Adventures in Football #116-118: Malta 

 

I’m chucking three grounds together here because this ground review is more about the country than the team’s having stadiums. Malta is a weird league where they just play games all over the place and the ‘home’ team isn’t usually from that place. I’ll get into more details later, but it feels right to just bundle these three grounds together.  

 

Our story begins on Thursday, 27 February in the afternoon. I’m flying Ryanair, which means it’s cheap, but the flights are at horrible times. We’re taking off at 6pm. Which means having to get to the airport mid-afternoon to avoid arriving just before the rush hour. We end up breezing through the usual airport issues and get to the Wetherspoon’s three hours before take-off. Despite Maria being briefly detained so security could test some of her various creams and lotions for drugs. We’re all good. A few pints later and we’re onto the tarmac.  

Ryanair found a new way to be shit on this journey and I spent ages on with their version of a helpdesk (chatting on the web with a Polish girl called “Irish Maria” – fooling no one, love). The issue was I couldn’t check in on the app because it said my payment was “partially pending” or some nonsense. The result was having to pay extra to select seats because it was the only way it would let me check in. Bunch of Irish/Polish cowboys.  

 

Once aboard we had screaming children in front and behind us, which was lovely. The one behind just randomly exploded. The one in front was a more consistent series of sobbing. Until the mother put the song “Baby Shark” on repeat. Great parenting mate. Let a tablet do the parenting while you fuck about. Marvellous. The good thing about a night flight, on a clear night, is seeing cities you know from the air.  

Like, how cool is that? Please ignore the reflection. This is the best I could do. I actually have some fantastic video of landing in Malta but if you don’t follow me on Instagram, you’re not going to see that. That’s Birmingham above but I also had a great time looking at Monaco, Palermo and Bastia. The whole French Riviera looks incredible at night from the air. So does Malta.  

How do I know which places I was flying over? Maps works on flight mode. Ever since I found this out, I load it all up pre-flight, zoom into all the places on the flight path, and then you can see what you’re flying past. I’m aware this screenshot might trigger people because it’s upside down but sometimes it’s nice to change your perspective. Anyway, we landed late (like way after 10pm) and the chaps at Ryanair herd us off the plane into buses for a ridiculously long drive to the actual airport. Malta’s fucking tiny lads, how did it take this long? Funny story; the runway at Malta International is roughly one sixth of the distance across the entire country*.  

 

*Main island only.  

 

On arriving in Malta, we attempt to grab a taxi, but the taxi desk doesn’t have a working card machine. Just a bunch of surly looking drivers standing around. After waiting patiently, we just walk outside instead. The airport is about an hour’s walk from where we’re staying but it’s almost 11pm. I don’t fancy it. Especially in the dark. Time to download the Uber app. I’ve never used Uber. This is what Malta’s airport has reduced me to. I ended up using Uber four times during my time in Malta for a ground total of 34 Euros. I am now an Uber guy. Maria downloaded Bolt, which came in handy too. There are Bolts everywhere in Malta. We just picked whichever app gave the cheapest price. It was about 50-50.  

Seeing as we arrived at night, I had no idea what the area was like. We drank some water, provided by the host, and went to sleep. On waking up, we discovered THIS view out of the window. Like, hello! That’s pretty cool. The whole area was, frankly, delightful. I jokingly asked Maria if she’d like to move here and it went from ‘haha’ to ‘actually, yes, maybe we could’ in about five minutes. The area we were staying in was called Cospicua. It’s the Marina Studios, if you fancy staying there. It was really nice.  

 

The owner messaged me on Booking.com with the door code and he’d left the key in the door of the apartment we had. We just let ourselves in. The only staff member I ever saw was the cleaner. An interesting way to do business but it worked. In Cospicua you’re by the Malta at War Museum, Inquisitor’s Palace and Fort St Angelo. Plus, you get a great view of Valletta across the bay.  

