Sliema Wanderers victory over Gżira not enough to secure Top 6 place

Sliema Wanderers ended the league phase of the YoHealth Malta Premier Closing Round with a 2–1 victory over neighbours Gżira United, but the result was not enough to secure a place in the Top 6.

The match, played at the Victor Tedesco Stadium on Saturday, saw Sliema produce a solid performance. However, despite collecting all three points, they finished seventh in the standings, just one point behind the final Top 6 positions.

Gżira United had already secured their place in the Top 6 in the previous round, alongside Valletta, leaving Sliema needing both a victory and favourable results elsewhere to break into the upper half of the table.

Sliema made a bright start and took the lead after eight minutes when Uroš Djuranović found the back of the net to give the Wanderers an early advantage. The Blues continued to press and managed to double their lead two minutes into first-half stoppage time, with Roko Prša finishing well to give Sliema a comfortable 2–0 lead at the interval.

Gżira attempted to respond in the second half and managed to reduce the deficit ten minutes from time when a cross into the area resulted in an own goal by Muriel Freire, setting up a tense finish.

Despite late pressure from the Maroons, Sliema managed to hold on to secure the 2–1 win. Nevertheless, the victory proved insufficient to move them into the Top 6, meaning the Wanderers will now compete in the Bottom 6 phase of the competition.