Gritty Blues recover to draw series

This was yet another match in the best tradition of Neptunes Emirates and Sliema McDonald’s.

It was unending drama as the Blues’ fire and brimstone, which appeared negligible as they nosedived to an 8-3 deficit by mid-point, suddenly surged to the fore to leave their opponents stunned with a remarkable recovery that had its climax in extra-time to the exultation of their clan.

Those last moments were full of excitement with the result hanging in the balance with 25 seconds left.

Five-goal John Soler was the catalyst of Sliema’s victory, with goalkeeper Ryan Coleiro also getting the plaudits for some fine saves. But all in all it was a great team performance for the Blues who now draw the series 1-1, with the remaining matches surely sparking off sporting fireworks.

The Reds sprinted to a 5-2 lead in the first session, a scoreline which reflected their sharper qualities. They also bossed the second quarter to win it 3-1 for an 8-3 advantage. At one point, referee Peter Balzan stopped the game after apparently being the target of an object from the stands. Calm was soon restored.

The Blues were nudged into some sort of awakening as they scored three in succession to cut the deficit to 8-6, at which points Neptunes stalled only to make it 9-6 with three seconds left in the third session.

Meanwhile, Clint Debono was fouled out. Jordan Camilleri followed suit early in the fourth session. The Blues smelled blood as Paul Privitera, twice, and Soler level matters on 11-all after Neptunes led 11-8.

Sliema eventually went ahead 12-11. The champions were muted into silence but Vladimir Gojkovic restored parity amid great excitement.

It was on to extra-time with both teams fired up, not the least Sliema, authors of a great comeback after blasting their opponents 6-3 in the last session.

They led 2-1 after the first mini- session as both teams’ resources were thinned with two players on each side fouled out. Sliema fully exploited their momentum to go in raptures after ending winners and thus opening up hopes for a championship win in extremis.

In the opening match, valid only for a meaningless third place, Sirens Ritter Sport defeated San Ġiljan Giuseppe’s 14-11 in a clash which was also stretched to two extra mini-sessions.

Sirens thus take the lead in a best-out-three play-off. The sporting criteria had to be respected despite the relative unimportance of the match and both teams obliged in this respect.

They went about their chores in a tensionless manner in front of a handful of spectators whose number grew as the game drew to a close.

The Saints were off to a better start, taking a 3-1 lead at the end of the opening quarter. Their advantage was maintained in the next session which had the teams sharing six goals. One of these conversions was a stunning backhand from Filip Trajkovic which left the returning Sirens custodian Joseph Sammut motionless.

In a high-scoring third quarter, the Northenders recouped the leeway when they netted five times to their opponents’ three. A feature of this session was Charlie Zammit’s hat-trick, with the goals being scored from seven metres.

Two goals were netted in a low-scoring last session with the score remaining on parity. With Paul Fava out for good in the fourth session and Karl Galea meted out the same treatment in extra-time, Sirens finally turned the tables through Zammit’s fifth goal and Clint Mercieca’s brace which completed his hat-trick.

Summaries

Sirens 14
San Ġiljan 11
(aet – 1-3, 3-3, 5-3, 1-1, 2-1, 2-0)

Sirens: J. Sammut, A. Attard, N. Grixti, P. Borg 1, C. Kiss 2, R. Mock 1, J. Borg 1, D. Cutajar, G. Kristonosic, C. Zammit 5, L. Caruana, D. Zammit 1, C. Mercieca 3.

San Ġiljan: D. Camilleri, J.C. Cutajar, N. Sutic 3, K. Galea 1, F. Trajkovic 3, K. Dowling, L. Grixti, A. Bianchi 1, M. Borg Spiteri 1, C. Gialanze 1, P. Fava 1, A. Galea, K. Schembri.

Refs: R. Spiteri, I. Sciriha.

Sliema 15
Neptunes 14
(aet – 2-5, 1-3, 3-1, 6-3, 2-1, 1-1)

Sliema: R. Coleiro, J. Gabaretta 1, N. Lubrano, R. Fodor 2, M. Meli 1, J. Soler 5, D. Paolella, M. Rizzo, C. Debono, P. Privitera 3, B. Rath 3, J. Spiteri Staines, D. Abela.

Neptunes: I. Bugeja, N. Lanzon 2, E. Aquilina, M. Stellini 2, J. Camilleri 1, B. Lanzon, S. Camilleri 3, V. Gojkovic 2, K. Debattista, S. Gravina, R. Sciortino, T. Molnar 3, M. Pisani 1.

Refs: P. Balzan, S. Ricitelli.

Playing tomorrow
Division One: Third place play-off (game two) 5.15 p.m. San Ġiljan vs Sirens. Title play-off final (game three) 6.30 p.m. Neptunes vs Sliema.