 

Malta is an interesting place. They have British road signs and British plugs but everything else is either Arabic or Italian. It’s a real mesh of cultures. It gave me Italy vibes a lot. There are a lot of smokers here. The food is very Italian. The cars are Italian. The little back streets are Italian. The way everyone behaves is Italian. Seeing as I love Italy, this was fine.  

Every part of Malta is scenic. It just is. This is the alleyway across from our apartment. I went out for a morning stroll to see what the local shops were like. After walking around for five minutes, I felt like I’d lived here by entire life. Malta is soothing. It’s relaxing. You can go at your own pace.  

This is around the corner from the apartment. There are steps in front of me that lead down to the shops and fuck me, I’m looking at this and I miss it already. On the last evening, I stopped here and just stared at the view one last time. It’s intoxicating. We had a free day on Friday and used it to do tourist things around Malta. We opted to check out Valletta but honestly, I could have spent a week walking around and just looking at stuff. If I’d have got bored (keeping in mind I was considering moving here) we could have gotten a ferry to Sicily.  

Nearby is St Helen’s Gate, which is part of the cities fortifications. As I was walking around, I suddenly realised just how many movies had been shot in Malta. And they should be. It’s brilliant.  

I have so many photos of the area around where we were staying and it’s just stunning to look at. I know you’re here for the football, and we’re getting there, but go to Malta. It’s so nice.  

After spending an entire day just walking around looking at stuff and getting a pint in the pub that Oliver Reed died in, we adjourned to the apartment to plan the Saturday’s games.  

 

MARCH 1, 2025 

 

TA’ QALI NATIONAL STADIUM 

 

SLIEMA WANDERERS vs. MARSAXLOKK (Malta Premier League) 

 

The national stadium is about halfway across the country so we Ubered out to it. As I said earlier, the teams don’t play at their home grounds. Sliema, the most successful club in Maltese history, come from a seaside town called “Sliema”. It’s nowhere near here. Their home ground is called the Tigne Sports Complex. It’s basically just a pitch and a place for the team to train. A lot of Maltese Premier League games take place at the National Stadium. Also, a lot of the second division games take place across the street at the Centenary Stadium.  

I didn’t go into the Centenary Stadium, but I’ve seen pictures from inside and it looks crap. The best part of it is the outside. Having stadia everywhere and no clue where I was going, I stopped a bloke to ask him where I go for the game. He told me there was a game in both stadiums. He then explained which one was which and headed into a secure part of the National Stadium. I have a suspicion he was a coach or something. If he’s famous, I’m sorry. As we made our way around to the ticket office, the visiting team strolled past us on their way to warm up. There was a third pitch, for training, and they don’t use the National Stadium for warming up. For whatever reason.  

Having purchased tickets from the literal hole in the wall, we headed to the entrance. There’s only one stand open for this, and most, games. We got dropped off on the other side of the ground, which is why I couldn’t find an entrance. Tickets secured we went up to this bag check, security point. Each ground in Malta has police checking you on the way in. Metal detectors, the whole business. In my head, I’m thinking the Maltese league doesn’t get a lot of crowd trouble. We shall see. 

Each game in the Premier League is 10 Euros. We got scanned in and I had to wait as Maria got searched. This amused an old geezer who proceeded to make friends with me. We ended up chatting for 20 minutes about the club (he’s a Sliema man), countries, people, politics. I could have stood and chatted to him all game. He had his mates there though and I couldn’t leave Maria sat alone so we parted ways. If you’re reading this mate, it was great to meet you. 

Having finally gotten the chance to check in on Futbology this beauty pops up. 12 countries now! It’s starting to go beyond my wildest dreams when I started thinking about groundhopping during Covid. In 2021, when I started the groundhopping adventure, I had been to five grounds. Five. My first time seeing football outside of the UK was in 2023. Two years later and I’ve ticked off Italy, USA, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Netherlands and now Malta. Living the dream! 

