January gamble paid off for Senglea, says club president

Senglea Athletic’s impressive season turnaround was not far off from being described as a ‘Great Escape’.

The Cottonera outfit proved their critics wrong by making amends to some mistakes committed in the first round and retain their Premier League status for a second successive season.

Next season, the Yellow Reds will be among the big dogs for a third time in a row – a remarkable feat for a club that before their promotion three years ago had not played top-flight football for more than 30 years.

After managing to keep their place in the top-flight in 2017-18, Senglea were looking to pull themselves clear from danger as early possible this season, banking on the experience of the previous year.

However, a dismal start to their campaign saw them slip to the bottom of the standings with just four points to show after 13 outings.

A radical change in the team personnel during the January transfer window propelled Senglea to a staggering 22-point tally in the second round, only bettered by Valletta and Hibernians who collected 30 and 27 points respectively.

Led by Vincenzo Potenza, Senglea made sure of avoiding the drop after defeating a much-quoted Birkirkara side 3-2 on the final...