Champions Sirens show their mettle

Sliema 8
(2-3, 2-4, 2-4, 2-0)
Sirens 11

Sliema Burger King and 2X Sirens took centre stage yesterday as two of local waterpolo's heavyweights battled it out for initial supremacy in the Preliminary Round.

Both teams had aspirations for a positive result. But the proviso was a healthy man-up scoring rate and no room for missed opportunities. As it turned out, champions Sirens had the edge in these elements of the game and thus showed their worth with a deserved 11-8 victory over Sliema who depended heavily on Hungarian Tibor Benedek.

John Farrugia's team were definitely the stronger outfit with all their manjack pulling their weight beautifully and responding to the power of Tamas Marcz when this player was within shooting range.

Sliema, on their part, did not possess this collective strength and were also let down by a poor man-up sheet which had them missing six sets in a row.

Sirens took a 2-0 lead early on which was neutralised before they regained the advantage through a penalty. Marking was tight on both Marcz and Benedek.

Sirens extended their lead to 4-2 from a direct free-throw taken by Paul Privitera seemingly from the five-metre zone. The Blues reduced the gap only for two top goals and a lucky conversion off Josie Cachia's head, after the ball hit the upright, to help Sirens go on a three-goal lead.

At this point, Sirens' edge was beyond question with Sliema starting on their trail of missed man-ups.

The lead kept widening for Sirens with Marcz being a constant threat and helped in no small measure by his sharp-shooting colleagues.

Sliema kept missing more man-over opportunities and the 11-6 advantage obtained by Sirens appeared to be a good buffer before the last session started.

That gap was only reduced with two minutes to go after which Sliema went on to make the scoreline slightly less uncomfortable against their rampant opponents.

Sliema: J. Cachia, C. Gialanze, E. Aquilina, M. Rizzo, M. Meli, J. Soler 1, D. Paolella, T. Benedek 4, C. Debono 1, F. Cutajar 2, G. Lubrano, A. Bianchi, R. Coleiro.

Sirens: J. Caruana Dingli, T. Debono, N. Cassar, P. Privitera 2, C. Zammit 1, J. Valletta 1, J. Borg, D. Cutajar 1, T. Marcz 4, C. Mercieca 2, R. Attard, A. Grech.

Refs: M. Angileri, P. Balzan.

Marsaxlokk 4
(0-2, 0-1, 2-4, 2-3)
Exiles 10

The form book was respected in this match as Exiles held a good grip on the proceedings to make sure that victory would not elude them.

Exiles' diligent zone denied Marsaxlokk the space for an effective pot at goal, with the southerners trying to hold out by double-marking Gerben Silvis and John Paris whenever they ventured in the centre.

These tactics made for a low-scoring start which somehow picked up in terms of goals in the last sessions.

In the meantime, Exiles grabbed their few chances to take a 3-0 lead by the half-way mark and possibly an adequate base for victory.

That advantage and Sergei Frolov's inability to pose any threat, especially when generally keeping an eye on Silvis, proved too much of a handicap on the southerners.

The scoring tempo was stepped up in the third session, mostly in favour of Exiles whose 7-2 advantage before the last quarter started looked reassuring.

So it was, with Martin Calleja ending up as Exiles' top scorer with three goals.

Marsaxlokk: R. Bonnici, S. Cachia, R. Calleja, A. Farrugia, D. Debono, C. Bugeja 1, E. Pisani, S. Cutajar, S. Frolov 3, D. Cassar, J. Vella, K. Grima Scott.

Exiles: N. Imbroll, J. Cuschieri, M. Zarb, D. Pace Lupi 1, T. Sullivan 1, G. Desira Buttigieg, J. Paris 2, J. Cremona 2, J.J. Tabone, S. Gravina, G. Silvis 1, A. Arrigo, M. Calleja 3.

Refs: A. De Raffaele, P. Giordano.