Let’s have a gander at the National Stadium, shall we? It’s huge. It seats 17,000. “We never fill it” says my new friend. They only have one stand open today. Malta play here and when they play big nations (like England) then it gets pretty full. I actually love the design of the ends. The high curved seating is reminiscent of classic Serie A grounds. I also love the flags. I didn’t love how open the stadium was to the wind. Which would have been fine in the sunshine, but I was actually freezing here. I am wearing a t-shirt, like a goober.  

As you can see the ground does have a pretty major flaw. The pitch is miles away. There’s too much space around it. “The stand should be there” says my new friend, pointing the edge of the pitch where the TV crew are chatting. He goes on to tell me about the old national stadium, which didn’t have grass but pebbles as the pitch surface. I think he’s exaggerating a little bit, but the old Empire Stadium had a notoriously shit pitch. They never demolished it and it’s still standing today, although in complete disuse. It’s overgrown with trees and bushes and the entrance is now a garage and a KFC.  

Over in the other direction is a slightly less interesting end. You can see here how big the benches and all the facilities are compared to grounds that are coming up. The stand I’m in here, is where all the fans are located for today’s game. We’re going to have a lovely time. Spoiler: we’re not.  

This is what I’m coming to recognise as ‘European’ seating. Cement with plastic seats nailed to it. A marked contrast to British seating with the pop up seat. I don’t really have a preference. These were in decent enough condition. If the ground was full, it would be uncomfortable, I think.  

The players arrive and this shot exposes how lonely the experience must be for the players. The fans are so far from the pitch. There’s no atmosphere at all. I don’t think the stadium is held in high regard and it’s a mystery why they keep playing Premier League games here. Presumably it’s easier for TV. It’s by far the most spacious ground in the country. As the players are getting ready, I’m asked to take a photo of two girls wearing AFC Wimbledon shirts. Fair play ladies. One, a Rachel Wood, is on Futbology and looks to be quite the traveller. She has similar numbers to me on both grounds and countries. Good luck in your journey, Rachel.  

We’re on the flight path. As I mentioned earlier, the airport’s runway takes up a fair sized chunk of real estate. The planes were low enough here that I could read the company names off the side. That’s lower than all the London grounds on the flight path.  

 

Anyway, the game. It’s…not good. I excuse myself and grab a Cisk. A national beer at the national stadium. I’m behind a Villa fan in the queue and I also spot a Plymouth supporter. It beats seeing Liverpool fans! They sell popcorn and Maria drinks a Red Bull. She wants to leave early in the second half on account of how bitterly cold the wind is making us. The weird thing is, you walk outside and into the sun and it’s lovely. But the wind chill inside the stadium is horrendous.  

 

With the game failing to entertain two fans engage in some banter. Yelling back and forth individual sentences of abuse. The visiting supporter gets “shhhhh” from the home fans when he replies. It’s a good bit. Sliema are ok in the first half but in the second half, they are diabolical. They can’t string passes together. They can’t shoot. They can’t make decisions. After giving the ball away on the edge of their own box, they allow TANK (yes, TANK) to fire home for Marsaxlokk. 0-1. It’s nearly full time too. An 83’ winner. The only consolation for Sliema is that Tank pulls a hammy celebrating and gets subbed off.  

 

FULL TIME: SLIEMA 0 MARSAXLOKK 1 

 

I feel bad for my new mate, as his team were shocking here. The game made doubly worse by how cold it was in the ground. In a bizarre state of affairs the stand was full of Birkirkara fans at full time, cheering on Sliema, as Maarsaxlokk are closer to them at the top of the league. Why were they here? They’d arrived for their game, which kicked off after this game at 4pm. I was tempted to stay and watch, seeing as I was already there, but it was so cold. Maria had seen enough. Off we went. Let’s get some scores. 

 

ATMOSPHERE: 

Yeah, this wasn’t good. Nothing really. The argument between two fans and the occasional yelling at the ref. * 

 

COST: 

I’m going ***½ on all these games. They were all 10 Euros, which is good value although it wasn’t for this game.  

