009, surpassing rivals Valletta by two points and winning their tenth title.

## Teams

The following teams were promoted from the First Division at the start of the season:
* Qormi
* Tarxien
From the previous Premier League season, the following teams were relegated to the First Division:
* Mqabba
* Pieta Hotspurs

## Competition modus

In the First phase, every team played each opponent twice, once home and once away, for a total of 18 games. The league was then split in two pools. Earned points were halved. Teams that finished in positions 1–6 compete in the "Top Six" and teams finishing in positions 7–10 play in the "Play-Out".

## First phase
### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Hibernians | 18 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 49 | 19 | +30 | 41 | Qualification for the Top Six |
| 2 | Valletta | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 31 | 11 | +20 | 40 | Qualification for the Top Six |
| 3 | Birkirkara | 18 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 31 | 28 | +3 | 32 | Qualification for the Top Six |
| 4 | Sliema Wanderers | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 26 | Qualification for the Top Six |
| 5 | Floriana | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 18 | 21 | −3 | 22 | Qualification for the Top Six |
| 6 | Marsaxlokk | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 28 | 33 | −5 | 22 | Qualification for the Top Six |
| 7 | Msida Saint-Joseph | 18 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 20 | 28 | −8 | 21 | Qualification for the Play-Out |
| 8 | Hamrun Spartans | 18 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 24 | 37 | −13 | 17 | Qualification for the Play-Out |
| 9 | Qormi | 18 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 16 | 26 | −10 | 15 | Qualification for the Play-Out |
| 10 | Tarxien Rainbows | 18 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 22 | 36 | −14 | 14 | Qualification for the Play-Out |

### Results

| Home \ Away | BIR | FLO | HIB | HAM | MRS | MSJ | QOR | SLI | TAR | VAL |
| Birkirkara | — | 0–1 | 0–6 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 |
| Floriana | 1–2 | — | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 |
| Hibernians | 3–2 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | 4–1 | 5–1 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| Hamrun Spartans | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–4 | — | 4–3 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 1–3 |
| Marsaxlokk | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 4–2 | — | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 |
| Msida Saint-Joseph | 2–2 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–2 |
| Qormi | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–4 | 1–3 | 0–1 | — | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 |
| Sliema Wanderers | 2–3 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | — | 4–2 | 1–1 |
| Tarxien Rainbows | 1–3 | 3–0 | 2–7 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 1–0 | — | 1–3 |
| Valletta | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | — |
* ↑ The match from 25 January 2009 was awarded to Qormi with a score of 2–0 because Floriana fielded an ineligible player.

## Second phase
### Top Six

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation | HIB | VAL | BIR | SLI | MRS | FLO |
| 1 | Hibernians (C) | 28 | 19 | 5 | 4 | 73 | 25 | +48 | 42 | Qualification for the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League | — | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 4–1 |
| 2 | Valletta | 28 | 17 | 9 | 2 | 50 | 18 | +32 | 40 | Qualification for the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League | 2–1 | — | 4–1 | 5–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 |
| 3 | Birkirkara | 28 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 43 | 45 | −2 | 27 | Qualification for the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League | 0–4 | 3–1 | — | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 |
| 4 | Sliema Wanderers | 28 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 33 | 41 | −8 | 25 | Qualification for the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League | 0–5 | 0–3 | 1–0 | — | 1–3 | 3–0 |
| 5 | Marsaxlokk (R) | 28 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 46 | 52 | −6 | 25 | Relegation to the 2009–10 Maltese First Division | 1–4 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–3 | — | 5–2 |
| 6 | Floriana | 28 | 7 | 6 | 15 | 25 | 44 | −19 | 16 | | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | — |
* ↑ Sliema Wanderers won the 2008–09 Maltese FA Trophy and thereby qualified for the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League.
* ↑ Marsaxlokk were relegated to the 2009–10 Maltese First Division for the season due to their involvement in a bribery scandal.

### Play-Out

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | QOR | TAR | MSJ | HAM |
| 7 | Qormi | 24 | 7 | 6 | 11 | 30 | 31 | −1 | 20 | — | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 |
| 8 | Tarxien Rainbows | 24 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 32 | 44 | −12 | 16 | 0–3 | — | 0–0 | 5–1 |
| 9 | Msida Saint-Joseph | 24 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 25 | 40 | −15 | 16 | 0–5 | 2–2 | — | 2–0 |
| 10 | Hamrun Spartans | 24 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 31 | 48 | −17 | 16 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | — |
* 1 2 Deciding game
* 1 2 While Msida Saint-Joseph and Hamrun Spartans were relegated, they were returned to the Premier League in the wake of corruption scandals involving Vittoriosa Stars and Marsaxlokk.

#### Deciding game

Because Tarxien Rainbows, Msida Saint-Joseph and Hamrun Spartans were tied on points after all matches played, their head-to head results in Play-Out were decisive. Hamrun Spartans had the fewest points in those matches and were therefore immediately relegated. However, Tarxien Rainbows and Msida Saint-Joseph were equal on points in their two matches and they played a decision game to determine the second relegated team. The match was played on 8 May 2009 at Hibernians Ground. However, in the wake of a corruption scandal, both Hamrun Spartans and Msida Saint-Joseph were returned to the Premier League.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Msida Saint-Joseph | 1–1 (aet, p. 4–5) | Tarxien Rainbows |

## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Terence Scerri | Hibernians | 26 |
| 2 | Daniel Mariano Bueno | Tarxien Rainbows | 23 |
| 3 | Julio Alcorsé | Marsaxlokk | 17 |
| 4 | Njongo Priso | Valletta | 15 |
| 5 | Pedro dos Santos Calçado | Msida Saint-Joseph | 13 |
| 6 | Alfred Effiong | Qormi | 12 |
| 7 | Marcelo Pereira | Marsaxlokk | 11 |
| 8 | Andrew Cohen | Hibernians | 9 |
| 8 | Sylvano Comvalius | Hamrun Spartans | 9 |
| 8 | Ivan Woods | Sliema Wanderers | 9 |
| Goals total | Goals total | Goals total | 387 |
| Matches total | Matches total | Matches total | 132 |
| Average per match | Average per match | Average per match | 2.93 |