Sliema McDonald’s have significantly strengthened their chances of keeping hold of the BOV Winter League trophy after trouncing Sirens Ritter Sport 12-4 in the opening match of the best-of-three play-off final on Wednesday.

Victory for the Blues in this evening’s second match would clinch the title. Their supremacy in Wednesday’s one-sided encounter makes Sliema favourites to capture their sixth Winter League success but Sirens will no doubt be looking to keep the tie alive.

The St Paul’s Bay outfit must clearly raise their game by several notches if they are to set up a deciding third game as they were outclassed by Sliema on Wednesday.

More had been expected of Sirens on the back of their battling 8-7 win over San Ġiljan Firetech in last weekend’s semi-final as well as their victory over Sliema earlier in the competition.

However, Sliema, who ousted bitter rivals Neptunes Vodafone 13-10 in the semi-finals, are a tougher proposition with Rom-anian-born player Bogdan Rath and Mark Meli, who has returned from his stint in Canada, in their ranks.

Rath and Meli contributed two goals apiece on Wednesday but the game’s top scorer was John Soler who hit four.

The first match this evening is a Balluta derby as Neptunes take on San Ġiljan in the third/fourth place play-off. Although this game is only important for classification purposes, the rivalry between these neighbouring clubs should at least ensure that their final clash before the start of the Summer League is keenly-contested.

Exiles Jet Services finished fifth in the Winter League after beating Marsascala 14-6 in the first positional play-off on Wednesday.

Playing today
Winter League (National Pool): 6 p.m. 3/4th place play-off Neptunes vs San Ġiljan; 7.15 p.m. final play-off (game two) Sirens vs Sliema.