Sliema Hotsticks 5
White Hart 3

White Hart went ahead as early as the fourth minute when in their first attack Daniel Siefert shot past the goalkeeper from the right edge of the D.

Play was then restricted to sharp exchanges in midfield. In the 13th minute Hotsticks won a penalty corner and David Agius had to clear off the line to keep White Hart’s goal intact while Simon Baldacchino hit the side netting for the Hotsticks.

Both teams played an open game and Hotsticks’ efforts to equalise failed although they won three penalty corners in the latter part of the first half.

No one at the Corradino complex imagined that the second half would have developed in the way it did, providing a feast of goals.

Hotsticks went on the attack immediately and scored three goals in a seven-minute spell through Julian Zahra, Shaun Grima and Andrei Imbroll.

On 45 minutes they further increased their lead when Zahra notched his second to send his team 4-1 up.

White Hart’s young team tried to hit back and Keith Laferla reduced the arrears as a result of a penalty corner action.

White Hart scored again, reducing the deficit to one goal, on 61 minutes when Siefert hit his second of the day after latching on to a pass and beating the keeper from the right side of the D.

The last few minutes saw White Hart trying hard to score an equaliser and chalk up their first point of the season but the Hotsticks held out and they added a fifth goal a few seconds from time.

Ryan Dalli netted after meeting a cross from the right to give the Sliema team a 5-3 victory in an entertaining match.

Umpires: Luke Busuttil Leaver, Reno Cremona.

Standings
Young Stars 7; Qormi, Hotsticks 4; Rabat 1; White Hart 0.