Qormi 2
Hotsticks 0
Qormi went into the lead at the first time of asking when in the sixth minute Juan Sarcia placed his shot low to the Hotsticks goalkeeper’s right side as a result of a penalty corner action.
Hotsticks did not take advantage of a couple of penalty corners and while the tempo of the game increased, exchanges were balanced without any team being particularly dangerous around the D.
The second half started on the same note until the 44th minute when due to a defensive lapse, Qormi were awarded a penalty stroke and Sarcia promptly stepped up to double his team’s advantage.
After missing a good chance, Hotsticks were awarded three penalty corners in succession but did not convert any of them.
They continued to exert pressure on the Qormi rearguard, failing to capitalise on a couple of chances that came their way.
Although Hotsticks finished the game on attack, after winning two more penalty corners in the last few minutes, Qormi held on to their 2-0 lead to move to within one point of the leaders at the end of the first round.
White Hart 0
Rabat 5
After both teams used the early exchanges to probe each others’ defences without being particularly dangerous up front, Rabat seized the initiative but were unable to open the scoring although they won five penalty corners between the 16th and 21st minutes.
The game continued in the same vein with the White Hart defence, ably marshalled by David Agius, holding out after another flurry of penalty corners awarded to Rabat.
It was not until the 32nd minute that Rabat opened the scoring when Kyle Alamango scored – a lead they held up to half-time.
The second half turned into a one-sided affair as Shawn Falzon shot Rabat into a 2-0 lead and Mario Galea then scored their third following a long action in the D.
After a period of constant Rabat dominance, Galea notched his second goal and his team’s fourth when the ball broke to him after a melee in front of the keeper.
Two minutes later Falzon made it 5-0, again as a result of a penalty corner action.
Standings: Young Stars 7; Qormi 6; Sliema Hotsticks 4; Rabat 3; White Hart 0.