Neptunes Videoslots - Sliema Frank Salt 8-10 (3-3, 2-3, 0-3, 3-1)
Sliema Frank Salt obtained a much‐needed morale booster in a bid to salvage their campaign. A win against their eternal rivals Neptunes is always an important one, even if at this point it does‐ n’t mean too much except to se‐ cure a place in the play‐offs.
Neptunes weren’t at their best today not only because they were without Filip Filipovic, who was ill, but also because they lacked aggressiveness and sharpness in front of goal. With‐ out a proper left‐hander, the game plan had to change and for large parts of the game, Stevie Camilleri was distant from goal while also was marked well.
Sliema had a goal advantage three times during the first ses‐ sion but in all the occasions Nep‐ tunes. Alec Fenech, Gabriel Pace and Aleksandar Ivovic cancelled respectively the goals by Dmitrii Kholod, Liam Galea and Jayden Cutajar.
Dejan Savic’s team had the upper hand again in the second session but this time they built a three‐goal cushion. Sliema seemed to be in control but sud‐ denly Neptunes cut the deficit to 6‐5 with two goals from Jake Muscat and Sam Gialanze.
Neptunes suffered a black‐out in the third session. They weren’t dangerous enough in front of goal and didn’t grasp the control of the game. Sliema took advan‐ tage and scored three times through a brace by Dino Zammit and another goal by Kholod. Dur‐ ing the last minute of the session, Andrija Prlainovic was fouled‐ out and therefore both teams were playing with one foreigner.
Neptunes had a session to re‐ cover four goals. It was not im‐ possible, especially after they were three goals adrift with half a session left to play after a goal by Sam Gialanze. They even had a goal by Jake Muscat cancelled while missed important shots in front of goal. Stevie Camilleri scored his first of the game with a bit less than two minutes left to play. But it was too late for Nep‐ tunes to recover.
Neptunes: A. Borg Cole, J. Mus‐ cat (1), S. Gialanze (2), G. Pace (1), M. Castillo, J. Bajada, S. Camilleri (1), J. Camilleri, A. Ivovic (2), A. Fava, A. Fenech (1),
Referees: Raffaele,
VALLETTA IZIBET................. 14 SIRENS....................................... 17 (3‑6), (3‑5), (2‑4), (6‑2)
Sirens were determined not to let this game slip away from their hands. A vital victory in their pursuit before Valletta and Marsaskala in the Premier League standings to book a place in the play‐offs. Valletta weren’t compact like usual especially in the defence where they were the subject of several counters by their opponents. Sirens were de‐ feated by Valletta last week after they never recovered from a hor‐ rific start.
This time it was different. A sense of togetherness in the team was felt from the start and it resulted in a 5‐1 early advan‐ tage. Andrija Vlahovic pulled two goals back for Valletta but Pietro Figlioli left Sirens 6‐3 ahead at the end of the first session.
The lead for Sirens stretched to five goals in the beginning of the second session until Ivan Nagaev responded with a brace of his own. But the belief of a come‐ back lasted only few moments as Sirens scored three consecutive time to take a comfortable 11‐5. Nagaev reduced the margin be‐ fore the end of the session.
As if it wasn’t already difficult for Valletta, Sirens continued to enlarge their advantage with an‐ other three consecutive goals for a 14‐6 lead. During the third ses‐ sion, Sirens lost one of their two foreigners as Pietro Figlioli was fouled‐out. Valletta’s aim was to reduce the gap to try and get back in the game. Till the end of the session, they still had a seven‐goal deficit.
Sirens responded twice after the goals of Valletta in the last session to keep them at long dis‐ tance. Valletta only reduced the margin when it was too late, scoring four goals in the last min‐ utes.
Valletta: B. Busuttil, J. Spiteri Staines, D. Rizzo, J. Cassar (1), S. Busuttil, A. Vlahovic (4), D. Paoella, I. Nagaev (8), S. Micallef, A. Agius, K. Borg, K. Cremona, A. Theuma, M. Demarco (1), J. Chir‐ cop
Sirens: T. Micallef, P. Serracino, K. Erdogan, P. Figlioli (4), J. Zer‐ afa Gregory (1), G. Farrugia (2), M. Chircop, G. Melillo (3), M. Cu‐ tajar, M. Pasztor (3), M. Sciberras (2), M. Azzopardi (1), M. Bonello Dupuis, J. Cachia (1), G. Sammut
Referees: Ronnie Spiteri, Michele Alessandroni
MARSAXLOKK BROWN’S..... 15 EXILES WELBEE’S.................. 14 (4‑1), (3‑5), (3‑7), (5‑1)
Marsaxlokk: Mi. Farrugia, C. Cutajar, M. Lanzon, Ma. Farrugia, N. Moskov (5), J. Valletta (1), M. Zammit, M. Aquilina, R. Galea, S. Misic (5), E. Bonnici, L. Mallia (2), S. Mifsud, A. Cook (2), J. Borg Tabone
Exiles: M. Castillo, Z. Cutajar Li‐ cari, Z. Micallef, V. Gallo (5), G. Molina (2), S. Xerri de Caro (1), M. Fenech, K. Griscti (5), N. Paris, M. Martellacci (1), M. Aquilina, N. Saliba, F. Buhagiar, M. Paris Rod‐ ing, L. Pursehouse
Referees: Peter Balzan, Alessandro Severo
