Early in the 1993/94
season, Ray Briffa, the Maltese international player who
was nearing the end of a successful playing career with
Valletta was acquired to strengthen the team at the back.
When Peter Caruana
was dismissed, he stepped in
to fill the void as a player-coach.
In his first match in
charge
the Blacks lost narrowly to
Munxar F. Up next were the Nadur Y. A terrible mix-up in
the marking assignments led to an embarrassing 0-5 defeat
at the hand of the Youngsters. This would not be the last
time that the Blacks would be humiliated this season.
Memories of the heaviest league defeat in Club history,
0-6 loss to Victoria Hotspurs have in fact lingered
longer.
Under Briffa, the team gathered points in the
matches that mattered—against the direct relegation contenders, and the
team escaped the fate of a quick return to division two. To be fair to
Briffa, that season the team was a
revolving door for an assortment of Maltese and foreign players, the only
one worthy of note being Albanian, Ardian Zefi.
The highlight of Briffa’s tenure at the Club was a G.F.A. cup triumph in the early rounds
against the soon-to-be-crowned champions, Victoria Hotspurs.
Ray was not kept in either
capacity after the end of the season. He continued his
playing career in the lower divisions of the M.F.A., where
he often crossed paths with Gozitan players in encounters
against Gozo F.C.