 

QUALITY: 

I’ve seen worse games of football. I have. Not many. Certainly not from professional teams. Unless Swansea count. *½ 

 

EASE OF ACCESS: 

Absolutely terrible. In the middle of nowhere. 10 kilometres from Valletta. We started walking back but ended up giving up and getting an Uber because there isn’t even any food or anything anywhere near the ground. You know how hard it is to be in the middle of nowhere in MALTA? *½  

 

MISC: 

The ground should recover some points here because I liked the way it looked. The design is good. The facilities are good. Everything is good…but then you’re too far from the pitch. The running track space ruins everything. I just can’t give it a good score. *½  

 

OVERALL: 9 

Yep, it’s a 9. The worst score of the entire season. Along with the dreadful Redditch United, it’s ranked as the worst stadium I’ve ever been to. Which feels harsh. It looks cool. If I’d been to see a Malta game there, I would probably have rated it a lot higher. And I’ll take this over a bowl every day of the week.  

 

Having left the National Stadium, and given up on trying to walk to the second game, we took an Uber over to St Helen’s Gate. We got some scran. I hadn’t eaten all day, and it was almost 5pm. Having eaten we then got a Bolt to our next ground. The driver here was brilliant. He was Malaysian and told us about his job in Manchester driving coaches. Why did he leave? “Covid”. He sounds annoyed. It was good money. Now he drives a Bolt in Malta. He makes a point of finding out where the ticket office is before dropping us off. Lovely bloke.  

 

MARCH 1, 2025 

 

VICTOR TEDESCO STADIUM  

 

BALZAN vs. MELITA (Malta Premier League) 

 

Naturally the Victor Tedesco Stadium (named after club president Victor Tedesco) isn’t Balzan’s ground. It isn’t Melita’s ground either. It’s Hamrun Spartans ground. We’re in Hamrun. Hamrun themselves are playing tomorrow. Are they playing here? No, of course not. Don’t be ridiculous. Balzan is quite close to the National Stadium. Melita are from St Julians. They were promoted last season after winning the second division. Unlike the earlier game, where both teams are considered ‘good’, both these teams are down the bottom half of the league. 

After paying our 10 Euros each, we headed into the Victor Tedesco. For the first time I was spoken to entirely in Maltese. Not by the ticket office but by the lady cop who seemed confused that I didn’t understand it. Do I look Maltese? Maybe? You can see, from the above photo, that this is a completely different ground to the National Stadium.  

 

It was built in 1996 and had astroturf put in back in 2008. I’m really not sure why. Astroturf is horrible and the weather here is incredible. It’s a bone headed decision. It’s owned and run by the Maltese government, who have decided it’s going to be replaced by a new ground called the Spartans Arena. Which is a shame because unlike the National Stadium this ground has real character. There’s only seating on one side of the pitch but there isn’t room on the others. The two ends are walls and there are roads behind them.  

The far side is hampered by housing. And indeed I watched three guys watch this game from their balcony, which overhung the pitch. I do like the intimate feel of the ground. The fans are right on the pitch.  

I also love the city skyline in the background. There’s something charming about a club that’s bang in the middle of their neighbourhood. There were tight streets around the ground and loads of night life and takeaways nearby. The whole area was properly buzzing, compared to the National Stadium in the middle of nowhere.  

The seats are very similar to the National Stadium ones, but they were in far worse condition. Everything was in worse condition here. It’s one of the dirtiest stadiums I’ve set foot in, and I’ve been to St Andrews. This was not the first game of the day here and nobody had bothered to tidy up after the previous game*.  

 

*Naxxar Lions vs Zabbar in a heated 1-1 draw, which included a straight red card after 21’ and a penalty miss.  

 

My notes on this read: “stadium filthy, seats are dirty, rubbish everywhere. Some seats wonky or missing. Surrounded by old white and yellow buildings. Fucking class”. It’s like being at Kenilworth Road. One of the floodlights had only three working bulbs (out of 12) and none of the floodlights were fully functional. The one that was down to three bulbs made a quarter of the pitch so dark it was hard to see the players.  

