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Week 1 - April 5th
Sliema McDonalds 11 – Sirens Hard Rock Café 7
(0-1, 5-1, 2-3, 4-2)
Sliema: Josie Cachia, Christian Gialanze 1, Edward Aquilina 2, Jerome Gabaretta, Mark Meli 1, John Soler 2, Daniel Paolella, John Brownrigg 3, Clint Debono 1, Jonathan Valletta 1, James Spiteri Staines, Nicholai Lubrano, Ryan Coleiro.
Sirens: Alan Grech, Tyson Debono, Tony Galea, Paul Privitera 1, Edward Bonello, Ryan Mock 2, Jurgen Borg 2, David Cutajar, Alex Attard, Rainer Scerri 1, Karl Cremona, Paul Micallef, Clint Mercieca 1, Joseph Cremona, Joseph Sammut.
Refs: Peter Balzan, Ivan Sciriha.
The winter league got off with a clash between two of the local scene ‘top guns’. Sliema, who ended last season’s campaign with a KO win, faced the present winter league holders Sirens.
This first game commenced with a session which produced five man-ups but only resulted in a solitary netting, through Sirens’ lefty Jurgen Borg, from his customary position on the right, after almost two minutes of play.
Sirens, under the guidance of Dejan Simeonov and fielding also veteran ex-San Giljan Tony Galea, won three exclusions whilst Sliema, on their part coached by Peter Decesare, had two, including the season’s first when David Cutajar was excluded in the game’s first minute.
Sliema decisively overturned the score in the second session when they scored five consecutive goals, only for Sirens to break their goal drought, once again through Borg, very late in the session.
Sirens could have easily made it 2-0 when they won Jonathan Valletta’s second exclusion after just 9 minutes of play but the St Paul’s Bay side committed a blatant turnover and the blues’ debutant, ex-Neptunes, John Brownrigg pounced on the free ball and swam away to the opposite side to net his neo-side’s equaliser.
Mark Meli put Sliema in the lead just 45 seconds later when, on a Borg exclusion, Grech thwarted a Valletta shot but Meli was close by to flick in the rebound.
Valetta and Meli missed a respective good scoring opportunity, both off assists from Gialanze but John Soler, in the fifth minute, made it 3-1 with a low bounce shot.
Sliema were forcing Sirens to commit turnovers with their pressing defence.
Edward Aquilina made it 4-1 with what resulted in quite a lucky goal when his diagonal shot hit the right post and then ricocheted into the net off Grech’s head.
Very late in the session Brownrigg scored his second when he beat Grech with a low shot but then Sirens won a Paolella late exclusion and Borg made it 5-2 at the change of ends.
A beautiful choral move between Debono, Valletta and Brownrigg ended with the latter, faced with an open net, netting his hat-trick and the blues opened a momentary four-goal lead.
This lead was however almost completely neutralised in the space of a few minutes when Sirens clawed back to 5-6. Clint Mercieca scored a penalty and then, less than a minute later, young Ranier Scerri lobbed the ball delicately over Cachia.
Paul Privitera won his centre position tussle with Soler and beat Cachia for a 6-5 scoreline.
Sliema missed a man-up but then retruned to scoring ways when Christian Gialanze scored with a diagonal shot.
Sliema returned to a four-goal lead early in the last session when Soler and Aquilina (on an Attard man-up) scored another respective goal each.
Young Ryan Mock managed to beat Sliema’s rearguard for a 9-6 score midway into the session.
Sirens, with some youngsters in the water, could not stage a comeback and Sliema made sure of their victory when Clint Debono and Jonathan Valletta netted further goals for 11-6 in favour of last year’s KO winners.
Mock grabbed his brace with a late consolation goal for Sirens on a 3 v 2 break.
Neptunes Vodafone 10 – San Giljan ASC 8
(1-1, 4-3, 3-3, 2-1)
Neptunes: Nicky Gouder, Nicky Lanzon 3, Timothy Agius, Karl Galea, Edward Cachia, Jordan Camilleri, Rambert Attard, David Camilleri, Sean Gravina, John Paris, Michele Stellini, Matthew Pisani 7, Kurt Micallef, David Caruana.
San Giljan: Dean Camilleri, Claudio Spiteri de Barro 1, Matthew Zammit 4, Matthew Pace, Andrea Bianchi 1, Glen Ghirxi, Paul Fava 1, John Xerri de Caro 1, Kayne Lanzon.
Refs: Mario Dalli, Massimo Angileri
The second game presented the Balluta derby which resulted with a well-fought contest won in the dying minutes by Neptunes .
San Giljan, led by Silvio Borg, played with only a nine-man squad and presented some new players. Paul Fava and Andrea Bianchi joined the saints from Sirens and Sliema respectively.
Reigning Summer champions Neptunes had two veteran ex-players rejoining the team. John Paris returned after last featuring for Exiles whilst Adrian Cachia came out of retirement and took his place as the substitute custodian.
Matthew Pisani surely started his season on a high note when he Neptunes’ main hero after he managed to net a total of seven personal goals throughout the match. Captain Nicky Lanzon added the other three Neptunes goals.
On the opposite end, Matthew Zammit showed moments of brilliance as San Giljan always fought hard to stay in touch and could, with more decisiveness and belief on their part, have left the water not empty handed.
Both sides shared a goal in the initial session. Debuttant Paul Fava opened the score for the Saints in the second minute only for Pisani to duly reply just 25 seconds later.
Neptunes took the lead early in the second session when Lanzon scored a penalty with a precise shot to Camilleri’s left.
The lead again changed hands when Zammit and Bianchi netted for the saints and although Pisani got a momentary equaliser, San Giljan went 4-3 ahead when Claudio Spiteri de Barro got his seasonal first goal.
Pisani surprised Camilleri, in the 15th minute, with a no-look shot and then the same player shook San Giljan’s morale when he made it 5-4 just half a second from the end of the session with a diagonal shot from a tight angle.
The third session was again a balanced affair as both sides shared six goals at par.
Neptunes opened a 3-goal lead, 7-4 (also through a quick goal from Pisani from an ‘Afric’ set-piece used at the start of the session) but this lead was short lived as San Giljan replied for a tight 8-7 score with just one session to go.
Midway into the last session Lanzon made it 9-7 on his brother’s exclusion but Zammit took just 23 seconds to make it again a 1-goal game.
Gouder came to Neptunes’ rescue with some fine saves at these latter stages of the game which was then finally decided when Pisani beat Camilleri with a low shot 35 seconds from the end.
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