Tomorrow’s crucial Balluta Bay derby will bring to a close the second round of the 2013 Premier Division.
Only a victory would please San Ġiljan Sir Alex in their quest to stop leaders Neptunes Emirates taking a giant step towards their fourth successive championship.
Neptunes are on a perfect record of seven victories from as many matches.
Sergey Markoch’s men dominated the league from the word go and continued to show their true prowess in their last outing as they thrashed Sirens Ritter Sport 20-6 to become the first team to go beyond the 100-goal mark this summer.
San Ġiljan’s only blemish in this championship has been the upset to Neptunes in late June.
That heavy 9-19 defeat preceded the exit of coach Karl Izzo as pressure continued to mount on the Saints when they were eliminated from the KO competition, at the hands of Sliema Frank Salt Real Estate, in their following outing at the National Pool.
San Ġiljan are now in the hands of Croat Sergio Afric. He lost his job at Sliema after a rather shaky start to the season only to find himself back in the fray and handed the unenviable task of trying to infuse some lost confidence into his new team that looked down and out following Izzo’s unexpected departure.
Judging by their latest showings, Afric seems to have succeeded in lifting the Saints’ spirits, just in time for tomorrow’s important match.
Victory for Neptunes will pave the way for the Reds’ 22nd league title as they would establish a six-point lead at the top of the standings with only four matches to go.
A drawn result would also suit the champions as they’ll stay in the driving seat in the straight for home. However, if the three points go to San Ġiljan, we could be in for an exciting finale to the National League as the Balluta Bay rivals start the last round neck and neck with 21 points each.
Today’s Premier Division match pits together the bottom two teams in the standings – Exiles Ferretti and Sirens.
In the corresponding first-round match, Sirens chalked up their first victory, and the only one so far, after prevailing 8-6 in a balanced encounter.
Meanwhile, Otters Nivea have a good chance to close the gap on second-placed Marsascala Mor€ in Division One when they play lowly Marsaxlokk this evening.
Leaders Valletta have been the most consistent side in this category this summer and start favourites to extend their advantage to six points at the top of the standings if they beat Ta’ Xbiex Amigos tomorrow.
Programme
Today: 18.00 Marsaxlokk vs Otters. 19.15 Exiles vs Sirens.
Tomorrow: 16.45 Marsascala vs ASA U-17. 18.00 Valletta vs Ta’ Xbiex. 19.15 Neptunes vs San Ġiljan.