Sliema joined Neptunes at top spot, albeit with a game more, when they beat San Giljan for the second time in the league and paid a bit back for their loss against the same opponents, 10-11, three weeks ago.

After the first session ended 5-2 for the blues, the game had an influential moment when San Giljan’s prolific young player Matthew Zammit was definitely excluded for brutality and he came out of the water to approach the referee.

The Saints had to play for a man less for four minutes and in the meantime Sliema opened a cushion lead which led them to an easy win with the respective foreigners much in the limelight as they scored 13 goals between them.

A nice goal by Serb Marco Cuk paved the way for the match as the Saints went ahead early in the 3rd minute.

The Blues equalised a minute later when Mark Meli scored, off a Valletta assist, on a Cuk man-up. Forty seconds later Meli grabbed his brace on a close range flick off an Aquilina assist.

With San Giljan missing on two Varga exclusions (who was not substituted by his coach Gocanin), Sliema took advantage and Edward Aquilina made it 3-1 with a low shot under Schembri’s arms.

Tamas Varga scored his first on the day a minute from the session’s end but San Giljan won a penalty, seconds later, and Cuk did not miss from 5 metres.

However, on the opposite end, Sliema also won a penalty, 5 seconds from time, and Varga scored from the resultant free shot for a 5-2 score after 8 minutes.

Half a minute into the second session there was much commotion around the pitch as Zammit was definitely excluded on attack. The latter came out of the water and approached the referee but was held back by his teammates.

As a result, San Giljan had to play for four minutes with a man less in the water, apart from an immediate penalty for Zammit’s exclusion, and in this time Sliema scored three times in a row so as to forge 8-2 in the lead.

Varga scored two, including the penalty, whilst Aquilina notched his brace. After both teams returned at par, Varga hit again for yet another goal.

San Giljan tried to open the game again and scored three times in a row, all goals coming from Cuk who thus scored his nap-hand for 9-5 but Sliema replied some minutes later and took the game in hand.

Clint Debono scored on a Borg exclusion for 10-5 a session from time.

The last session was practically a formality as Sliema continued to increase their lead with Varga finishing with seven goals and Jonathan Valletta helping himself to a goal on a Borg man-up beating Dean Camilleri who substituted Schembri at the session’s start.

Cuk scored a real beauty with a back-hand, to beat Ryan Coleiro who took Cachia’s place in this session, to restore some pride in the saints’ ranks and score his double hat-trick but the game ended with Daniel Paollela notching the blues’ final goal.

Sliema: J. Cachia, C. Gialanze, E. Aquilina 2, M. Rizzo, M. Meli 2, J. Soler, T. Varga 7, J. Valletta 1, C. Debono 1, F. Cutajar, D. Paolella 1, R. Coleiro, A. Bianchi.

San Giljan: K. Schembri, C. Spiteri de Barro, A. Galea, C. Bonello, E. Cachia, M. Zammit, M. Cuk 6, M. Pace, D. Camilleri, S. Borg, J. Xerri de Caro, K. Lanzon.

Refs: S. Donato, I. Sciriha