Msida Saint-Joseph F.C.

Msida Saint-Joseph

Full name	Msida Saint-Joseph Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Saints
Founded	1906
Ground	Ta' Qali Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta (Capacity: 18,000)
Chairman	Robert Farrugia
Manager	Twanny Dalli
League	Maltese First Division
2009/10	Maltese Premier League, 10th (relegated)
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours

Msida Saint-Joseph Football Club - usually referred to as Msida St. Joseph - is a Maltese football club from the town of Msida, which currently plays in the Maltese First Division.

Msida Saint-Joseph were relegated at the end of the 2008/09 season. However, Vittoriosa Stars and Marsaxlokk were both found guilty of corruption and were demoted, meeting that Msida Saint-Joseph and Hamrun Spartans were both reinstated in the Maltese Premier League.

Club history

The origins of football in Msida stretch back to, at least, 1908. As far as we could ascertain the first team to be founded in the district was Msida United. This team played its maiden game on November 7, 1908 against the Lyceum FT, losing heavily by four goals to nil.

Msida United continued to play the occasional game of friendly football up to March 1910 when they took part in the Junior Cup competition organised by the MFA.

As luck would have it, Msida United were drawn against another team from Msida in the semi finals. St Joseph's United had just been founded when the two rivals met at Rinella Football Ground on March 10, 1910. Msida United won a hard-fought game 2-1. In the final however, Msida United lost 1-0 to Sliema United.

In 1910, the National Football Ground was opened in Pietà. Huge crowds filled this venue, no matter which teams were playing. This prompted the owners of the ground to organise a cup competition between the best Maltese teams of the time.

Msida United met Valletta United in the quarter-finals on April 9, 1910. Being primarily a youth team, the Msidians could not cope with the burly Valletta players and they were well and truly beaten by four goals to nil. This defeat spelt the end of Msida United. After this game, they disappeared completely from the local football scene.

In the meantime, St Joseph's United were busy enhancing their reputation with some excellent displays of fast flowing football.

The star of the team was undoubtedly Salvu Troisi who was destined to become one of the greatest Maltese footballers ever. The support of the people of Msida was diverted from Msida United to St Joseph's United. Therefore, it was the latter who went down in the history books as the first team to represent Msida in the Maltese Football League.

In November 1909, the editor of the Daily Malta Chronicle offered a cup to the students of the Lyceum and University to be used for a cup competition. The offer was accepted but, later on, lack of participation forced the organisers to hold the competition in the form of a league. St Joseph's were one of the five founder members of the Civilian Football League.

St Joseph's made their debut in the league on October 13, 1910 against the Boys Empire League. The Saints had a good start, winning an interesting game by three goals to two.

Then, in their next match they had a walkover against the University FT. With four points under their belt, the team from Msida entered the ground for the game against Sliema Wanderers in defiant mood. Things however did not go as expected for them. When, midway through the second half, the Wanderers took a 2-1 lead, angry spectators invaded the pitch and the game was abandoned. Sliema were awarded the points and St Joseph's refused to honour their last fixture against Floriana.

The next season, the league was not held and for the best part of the season St Joseph's were inactive.

In 1911-12, the competition was held under the direction of the Malta Athletic Club but because of their reputation, St Joseph's United were not invited.

Towards the end of the season however, the proprietors of the newly opened Mile End Sports Ground conceived a cup competition and this time, St Joseph's were admitted. St Joseph's were drawn against Senglea Shamrocks in the first round of the competition. Troisi opened the score for the team from Msida but Polidano equalised soon afterwards. In the second period the Saints took the initiative and were rewarded with another goal from Troisi.

In the semi-finals, the Saints met the strong Valletta United. The Citizens were clear favourites to win this encounter but St Joseph's relieved the pundits of their money with a merited 1-0 victory. The final was held on March 31, 1912 at the Mile End. St Joseph's opponents were none other than the famous St George's FC.

The Cospicuans had a formidable team in those days and St Joseph's were clearly out of their depth against such talented opponents. They resorted to kicking and rough play but this did not prevent St George's from winning by three goals to nil. After this game, St Joseph's United packed up their boots and they were never seen again at the Mile End.

For the next decade, Msida were represented by Msida Rangers in MFA competitions. Another team from Msida, Msida Rovers took part in the Second Division in 1922-23 and the First Division for the next three years.

St. Joseph's FC was the first Msida club to win major honours, claiming the Second Division Championship in 1929-30, the Fourth Division championship in 1934-35 and the Third Division Championship in 1935-36. During this same season St. Joseph's reached the final of the Amateur Cup beating Melita 1-0 after extra-time. St. Joseph's were joint-leaders in Division 2 in 1936-37 but lost 1-3 to Tigers in a championship decider.

Following World War II, a new team, called Msida Amateurs, was set up. The team won Division 3 Section D in 1944-45. The following season the team changes its name to Msida Wolves. The Wolves won Division 3 Section D in 1947-48 and were promoted to Division 2 where they stayed for eight years.

