There was a surprise result at the National Pool yesterday, as Sirens Ritter Sport surprised Sliema McDonald’s who lost to the northerners by a huge margin.
Snuffing the Blues’ otherwise ineffective attack, Sirens made their opponents eat humble pie when they thrashed them by an unexpectedly comfortable 13-3 scoreline.
Such was the superiority of Sirens, ably guided by new coach Joe Caruana Dingli, that Sergio Afric, on the opposite bench, submissively threw in the towel between the third and fourth sessions when he opted to deploy his fringe players to the exclusion of the established ones.
Sliema were trailing 6-3 at the end of the third session after which veteran Charlie Zammit led Sirens’ scoring spree with four goals.
In the opening match of the evening, Neptunes Emirates, spearheaded mainly by hat-trick scorer Edward Aquilina, Michele Stellini and Jordan Camilleri, came good in the middle sessions after an uncertain start to turn a 4-2 first-quarter deficit into a 9-5 lead with the last session to go.
The Reds’ change of tactics, from zone to tight marking, paid dividends as Exiles 3CX, well served by Alan Borg Cole between the sticks, had no answer to Neptunes’ superior resilience.
In the end, Tony Camilleri could afford to put more of Neptunes’ tailenders in the water.
The other match on the card went the way of Marsascala meat.com.mt virtue of a 10-4 victory over Valletta Dhalia.
The opening quarter provided the Southenders with a 4-0 flying start, a cushion they consolidated as the match unfolded.
The boys guided by Pierre Borg displayed better ideas and faster swimming against opponents short of fitness and sharp quali-ties, also evident by the absence of three units from their squad of 13 players.
Neptunes 9
Exiles 6
(2-4, 4-1, 3-0, 0-1)
Neptunes: I. Bugeja, N. Lanzon 1, E. Aquilina 3, M. Stellini 2, Z. Mizzi 1, G. Pace, J. Camilleri 2, L. Ellul, S. Scerri de Caro, S. Gravina, T. Agius, K. Debattista, C. Mercieca.
Exiles: A. Borg Cole, J. Rizzo Naudi, K. Rizzo Naudi, D. Pace Lupi, T. Sullivan 1, J. Spiteri Staines 2, K. Grixti, D. Borg 1, P. Borg 1, S. Vassallo 1, M. Paris, K. Lanzon.
Refs: P. Giordano, P. Balzan.
Sirens 13
Sliema 3
(0-2, 3-1, 3-0, 7-0)
Sirens: A. Grech, A. Attard, M. Manara, V. Bartolo, T. Kusztoz, A. Sammut, J. Borg 2, D. Cutajar 2, A. Zarb Cousin 2, C. Zammit 4, C. Spiteri de Barro 3, D. Zammit, J. Sammut.
Sliema: R. Coleiro, N. Portelli, N. Lubrano, M. Agius, M. Meli, J. Soler, D. Paolella, E. Meli, C. Debono 1, M. Rizzo 2, A. Mifsud, N. Bugelli, Z. Sciberras.
Refs: S. Licari, M. Angilleri.
Valletta 4
Marsascala 10
(0-4, 2-0, 0-1, 2-5)
Valletta: A. Cachia, K. Mock, A. Galea, M. Asciak, S. Cachia, A. Galea, K. Falzon 3, K. Scicluna, R. Calleja 1, K. Hyzler.
Marsascala: K. Schembri, M. Pace, C. Caruana, L. Grixti 3, K. Navarro 1, C. Mifsud, S. Micallef 1, R. Scerri 2, D. Cassar 1, M. Fenech 2, B. Muscat.
Refs: I. Sciriha, R. Spiteri.