Young Stars 1
Rabat 4
Rabat started the game on the attack and won three penalty corners in the first 15 minutes, going close to scoring on two occasions.
On their part, Young Stars forced three short corners between the 19th and 22nd minutes and had a shot cleared off the line, the ball looping off a stick over the bar.
In the 28th minute, Rabat were awarded a penalty stroke which James Azzopardi converted.
This goal opened the flood gates and Rabat added two more goals in quick succession, through Mario Galea and Jonathan Micallef, to take a 3-0 lead.
In the second half, Young Stars started brightly but were once again exposed at the back and Micallef scored his second and Rabat’s fourth goal with a delightful reverse stick shot.
Young Stars pulled one back on 49 minutes when they were awarded a penalty stroke which Edward Hughes converted in style.
Although they pressed hard and even hit the post in the last minute, Young Stars were unable to reduce the deficit further.
Umpires: Paul Brincat, Andre Ghio.
White Hart 0
Sliema Hotsticks 1
The first half of this game was characterised by long periods when the defences were on top and goalmouth action was few and far between.
White Hart had a shot well saved in the first minute as Hotsticks soon settled down and forced two penalty corners which they did not capitalise from.
Another penalty corner was awarded to White Hart but the action proved fruitless.
The rest of the first half was played out in midfield with both sides very careful not to expose themselves in defence.
The second half was a more lively affair with White Hart hooking a shot over the bar in the 37th minute.
Hotsticks went ahead six minutes later from a penalty corner action with Steve Portelli finding the net, his shot just evading the White Hart goalkeeper’s ex-tended dive.
At this point the game became a ding-dong affair – Hotsticks winning three penalty corners while White Hart countered by being awarded four penalty corners between the 59th and 65th minutes.
This late surge, however, did not bear fruit and the scoreline re-mained unchanged.
Umpires: Reno Cremona, Ray Micallef.