SIRENS GREENTUBE............ 20
MARSAXLOKK BROWN'S..... 13
(4-4), (5-2), (4-5), (7-2)
Sirens Greentube brushed off two difficult sessions to see off Marsaxlokk Brown's Pharmacy. Although the final result was 20-13, Sirens didn't have a comfortable game as after a balanced first session, Marsaxlokk made a good comeback and reduced the gap only to two goals.
John Brownrigg scored the first goal of the game but goals from Andrija Vlahovic and Ivan Nagaev put Marsaxlokk in front. Sirens had to react but everytime they equalised, Marsaxlokk kept their heads in front. That was until Italian Valentino Gallo made it 4-4 as he converted a penalty, six seconds from the end of the session.
The second session had a different story as Paul Privitera, a brace by Christian Presciutti, Luke Caruana and Jerome Zerafa Gregory gave Sirens a five-goal lead. At that moment the game looked to be heading Sirens' way, but Marsaxlokk stayed in the game with two goals in the last minute that permitted them to reduce the gap to three goals.
Riolo scored two goals in the beginning of the third session but Marsaxlokk fought their way back and from an 11-6 score line, Marsaxlokk finished the session 13-11. Andrija Vlahovic scored twice in the process.
This served as a wake-up call for Sasko Popovski's team. They assured themselves of the win with three goals inside the first minute and a half of the last session from a brace by Valentino Gallo and Edward Aquilina. The influental player of Marsaxlokk Ivan Nagaev was fouled-out in the beginning of the last session.
Sirens: N. Grixti, J. Zerafa Gregory (2), C. Presciutti (4), P. Privitera (1), M. Grech, J. Brownrigg (2), I. Riolo (3), V. Gallo (5), J. Napier, E. Aquilina (1), L. Caruana (1), M. Sciberras, O. Gauci, Z. Bartolo, G. Farrugia (1)
Marsaxlokk: R. Coleiro, J. Rizzo Naudi, L. Calleja (1), M. Rizzo, T. Agius, M. Martellacci, A. Vlahovic (4), I. Nagaev (4), S. Micallef (2), L. Saliba, J. Galea, O. Zammit (1), F. Buhagiar, M. Pace, K. Galea (1)
Referees: Ronnie Spiteri, Francesco Romolini
NEPTUNES LEO VEGAS............ 22
OTTERS NIVEA........................ 12
(6-4), (7-4), (6-3), (3-1)
Neptunes Leo Vegas kicked off their quest for a second consecutive league with an easy win against Otters Nivea. This season all the teams have been drawn into two groups in a preliminary phase of the league and therefore these kind of games have to be played.
Otters tried their best but they could'n handle the likes of Stevie Camilleri and Darko Brguljan for long threads. Their foreigners Ferenc Salamon and Milos Filipovic left a good impression and should be useful in the Gozitan's team campaign. Neptunes had a positive percentage in man-up situations as their coach Jovan Popovic made use of his bench several times than usual.
As expected, Neptunes had a 4-2 advantage but a penalty by Ferenc Salamon and a lob by veteran Claudio Spiteri Debarro equalised. Niki Lanzon had other plans and assured that his team began the second session with a double advantage.
Neptunes made sure of the win with a comfortable advantage of 11-5. Till that point, Neptunes had Niki Lanzon, Darko Brguljan, Stevie and Jordan Camilleri all with two goals. They finished the session with a five-goal.
In the remaining two sessions, Neptunes continued to control the game with no particular difficulty while Otters tried to limit the damage as possible. Stevie Camilleri continued scoring after the break and managed to score another five goals. Popovic also finished the last minutes of the game without a foreigner.
Neptunes: A. Borg Cole, N. Lanzon (2), K. Erdogan (1), G. Pace, P. Muslim (1), D. Brguljan (4), S. Camilleri (8), J. Camilleri (3), J. Abela (2), N. Zammit (1), S. Busuttil, M. Azzopardi, S. Stellini, J. Farrugia
Otters: M. Xerri, C. Spiteri Debarro (1), F. Salamon (2), L. Hyzler, E. Meli, M. Lanzon (1), K. Scicluna, G. Mizzi, A. Mifsud, D. Zahra (1), B. Lanzon (2), M. Filipovic (5), D. Camilleri, D. Dimech, C. Teuma
Referees: Stefan Licari, Fabio Brasiliano