All square as Sliema, Neptunes resume title battle

Sliema McDonald’s and Neptunes Emirates will be looking to gain the lead in this year’s title play-off series when they meet in game three of the best-of-five final this evening.

On Sunday, the Blues showed extraordinary battling qualities as they recorded a dramatic 15-14 extra-time win to level the series at 1-1.

Club talisman John Soler was the catalyst of Sliema’s success as he netted five goals while goalkeeper Ryan Coleiro was also instrumental with a string of excellent saves.

The hitherto dominant Neptunes will be determined to bounce back from Sunday’s upset, knowing that another defeat could seriously jeopardise their chances of retaining the title.

The Reds will be looking to the prolific trio of Tamas Molnar, Steve Camilleri and Vladimir Gojkovic to inspire their team-mates to victory.

Sergey Markoch, the Neptunes coach, will urge his players to maintain their focus and composure throughout the game as on Sunday, the champions were overwhelmed by Sliema’s fightback.

Prior to the Neptunes-Sliema showdown, San Ġiljan and Sirens face each other in the second match of the play-off for third place.

On Sunday, Sirens needed extra-time to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series after a 14-11 victory over the Saints.

Victory for Sirens today would close the issue but San Ġiljan will be determined to win and send the series to a decisive third game.

Today’s programme
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.