Msida Wolves changes their name to Msida St. Joseph's in 1955 and took part in Division 3. On several occasions they went close to winning promotion on several occasions until finally, in 1965-66, they won Section B, beating Little Rainbows and Siggiewi in the play-offs to be crowned champions.

The Saints had an excellent season in Division 2 winning the championship in their first attempt.

Msida were relegated after just one season in Division 1 but the following season, they regained promotion to the First Division. During the same year, Msida St. Joseph won the Second Division Knock-Out beating Zejtun Corinthians 1-0 in the final.

The Saints made a quick return to Division 2 and it was only in 1974-75 that they won promotion after placing second. The Saints also managed to win the Knock-Out.

Back in Division 1, Msida had a quite comfortable stay in the top division. The following season, they avoided relegation beating Zebbug Rangers in a decider.

After four years in Division 1, Msida were relegated at the end of season 1978-79. They regained promotion the following season but life in the top division was too difficult for Msida. They were eventually relegated to the Third Division in 1991-92.

Since 2000/01 season Msida has been writing pages in their glorious history. Following 3 consecutive promotions, remaining in the Premiership, the final of the trophy and finally a place in the Championship Pool. This can definitely be considered as the golden era of Msida St. Joseph FC.

During season 2000-01, Msida St. Joseph got promoted to the Second Division. The team completely dominated the season and in fact they took only 1 loss, which was against St. Georges. Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza, who was on loan from Floriana, ended the season as top scorer. It was a very successful season but little did they now that it would be the start of something very special for the club.

The following season, Msida St. Joseph yet again won the title and the promotion to the First Division. It was a remarkable season where Msida got promoted without losing a game and getting a total of 54 points, scoring 47 and conceding just 12 from a total of 22 matches. For the second year running, on loan striker, Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza won the top scorer award with a total of 24 goals.

It was the season 2002-03, and Msida were in the first division. In a remarkable season, for the third season running, Msida won the division and the promotion. During this season, Msida's only foreign player, Daniel Nwoke won the top scorer award.

After a lapse of 22 years, and just 3 years after being in the lowest division, Msida St. Joseph made their return to Malta's top division. In what proved to be a very difficult season, Msida St. Joseph managed to remain in the Premier following a win in the final match against Balzan Youths. Although it was a difficult season one cannot forget some memorable results which include the 4-1 win against Sliema, 3-1 win against Valletta and the 0-0 draw against Birkirkara.

Following the first season in the premiership there was a change in the administration of the club. Roberto Goveani formerly of Torino Calcio, became the new president of the club. The expectations were quite high. The team narrowly missed a place in the Championship Pool, but they made up for it in the relegation pool, when the club mathematically safe after just 3 games. Thus this helped the club to focus on the FA Trophy. In one of the most amazing runs, Msida managed to arrive to the final. Led by the brilliant Mario Petrone, the club defied all odds to eliminate Mosta, Senglea, Hibernians and Marsaxlokk. The semifinal against Marsaxlokk will be remembered for all the drama it had. Msida equalised in the last minute of extra time, and then went on to win in the penalty shootout after two great saves by Omar Borg. For the second time in history and the first time in 93 years, Msida St. Joseph were again in the final of the FA Trophy. The Final was a great match. The first half ended 0-0, but then early in the second half, the team suffered a double blow. First Bkara scored and then a minute later Msida were a man down. Despite playing with 10 men, Msida managed to equalize through Manuel Boni. But just a minute later Birkirkara scored again, and that was it. Msida lost the final 2-1.

Following the successful 2004/05 season, there was again a change in administration. Roberto Goveani resigned from President and Dr. Kevin Deguara became the new president, whilst Edward Calleja, Robert Farrugia and Keith Abela-Wadge formed part of the new executive board. The club set a target of getting in the Championship Pool for the first time ever. The first thing was to sign one of the best foreigners to ever grace the Maltese Islands, Olalekan Ibrahim Babatunde. Together with marksman Daniel Nwoke, now in his 4th season with Msida, they made great tandem in attack. In January third foreigner was signed. In Babatunde, Nwoke and now Ousseni Zongo, Msida definitely had the best trio of foreigners in Malta. The three foreigners together with the emergence of the youngsters Tyrone Farrugia, Paul Fenech and Josef Mifsud, helped the team to achieve its target, that of getting to the Championship Pool for the first time ever. It was achieved in the last match of the first phase, in the derby against arch rivals Hamrun Spartans. Msida needed a win at all cost and in an amazing match, Msida managed to win 2-0 to write history yet again. The Championship Pool was something new for Msida, and the majority of the matches were quite difficult but Msida managed to get some good results like 0-0 and 1-1 against Hibernians and the 3-3 against Sliema Wanderers.

In season 2006/2007 another new challenge was waiting for the Club. Edward Calleja started as acting President and together Robert Farrugia and Keith Abela-Wadge formed the new executive board. During the Summer of 2006, the club appointed Mr. Patrick Curmi as the new head coach and made a huge transfer campaign in which Peter Pullicino, Roderick Baldacchino and Pio Sciriha were signed this together with keeping hold of Tyrone Farrugia, Paul Fenech, Josef Mifsud and the foreign trio for whom there were loads of requests. Before the start of the new season Antoine Portelli returned to the Club, this time as the new President and together with Robert Ancilleri, Edward Calleja, Robert Farrugia and Keith Abela-Wadge formed the new 5-man executive board.