Needless to say, I was having a great time. Balzan win me over with their black and gold kits. Melita’s look like an Atletico Madrid knock off. Maria likes both kits and is on the fence. I tell her I’m supporting Balzan. They have a number of good players. Victor Blasco, a journeyman Spaniard, who’s played in Canada, Honduras and Cambodia before this, is a brilliant #8 with an eye for a pass. He’s also the biggest whiner on the pitch, who complains mostly about his teammates failings. I love him. He’s a dickhead. Dimeja is a diminutive Nigerian forward who’s only scored one goal all season but is great running at defenders is also a winner.  

 

Obviously, Melita score first. A good run and shot results in the ball hitting the post and big Colombian Camilo Sanchez follows in with a header. 0-1. Again. 30’. Balzan have been the better team but seem incapable of shooting. They should have at least one goal, courtesy of a Dimeja cut back which nobody took hold of. Half time and it’s 0-1. Melita undeserving of the lead. The crowd seems out of it and mostly just grumble. There’s next to no support for Balzan, who’ve had a shocking season. 

In the second half Balzan come out meaning business. They’re markedly better than Melita for the entire half. On 70’ they get their reward. Dimeja breaks the lines again and this time his cross is met by the chest of Marco Bacanin. 1-1. 70’. The children, who’ve been playing tag all game, go nuts and run along the sidelines screaming. Everyone is cheering. The stadium just suddenly comes to life. It’s delightful.  

 

Balzan look like they’ll go on to win and there’s a huge goalmouth scramble at the finish. The ball never goes in and I’m left laughing at Van Der Bovenkamp, a Dutch player for Melita, who has a hissy fit on the pitch after being yellow carded for a foul on Dimeja. He’s pounding the ground shouting “I touch the fucking ball”. It’s a totting up process as Dimeja, the most dangerous man on the field (unless he’s shooting) has been cut down repeatedly. Including one by Melita skipper Jean Pierre Attard, which caused tensions to overflow a bit. He had to be subbed off and really should have received his marching orders for a vicious professional foul on the young winger. 

 

FULL TIME: BALZAN 1 MELITA 1 

 

Balzan were really unlucky not to take home all three points. 58% possession and 13 shots. They would have had more if the passing hadn’t gone wrong in the final third. They don’t deserve to be where they are in the league (second bottom) and were better than their opponents here and both the teams from earlier. 

 

ATMOSPHERE: 

Lacking. There was basically nothing apart from one geezer behind us yelling at the referee. The reaction to the goal was telling. The support is there but they’ve had a rough season. I feel for them. *½ 

 

COST:  

Going ***½ on all these due to the decent value of 10 Euros per game. 

 

QUALITY: 

A far superior game to the earlier one. Both in terms of goal mouth action and the general play. It helped (a lot) that we were protected from the wind by the walls around the ground and therefore were able to focus on the action and not avoiding hypothermia. *** 

 

EASE OF ACCESS: 

It’s like half an hour walk from the middle of Valletta. ***½ 

 

MISC: 

It’s clear the ground is run down, and the aim is to replace it. However, it retains a certain charm that you can’t get from a bland out of town stadium. Stadiums like the Victor Tedesco are the lifeblood of communities. I had a great time here and that’s reflected in this **** rating. 

 

OVERALL: 15.5 

A huge improvement over the National Stadium in every aspect bar the stunning design features at the National Stadium. This is a proper ground. It’s filthy but a bit of TLC could get this up to scratch in no time.  

 

After the match I was poking around a convenience store and found some lethally strong beers. So, my Saturday night was drinking increasingly potent beer. Culminating in Kumpel Ultra Strong. A blonde ale that clocked in at a staggering 16% ABV. If you can’t hack that level of alcohol Cisk do a Cisk Strong, which is 9% and poky enough. 

