Sliema run riot as Neptunes held by youths

Sliema McDonald's were masters of all they surveyed in the second match as they blew off any semblance of opposition from San Ġiljan to collect full points following their massive 18-3 win.

With the Blues 7-1 ahead by the end of the second session coach Sergio Afric only tinkered slightly with his men in the pitch when he introduced Ryan Coleiro and Daniel Paolella in lieu of Josie Cachia and Michael Rizzo respectively.

Nevertheless, John Soler and Jonathan Valletta kept sharpening their goalscoring ability hitting in the goals as the third quarter came to an end on a 13-2 scoreline.

With most of the big Sliema names still in the playing frame the rout was maintained with Valletta and Soler ending up as their team's chief scorers.

In the first match of a chilly afternoon which marked the onset of spring, Exiles, had the better of Marsascala by seven goals to four to keep alive their hopes of finishing in the top flight of the competition and thus compete for the league title.

The match started at a slow tempo but picked up in the last session as the team from Sliema gradually wore down their opponents to emerge as clear winners.

Exiles, who had Martin Calleja in brisk goal-scoring form, were always a shade better than their opponents, with their superiority surfacing mostly in the latter part of the game.

There were only formalities to be completed or so one thought, as Neptunes Vodafone squared up to the ASA U-20 side in the last encounter on yesterday's card.

The 7-1 scoreline in the Reds' favour by the end of the first session strengthened this belief, but then the Balluta team threw into the fray most of their tailenders simultaneously to allow their opponents to fight back and level matters on 8-8 towards the end of the third session.

Neptunes, again went in front when they brought in some of their players before they were reduced to six men when Sean Gravina was temporarily expelled for brutality.

With just over three minutes to go, numerical parity was restored with Neptunes 14-13 ahead before goals by Jordan Camilleri and Ryan Mock, gave the U-20 team the lead only for Matthew Pisani to equalize and save Neptunes' blushes.

Marsascala 4
Exiles 7
(1-1, 0-1, 1-1, 2-4)

Marsascala: I. Bugeja, P. Borg 1, M. Borg, G. Ghirxi 1, L. Grixti, J. Licari 1, A. Dalli, S. Micallef, R. Cutajar 1, D. Cassar, M. Spiteri.

Exiles: A. Borg Cole, J. Rizzo Naudi 1, K. Rizzo Naudi, D. Pace Lupi, T. Sullivan, S. Cini 1, S. Vassallo, K. Grixti 2, A. Zarb Cousin, K. Enriquez, A. Arrigo, D. Borg, M. Calleja 3.

Referees: P. Balzan, M. Angilleri.

Sliema 18
San Ġiljan 3
(3-0, 4-1, 6-1, 5-1)

Sliema: J. Cachia, M. Spiteri Staines, J. Spiteri Staines 1, M. Rizzo 2, M. Meli, J. Soler 4, D. Paolella 1, J. Brownrigg 1, C. Debono 3, J. Valletta 6, N. Lubrano, M. Manara, D. Abela.

San Ġiljan: D. Camilleri, E. Arrigo, C. Gialanze, C. Bugeja, M. Borg Spiteri, A. Bianchi 1, C. Spiteri de Barro, P. Micallef, M. Pace, A. Borda, P. Fava 1, K. Schembri, K. Lanzon 1.

Referees: I. Sciriha, M. Caruana.

Neptunes 15
ASA U-20 15
(7-1, 1-3, 3-5, 4-6)

Neptunes: N. Gouder, N. Lanzon 5, G. Pace, K. Galea 3; E. Cachia, D. Caruana, B. Giorgio, Z. Mizzi, R. Attard, S. Gravina 1, R. Sciortino, M. Stellini 3, M. Pisani 3.

ASA U-20: A. Borg Cole, P. Borg 3, T. Agius 1, R. Mock 5, A.Zarb Cousin, J. Camilleri 3, K. Grixti 1, N. Lubrano 1, S. Cini; S. Vassallo, M. Spiteri Staines 1, M. Pace.

Next fixtures

Saturday: 3 p.m. Neptunes vs Marsascala; 4.15 p.m. Sliema vs Exiles; 5.30 p.m. Sirens vs Malta U-20.