San Giljan Salini Resort     6     Neptunes Grimaldi     5

(2-0, 1-2, 2-1, 1-2)

The Saints added another honour, after the Winter league title, beating Neptunes 6-5 in the President's Cup. That makes it four consecutive honours, after the double won last season. They now need another double to emulate the Sliema side that managed to win all the four honours in one season, in the 1990s, but the Saints are well on their way to achieve this end.

They had the better of a fighting Neptunes outfit, who were missing Jordan Camilleri, and had youngsters in the water also managing to score. The Saints were never behind, but Neptunes twice tied the score, only for San Giljan to net the winning goal in the last session and hold on to win this honour.

The Saints retained one of the two foreigners they had last season, the Serbian Boris Vapenski, whilst Neptunes opted for a new face, Romanian Cosmin Radu, who was well marshalled throughout the match. The only player to net more than one goal was the Saints' Peter Borg, who scored a hat trick, with all the other strikes coming from different players on both sides.

(Photos Michael Camilleri)

San Giljan opened well to take a double lead in the opening session, through Borg and Dino Zammit. They added another goal, again by Borg in the second period, but Neptunes came back with a brace from Niki Lanzon and Jeremy Abela, for a 3-2 score in favour of the champions at the interval.

After the break Steve Camilleri quickly had Neptunes on level terms, but the Saints went ahead again, with a Vapenski strike, with Borg's third goal putting them two in front. In the final session  Neptunes fought back, and Timmy Agius and young Miguel Zammit strikes again had both teams level. It was left to Aurelien Cousin to net the winning goal for the champions. There was still time left, but no more goals were registered, with the Saints keeping their noses in front till the end.

Both sides didn't fare at all well in their man ups, with the Saints only scoring once from six attempts, and Neptunes netting twice on seven occasions.

After the game the honourable ambassador, Anthony Miceli Demajo, presented the President's Cup to the San Giljan skipper, Matthew Zammit.

Before the match there were two presentations, to two Neptunes players, Niki lanzon, who retired from the national team, and Steve Camilleri, who finished as the top scorer in the last European championships held.

San Giljan: J. Sammut , P. Borg 3, A. Galea , B. Vapenski 1, Da. Zammit ,M. Zammit , K. Galea , C. Mercieca , B. Plumpton, A. Cousin 1,P. Fava , D. Zammit 1, D. Camilleri

Neptunes: A. Borg Cole , N. Lanzon 1, C. Radu , M. Cutajar , T. Agius 1,S. Camilleri 1, K. Erdogan , J. Abela 1, M. Zammit 1, B. Lanzon ,M. Azzopardi , M. Castillo

Referees: M. Dalli, D. Rotondano

President's Cup Winners

 

1996  San Giljan          2002  Sirens             2008  Sliema            2014  Neptunes

1997  Sliema                2003  Sirens             2009  Neptunes        2015  Sliema

1998  Sliema                2004  Neptunes        2010  Sliema            2016  San Giljan

1999  Neptunes            2005  Sliema            2011  Neptunes       

2000  Sirens                 2006  Neptunes        2012  Sliema           

2001  Sirens                 2007  Neptunes        2013  Neptunes

 

Sports Journalists Cup

Men 1 Div.

M'scala retain the honour won last season

M'scala Nutrition Empire    11     M'xlokk Fischer     10

(2-2, 2-2, 2-1, 5-5)

M'scala again had the better of M'xlokk, winning by the odd gaol, as they had done last season. It was also the fifth time that they had emerged victorious in this Cup. Both sides had new foreigners, with M;scala's Hungarian, Gabor Kovacs, and Ivan Basara, the Serbian, for M';xlokk,. He featured for part of last season, with Sliema, in the Premier Division, last season.

It was a close match throughout, with only two goals separating the two sides as the highest advantage, as M'scala managed on four occasions, with M'xlokk reducing the arrears every time. Both sides were level after the first and second sessions of this match, but after the interval M'scala managed to eke out a one goal advantage, taking them into the last period, where both sets of defences were opened up by the opposing attackers, with the two teams sharing ten goals between them, as M'scala held out till the end, to retain the honour they won last season,

M'scala scored four times in their seven man ups, and M'xlokk managed three goals in five extra player occasions.

Kovacs and Jean Claude Cutajar scored a poker of goals for M'scala, with basara ending up as the game's top scorer, with five strikes for M'xlokk.

After the match the presentation to the M'scala captain, Joe Cremona, was by the Sports Journalists president, Charles Camenzuli, and the Treasurer, Antoine Dalli.

M'scala: K. Schembri , JC Cutajar 4, J. Busuttil , C. Bonello1 , J. Bajada , L. Grixti ,G. Kovacs 4,  J. Cremona 1, S. Micallef 1, M. Pace , D. Cassar , O. Zammit     B. Dougall

M'xlokk: D. Abela , C. Spiteri de Barro 1, L. Calleja , K. Galea , C. Gialanze 1, C. Bugeja 1, S. Meli , I. Basara 5, R. Scerri 2, K. Navarro , GL Busuttil, N. Xuereb

Referees: P. Balzan, F. Romolini

Sports Journalists Cup Winners

 

1997  M’scala              2002  Neptunes        2007  Sliema            2011  M’scala

1998  Neptunes            2003  Neptunes        2008  Sirens             2013  Valletta

1999  Sirens                 2004  Sirens             2009  San Giljan      2014  Valletta   

2000  Neptunes            2005  Neptunes        2010  San Giljan      2015  M'scala

2001  Neptunes            2006  Sliema            2010  M’scala          2016  M'scala