Msida had a blistering start to the league and as early as January 2007, Msida became the second team to be guaranteed a place in the Championship Pool. In January 2007, Peter Pullicino was sold to Marsaxlokk and in his return Shawn Bajada joined the club for the second part of the season, whilst later on Daniel Nwoke was sold to the Finnish Champions Tampere United, thus becoming the second export of Msida St. Joseph following the steps of Oloshoul Aganun who moved to Wacker Tirol in Austria two seasons before. Msida finished the first phase in second place, with only eventual champions Marsaxlokk having more points than the team. In the Championship Pool the team suffered a lot and for the second year running it didn't achieve a win and ended the season in the 6th place, equaling the best placing ever which was achieved in the previous season.

Msida had a very good run in the FA Trophy. The team managed to make it to the semi final against Sliema Wanderers. The team dominated the ninety minutes but was extremely unlucky not to score, where Sliema had to thank goalkeeper Murphy Akanji and the post for keeping the score as a draw. In the second half of extra time Sliema managed to open the score and then scored a killer second goal just afterwards before wrapping the match 3-0. Msida thus failed to make it to the final for the 2nd time in three years.

Following the General Meeting for season 2007/2008, Mr. Antoine Portelli was unanimously nominated as Honorary President, whilst Robert Farrugia was elected as the new President. Keith Abela-Wadge remained as the General Secretary whilst Alan Abela-Wadge became the new Financial Director. Together with Noel Mallia, Stephen Lovegrove, Charles Debono, Martin Micallef, Alfred Mallia, Elton Agius, Ian Micallef, Kenneth Portelli, Malcolm Dimech and Neil Zammit they form the 2007/2008 committee. Together with the Supporters Club and the Youth Nursery, the team started on a new adventure, the 5th consecutive one in the Premier Division.

On 27 December 2007 Msida St. Joseph broke two club records in one match. Msida defeated neighbors and arch rivals Pieta Hotspurs 7-0, in which match Njongo Lobe Priso Doding scored four of the goals. The 7-0 win was the biggest win by the club in the Premier Division, whilst Njongo Lobe Priso Doding's 4 goals was a record number of goals for a Msida SJ player in a single match.

Players

Current Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Matthew Mulholland DF Darren Caruana 5 MF Joseph D'Amato 6 DF Matthew Borda 7 MF Adrian Farrugia (captain) 9 FW Karl Ebejer 10 DF Phiram Sackai 11 MF Ryan Xuereb

No. Position Player 15 MF Neville Arpa 16 FW Andrew Formosa 17 MF Lydon Micallef 18 FW Martin Curtis 19 FW N'Dayi Kalenga 30 GK Jeremy Alden DF Ian Darmanin (on loan from Floriana) MF Valdo Gonçalves Alhinho

Notable players

See Msida Saint-Joseph F.C. Players

Olumuyiwa Aganun Julius Oche Emanche Ibrahim Babatunde Roderick Bajada Shaun Bajada Manuel Bartolo Omar Borg Patrick Borg Clive Brincat Chris Camilleri

David Carabott Gilberto dos Santos Tyrone Farrugia Paul Fenech Stefano Grima Kurt Magro Josef Mifsud Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza Daniel Nwoke

Peter Pullicino Pedrinho Njongo Priso André Rocha da Silva Nicky Saliba Kevin Sammut Kenneth Spiteri Daniel Theuma Ousseni Zongo

Peter Pullicino

Club officials

• President: Robert Farrugia
• General Secretary: Keith Abela-Wadge
• Media Director: Alan Abela-Wadge
• MFA Council Member: Antoine Portelli

Achievements

• FA Trophy Finalists

1910-11, 2004-05

• Premier Division Championship Pool

2005-06, 2006-07

• Division 1 Champions

2002-03

• Division 1B Runners-Up

1938-39

• Division 2 Champions

1929-30, 1966-67, 2001-02

• Division 2 Runners-Up

1936-37, 1968-69, 1974-75, 1979-80

• Division 2 Knock-Out Winners

1968-69, 1974-75

• Division 2 Sons of Malta Cup Winners

1975-76

• Division 2 Sons of Malta Cup Finalists

1967-68, 1969-70, 1980-81

• Division 3 Champions

1935-36, 1965-66, 2000-01

• Division 3 Section Winners

1944-45, 1947-48, 1963-64, 1965-66

• Division 3 Knock-Out Finalists

1964-65

• Division 4 Champions

1934-35

• Amateur Cup Winners

1935-36

External links

Official Websites

• Official website
• Official Nursery website

http://www.msidastjoseph.com/0809/

http://www.maltafootball.com/2011/06/24/twanny-dalli-appointed-msida-sj-coach/