San Ġiljan Sir Alex rose magni-ficently to the occasion with a tactically sound and resilient performance which had neighbours and league leaders Neptunes Emirates meeting their waterloo when going down 14-13 in a heart-throbbing contest which had the crowd biting their nails throughout the four sessions.

The Saints were aware that this was a do-or-die affair. Indeed, they managed to shed off the psychological inhibitions to beat the Reds deservedly thanks to what turned out to be a decisive third session which they won 5-1.

Goals came in quick succession in the first quarter.

The Saints led the scoreline but the Reds equalised everytime before they forged ahead on 4-3 with 86 seconds left.

With San Ġiljan focusing their attention on Steve Camilleri and Tamas Molnar, Michele Stellini exploited his pace he was afforded in the number one position when adding two more goals to the brace he netted in the opening session.

The other conversions came from Molnar and Steve Camilleri, with the Saints replying through Marco Avramovic, Peter Biros, his third, and a second goal from Paul Fava.

Still it was very tight and interesting as the teams changes ends with the Reds 8-6 ahead.

Fava was proving to be a thorn for Neptunes as he scored his third goal early in the third session.

Keith Galea made it 8-8 with Matthew Zammit giving his team the lead for the second time.

With the Reds showing signs of panic, the Saints goalrush was sustained with Galea and Dino Zammit opening a three-goal advantage for their team on 11-8.

Steve Camilleri reduced the gap with a second left. Mean-while, Joseph Sammut had replaced Dean Camilleri in goal late in the third session.

Excitement grew to a peak in the last quarter. Lanzon scored twice to make it 11-all before Molnar was excluded for good after his third foul early in the last session.

Goals alternated, with San Ġiljan always nosing in front before Biros opened a two-goal lead for his team on 14-12.

Stellini’s fifth goal with just over two minutes left made it 14-13 but San Ġiljan managed to administer their advantage diligently amid the delight of their fans.

Valletta United edged a step nearer toward wresting the BOV First Division title from Marsascala when defeating Ta’ Xbiex Amigos comfortably in yesterday’s second match.

It was a contest that again underlined the superiority the City team enjoyed over their opponents in this division.

Two early goals gave Valletta a first-session lead. That advantage was extened to three goals when they scored four to their opponents’ three.

There was more to come for Anthony Farrugia’s team as they took complete control to win the third quarter 7-3 and opened a 13-6 advantage.

The stroll prevailed in the final session despite a close scoreline. Victory had long been secured.

Neptunes 13
San Ġiljan 14

(4-3, 4-3, 1-5, 4-3)

Neptunes: A. Borg Cole, N. Lanzon 3, A. Sammut, M. Stellini 5, T. Agius, A. Ciric, S. Camilleri 4, J. Camilleri, G. Pace, S. Gravina, B. Lanzon, T. Molnar 1, C. Mercieca.

San Ġiljan: D. Camilleri, J.C. Cutajar, C. Gialanze, K. Galea 2, J. Sammut, M. Zammit 2, M. Avramovic 1, A. Bianchi, C. Spiteri de Barro, P. Biros 4, P. Fava 3, D. Zammit 2, M. Pisani.

Referees: Peter Balzan, Antonio Pascucci.

Valletta 17
Ta’ Xbiex 9

(2-0, 4-3, 7-3, 4-3)

Valletta: R. Sciortino, S. Meli 2, R. Calleja, M. Korolija 2, N. Bonello Ghio 1, S. Cachia 2, M. Cordina 1, C. Zammit 3, C. Debono 1, R. Scerri 2, A. Arrigo, G. Filipovic 3, Z. Sciberras.

Ta’ Xbiex: L. Borg, L. Pace, M. Spiteri, A. Galea 1, S. Cini, M. Asciak, K. Galea 1, M. Paris, P. Paris, P. Markoch 1, R. Attard 1, A. Zammit, Y. Szeles 5.

Referees: Ronnie Spiteri, Peter Giordano

Marsascala 21
ASA Under-17 11

(4-5, 6-2, 3-3, 8-1)

Marsascala: B. Muscat, K. Rizzo Naudi 3, M. Pace, K. Schembri, J. Kayes 6, L. Grixti 2, D. Hedegus 3, J. Cremona, J. Licari 3, A. Sammut 1, D. Cassar, C. Mifsud 2, L. Caruana 1.

ASA U-17: Z. Sciberras, M. Lanzon 2, D. Zammit, A. Mifsud 2, M. Grech, B. Plumpton 3, G. Mizzi 1, J. Napier 1, N. Paris, N. Bugelli 2, J. Navarro.

Refs: Alex De Raffaele, Stefan Licari.

Next fixtures
Tuesday: 6pm Marsaxlokk vs Valletta; 7.15pm Exiles vs Neptunes.
Wednesday: 6pm Marsascala vs Ta’ Xbiex; 7.15pm Sliema vs San Ġiljan.

Premier League

  P W D L F A Pts
Neptunes 8 7 0 1 125 67 21
San Ġiljan 8 7 0 1 112 96 21
Sliema 8 4 0 4 96 87 12
Sirens 8 2 0 6 73 113 6
Exiles 8 0 0 8 74 117 0

Division One

  P W D L F A Pts
Valletta 8 7 0 1 114 70 21
Marsascala 8 5 0 3 89 88 15
Ta’ Xbiex 8 3 1 4 99 104 10
Otters 8 3 2 3 76 89 11
Marsaxlokk 8 0 1 7 79 106 1

Women’s League

Neptunes 11
San Ġiljan 9

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

Scorers
Neptunes: R. Stellini 2, S. Cassar, G. Rizzo, M. Musumeci 7.
San Ġiljan: E. Fenech 2, F. Muscat 2, R. Spiteri 2, S. Schembri Wismayer 2, A. Csullog.

Refs: Ronnie Spiteri, Peter Balzan.

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