Neptunes Emirates have all but won their eighth BOV Winter League title after dismissing holders Sliema McDonald’s 12-5 in yesterday’s match.

The possibility of these two teams and San Ġiljan Sir Alex finishing their commitments on equal points was always in the frame, in which case the mechanism of goal difference in the teams’ direct encounters would determine the destination of this year’s title.

In the case of Neptunes, nothing less than a six-goal victory margin would tilt the balance in their favour, given that both Sliema and San Ġiljan win their remaining matches on Saturday.

And the Reds responded superbly when sweeping past the Blues in no uncertain manner, rattling in the goals for a 12-5 success which put paid to Sliema’s hopes of landing a fifth successive Winter League title.

Sergey Markoch’s team played with the assurance of a team with a winning mentality. However, the Reds had a pre-match bonus when including in their line-up their ace player Steve Camilleri, back in Malta after his commitments for the Italian team RN Bogliasco.

Not unexpectedly, this player provided his colleagues with a psychological boost which was then translated into material gain through his versatility and his scoring ability.

Scorewise, Camilleri, with three goals, was followed by captain Niki Lanzon, Michele Stellini, Sean Gravina and Clint Mercieca, each with two. However, all the others were instrumental in making it a fine team effort which left their opponents unable to go beyond a hard grind as the adverse scoreline went increasingly wider.

As things stand only a highly-unlikely, almost bizarre, dropping of points by Sliema against chopping blocks Marsaxlokk can hand the title to San Ġiljan, given the latter team’s victory over Sirens this weekend.

San Ġiljan may have had a slow start against Exiles Ferretti in the second match yesterday, but a six-goal second-session burst was enough to make them roll past generous opponents.

Exiles lacked the fire-power of five-goal Karl Galea and Matthew Zammit who netted three times.

The Saints, with Andrea Bianchi in their squad after missing a couple of recent matches, had a much more balanced outfit which enabled coach Karl Izzo to effect constant substitutions especially after they went ahead convincingly in the second quarter.

Their lead after the third session widened progressively, with eight of their units inserting their names in the scorers’ list.

Summaries

Sliema 5
Neptunes 12

(1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 2-3)

Sliema: R. Coleiro, J. Gabaretta, N. Lubrano, T. Sullivan, M. Meli, J. Soler 1, D. Paolella, C. Cluett 1, J. Brown-rigg, E. Aquilina, M. Spiteri Staines 3, E. Meli, D. Abela.

Neptunes: A. Borg Cole, N. Lanzon 2, M. Lanzon, M. Stellini 2, Z. Mizzi, K. Debattista, S. Camilleri 3, J. Camil-leri 1, G. Pace, S. Gravina 2, B. Lan-zon, T. Agius, C. Mercieca 2.

Refs: M. Dalli, P. Balzan.

San Ġiljan 15
Exiles 8

(2-2, 6-1, 2-3, 5-2)

San Ġiljan: D. Camilleri, J.C. Cutajar, A. Galea 1, Karl Galea 5, K. Dowling 1, M. Zammit 3, Keith Galea, A. Bianchi 1, C. Spiteri De-Barro 1, C. Gialanze, P. Fava 1, B. Plumpton, M. Pisani 2.

Exiles: I. Bugeja, J. Rizzo Naudi 1, S. Vassallo, D. Pace Lupi 1, M. Magri 1, N. Portelli, J. Spiteri Staines 3; K. Griscti, M. Paris, P. Borg 1, N. Paris, D. Borg, K. Lanzon 1.

Refs: R. Spiteri, A. DeRaffaele.