SLIEMA FRANK SALT................. 14

MARSASKALA FISH AND FISH.... 8

(3-1), (4-1), (6-3), (1-3)

Sliema Frank Salt continued to march on in Group A. They defeated Marsaskala Fish and Fish without no difficulty and with these three points they are on top of their group ahead of San Ġiljan. Their last encounter of the preliminary round against the Saints will be important as these direct encounters will count for the Premier Division.

Sliema increased their advantage gradually and had a 7-2 advantage by the end of the second session. A brace by Jerome Gabarretta and a goal by Nicholas Bugelli gave Sliema a 3-0 lead until Konstantin Averka reduced the gap from penalty.

The second session had a similar outcome as Gabarretta scored another brace and Jacob Sciberras scored from close range. Averka scored his second personal goal for Marsaskala while Hungarian Norbert Hoznyansky scored for Sliema.

After the break, Marsaskala tried to reduce the gap but in three occasions they scored, Sliema scored afterwards to keep their advantage. Gavril Subotic scored another two goals and Liam Galea made it 13-5.

Marsaskala kept playing their game in the last session but Sliema dropped their level due to several changes made by Sergio Afric. They managed to win the session after goals by Milakovic and Averka to reduce the gap to a respectable 14-8 result against a much better opponent.

Sliema: J. Parnis, J. Gabarretta (4), G. Subotic (3), J. Sciberras (1), M. Meli (1), N. Hoznyansky (2), M. Spiteri Staines, L. Galea (1), B. Cachia, J. Gambin, Z. Mizzi, N. Bugelli (2), M. Vassallo, K. Borg, J. Cachia

Marsaskala: J. Micallef, J.C. Cutajar, A. Camenzuli, M. Manara, M. Aquilina, L. Grixti, K. Navarro, K. Milakovic (4), K. Averka (4), J. Culic, R. Attard, D. Borg Millo, M. Borg, L. Felice, J. Ciantar

Referees: Ronnie Spiteri, Mirko Schiavo

 

NEPTUNES LEO VEGAS............. 21

VALLETTA VIDEOSLOTS............ 13

(4-2), (7-1), (3-4), (7-6)

It was another easy win for Neptunes Leo Vegas as they found it easy to defeat Valletta Videoslots. As expected Neptunes dictated play while Valletta levelled their opponents when Neptunes weren't playing with their best players. This defeat confirmed the level of Valletta for his team.

Neptunes won the first session 4-2 but from the start of the game, both teams seemed to know their destiny as they weren't aggressive in their play. Petar Muslim scored half of the goals by Neptunes in the first session while Dmitri Kholod and Daniel Paolella scored for Valletta.

After two minutes in the second session, the margin was still of two goals but Neptunes upped their game and scored six times in half of a session to finish the second session 11-3 ahead. As the game progressed both teams were expecting the final whistle.

Valletta were trying to limit the damage while Neptunes had a much younger squad than usual as their coach Jovan Popovic rotated his team. Valletta at least had the consolation to win the session as Misic scored his first two goals of the game. At a point in the last session, the Neptunes team in the pitch had Stevie Camilleri surrounded by several youngsters.

Neptunes: A. Borg Cole, N. Lanzon (1), K. Erdogan (1), G. Pace (2), P. Muslim (5), D. Brguljan (3), S. Camilleri (5), J. Camilleri, J. Abela (1), N. Zammit (2), J. Muscat, M. Azzopardi, B. Busuttil, S. Busuttil (1), J. Farrugia

Valletta: R. Sciortino, J. Spiteri Staines, A. Agius, P. Borg, C. Zammit, R. Mock, D. Paolella (1), M. Mifsud, M. Cordina (2), M. Zammit, D. Kholod (7), N. Farrugia (1), R. Bonnici, S. Misic (2)

Referees: Mario Dalli, Stefano Scappini

 

SIRENS GREENTUBE................ 20

TA' XBIEX AMIGOS.................. 11

(4-0), (6-4), (4-2), (5-5)

Before the game practically no one believed that Ta' Xbiex Amigos could at least snatch a point against Sirens Greentube. In reality, the difference is so big between both teams that Sirens sealed the win early in the second session. Christian Presciutti was again their chief scorer with five goals.

Sasko Popovski's side won the first session 4-0 and despite Ta' Xbiex's efforts to stay in the game, Sirens were too superior and finished the second session with a comfortable advantage of six goals. At that point, six different players scored for Sirens as Presciutti scored a hat-trick and veterans John Brownrigg and Edward Aquilina scored a brace each.

Sirens continued to score and found the net in four consecutive occasions to strech their lead to 14-4. Nenad Kacar and David Fenech clawed two goals back but Valentino Gallo listed himself amongst the scorers in the end of the third session. The last session was a formality as Ta' Xbiex took the opportunity from a weakened Sirens side to limit the damage.

Sirens: N. Grixti, J. Zerafa Gregory (1), C. Presciutti (5), P. Privitera (2), M. Grech (2), J. Brownrigg (4), I. Riolo (1), V. Gallo (3), J. Napier, E. Aquilina (2), L. Caruana, Z. Bartolo, G. Galea Curmi

Ta' Xbiex: Z. Sciberras, R. Greco, M. Demarco, N. Schiavone, M. Carani (1), G. Blundell (1), D. Fenech (2), N. Saliba, N. Kacar (5), G. Sammut, K. Tanti, N. Gitto (2), A. Theuma,

Referees: Peter Balzan, Stefano Scappini