2002–03 Maltese Premier League

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.

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)

Teams
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 round
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Sliema Wanderers 18 14 2 2 51 16 +35 44 Qualification for the Championship Pool
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 Relegation Pool
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 round

Championship Pool

The teams placed in the first six positions in the league table qualified for the Championship Pool, and the points obtained during the first round were halved (and rounded up) before the start of second round. As a result, the teams started with the following points before the second round: 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 Champions League first qualifying round — 3–2 0–2 3–0 2–1 3–0
2 Birkirkara 10 5 2 3 18 10 +8 37 Qualification for the UEFA Cup qualifying round 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 Intertoto Cup first round 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) Champion.

Relegation Pool

The teams which finished in the last four league positions were placed in the Relegation Pool and at the end of the round the two lowest-placed teams were relegated to the First Division. The points obtained during the first round were halved (and rounded up) before the start of second round. As a result, the teams started with the following points before the second round: 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 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 Danilo Dončić Sliema Wanderers 18
Michael Galea Birkirkara
Adrian Mifsud Hibernians
4 Ndubisi Chukunyere Hibernians 12
Lucian Dronca Birkirkara
6 Daniel Bogdanović Valletta 11
Chris Oretan Valletta
Stefan Sultana Ħamrun Spartans
Johann Zammit Marsaxlokk
10 Malcolm Tirchett Marsa 10

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