 

MARCH 2, 2025 

 

TONY BEZZINA STADIUM  

 

FLORIANA vs. MOSTA (Malta Premier League) 

 

Onto our final game then, yet another Maltese Premier League clash. This time between Floriana, who could go top of the league with a win, and Mosta, who come into the game level on points with Melita and Sliema. Which should tell you all you need to know about them. After a pleasant stroll around in the morning (did I mention how pretty Malta is?) we headed over to the Bezzina.  

 

In 1986, Hibernians (Hibs to the locals) became the first Maltese team to get their own stadium, and they named it after their president; Tony Bezzina. Obviously, they’re not playing here today. When they built the Tony Bezzina, they did a bang-up job. It has an incredible location and the backdrop behind it is stunning.  

There’s not much to see from the outside. It’s a dusty, thin road in a slightly rough part of town. The ticket office is two women sat behind plexiglass just past the entrances. Inside, it’s a different story. There’s the standard main stand and nothing else. This is the best put together stand I’ve seen in Malta though. It’s great. There’s also a bar/VIP area to allow some punters to watch the game from what is basically a pub. You can see it on the far left there.  

Off to my right, somewhere behind that post, is the other goal. In order to see it I needed to stand up and walk a few feet to my right. This made it quite exciting when Floriana were attacking that end though. You may notice the same seating arrangement as the other grounds but just in black and white. You would think Hibs would be green and indeed Floriana play in green and white.  

Off in the distance you can see the skyline of Cospicua (also known as Bormla, if you’d rather or Cottonera as the Romans called it). The domes, steeples and blocky flat roofed buildings stretching out across the back. It’s a great view for a football ground. I was trying to think of one that was better. Maybe Arundel? Which has a huge castle in the background.  

The players emerge and look at the end they come out of. Stone walled steps with palm trees. When I saw that end of the field, my breath was taken away. It looks like the kind of thing the Americans would do, because they don’t understand what a football stadium looks like. Given only one side of this ground is used for fans, it makes perfect sense. Why have a backdrop as stunning as Cospicua and not have an ornate, elaborate entrance for your players? 

Zooming in on the players at the line ups shows what the view of the backdrop actually looks like. It’s brilliant. I love it. There are lots of green shirts in the crowd here and there’s a buzz and vibrancy about Floriana that none of the other clubs have had so far. The players arrival gets the best reaction so far of any of the teams I’ve seen. We’re treated to a flying start as Floriana somehow don’t score from a goalmouth scramble where, realistically, four different players should have netted.  

They have an xG of like 3.3 from the entire sequence. Naturally, Mosta take the lead. The referee makes a ballsy decision to award a penalty for a dubious handball. I’ve not seen a replay, so maybe I’m wrong but the fans were irate. 9’ gone. 0-1 (again). 39 year old skipper Clayton Failla blasts it into the roof of the net. You don’t save those.  

 

We get 15’ in and a band suddenly strikes up out of nowhere. What the fuck? I didn’t even see them. They’re just seated in the next block over from us. They play an assortment of songs and just start and stop when they feel like it. Floriana, meanwhile, started the game in fantastic fashion and now, a goal down, cannot do anything. Passing, marking, running, shooting, pressing. It’s all gone to shit. They are rattled.  

 

They make a tactical switch after 35’ bringing in washed up Brazilian Fernandinho (not that one). He looks to be at least 40 years old. Flashscore claims he’s 31. It’s at this point I notice how dusty everything is and it’s because there’s a construction site next door to the stadium and they’re working (on the Sabbath). The dust they kick up just drifts across the pitch. Can’t you do that on Monday?  

It also means this spectacular view is somewhat obscured by a crane. So, it’s 0-1 at HT (again). Floriana can only improve. Mosta are in front but have not been good. Merely exploited Floriana’s mistakes. The band strikes up “Sweet Caroline” and I turn on them. Legitimate contender for worst football anthem, ever. On 52’ Floriana should score. It’s the best move of the game and a sign of things to come from them. It’s a good cross but it’s headed wide.  

Mosta almost double their lead on 55’ when they break and the shot is saved and loops onto the bar. Floriana continue to impress and midfield dynamo Dunstan Vella fires in a beautiful curling effort to level the scores on 59’. The crowd erupts when it goes in. Easily the loudest goal reaction of the weekend. It’s also the best goal of the weekend by a country mile. 1-1, game on!  

 

The crowd is clearly up for it and a chant breaks out. An actual chant! Everyone is doing it too. Floriana should go in front but when the balls breaks to the player with a clean shot on goal Fernandinho, the stupid fucker, runs straight in the way and tries to take the shot himself. Naturally Mosta break down the pitch, someone in defence panics, and they get another penalty. Fucks sake. 

 

Failla doesn’t miss and 62’ gone it’s 1-2. Just when Floriana had earned an equaliser and were in the ascendancy. Blown it, lads. Mosta’s players have been faking injuries, or exaggerating them, all game and it gets worse now they’ve got a lead to protect. Blatant attempts to disrupt the flow of the game and delay it. In the midst of this display from Mosta, a Floriana player is legitimately hurt and has to be subbed off. The reaction to this from the crowd is unreal. The one guy is screaming abuse. It’s a torrent of yelling and screaming that goes on for MINUTES. The police have to go and talk to him and he just ignores them and keeps going. I thought he was going to get arrested. 

With time running out, it looks that Mosta have pulled a smash and grab. But Dunstan Vella, clearly POTM, breaks into the box and is felled. PENALTY. Big Nigerian forward Franklin Sasare tucks it away. 2-2. 86’. What happens afterwards is incredible. Fernandinho takes a dive to try and win another penalty. The crowd are fuming. They’re convinced he’s been fouled. One of the subs is sent off for throwing a water bottle onto the pitch. The fans are throwing stuff. The referee is public enemy #1. It’s a volatile situation, which isn’t ended by the full time whistle. 

 

FULL TIME: FLORIANA 2 MOSTA 2 

 

A missed opportunity for Floriana, who were crap in the first half and should have won it in the second. The referee will get the blame but if Fernandinho doesn’t block his own players shot, that’s 2-1 Floriana. The penalty never happens and Floriana should have easily won the game. The fans don’t care and take out their frustrations on the referee, who gets pelted with abuse as he’s leaving the field. It’s vitriolic too. Like, proper vicious.  

 

ATMOSPHERE: 

Easily the best of the weekend. Not even close. An actual chant started, multiple times, and the crowd were very vocal throughout. I’m not sure the band really worked. They might need to do stuff that the crowd can join in with instead of just playing songs. The rage at the finish was worth a bit extra on the score too. ***½ 

 

COST: 

Good old 10 Euros a ticket. ***½ 

 

QUALITY: 

At least as good as the Balzan game. Although Floriana suffered patches of horrible performance compared to them at their best. If they’d played well throughout, it would be a higher score…and they would have won comfortably. *** 

 

EASE OF ACCESS:  

A pleasing stroll from Cospicua. ***½ 

 

MISC: 

The ground’s design is wonderful. If they had something worth looking at down the far end, and my line of sight wasn’t bad, this might have scored full points. The view of Cospicua and the tiered stone steps at the left hand end were both sensational. ****½ 

 

OVERALL: 18 

An excellent ground to cap off a memorable experience in Malta. If you are in the country, make a point of getting a game in at the Tony Bezzina. If you like views and unique looking grounds, it’s up there.  

 

Malta overall delivered me with good vibes and a good time. I enjoyed strolling the streets. I enjoyed the sense of history. I enjoyed the atmosphere of the place. Malta survives on tourism so part of me wants them to succeed and get more people there but part of me wants it to remain a hidden gem. It’s just perfect how it is. Go and see for yourself, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Especially if you’re into history and like things rough but beautiful.  

 

If you made it through this, thanks for reading! 118 grounds down, 12 countries. Where next?