Although several matches between neighbours Neptunes Emirates and San Ġiljan AllCare Insurance turned out to be very keen affairs, few have surpassed yesterday’s nerve-tingling contest.

This was a cut-throat duel with the result hanging in the balance till the very last moments before the Reds emerged winners thanks to an opportunistic goal by captain Niki Lanzon 31 seconds from the end.

It had been tight throughout, with the Saints’ 2-0 early lead being overturned as Neptunes led 5-2 at the halfway mark.

The Saints, led by Sergio Afric, summoned their resilience and managed to draw level on 5-5 by the end of the penultimate quarter.

Then followed the heart-throbbing finale with Neptunes tilting the result their way at the wire.

Both teams had their resources fully stretched after a spate of expulsions, three with substitutions, forced both coaches to call on their fringe players.

Jordan Camilleri, scorer of the first Neptunes goal, and Andrea Bianchi were expelled for good soon after the first session, with Karl Galea, scorer of one goal for the Saints, following suit late in the second session.

Andreas Galea and Claudio Spiteri De Barro for San Giljan and Timmy Agius (2), Marc Lanzon, Sean Xerri De Caro and Andrew Zarb Cousin had done their part scorewise, before Matthew Zammit survived a double expulsion in the first session to score his second goal after strikes by Dino Zammit and Paul Fava kept them in the game.

Michele Stellini scored in the last session, with Lanzon providing that late salvo for his team and a showdown against Sliema for the winter title on May 17.

The other Premier Division match also resulted in an exciting battle which had both sides alternating good moments, only for perfect balance to prevail at the end.

The final score rewarded both teams’ efforts which were spearheaded by hat-trick scorers, Simon Vassallo, for Exiles, and Zach Mizzi, for Sirens.

Led from the bench by new coach Maurizio Mirarchi, Exiles had a brighter start.

Sirens rallied to twice go two goals ahead in the last part of the game, but Exiles responded through Benji Lanzon and David Pace Lupi in the last minute to save the match.

Summaries

Ta’ Xbiex 1
Marsaxlokk 13

(0-2, 0-0, 1-4, 0-7)

Ta’ Xbiex: L. Borg, L. Pace, S. Aquilina, L. Ciantar, J. Cauchi, M. Asciak, C. Pace, M. Camilleri, K. Camilleri, E. Gravina, R. Attard, O. Zammit 1, J. Micallef.

Marsaxlokk: A. Xuereb, T. Camilleri 1, A. Galea 5, C. Bugeja 3, M. Fenech, M. Mifsud 3, A. Mifsud 1, A. Arrigo, M. Scerri.

Referees: P. Giordano, S. Licari.

Exiles 8
Sirens 8

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

Exiles: I. Bugeja, J.R. Naudi, S. Vassallo 3, D. Pace Lupi 1, P. Paris, N. Portelli, J. Spiteri Staines, K. Grixti, M. Paris, P. Borg 2, B. Lanzon 1, S.G. Pace, K. Lanzon 1.

Sirens: N. Grixti, Z. Mizzi 3, A. Camenzuli, G. Pace 1, M. Grech 2, A. Sammut 1, M. Caruana, D. Cutajar 1, J. Napier, M. Agius, L. Caruana, G. Busuttil, M. Pisani.

Referees: A. DeRaffaele, P. Balzan.

Neptunes 8
San Ġiljan 7

(0-0, 5-2, 0-3, 3-2)

Neptunes: A. Borg Cole, N. Lanzon 1, L. Gialanze, M. Stellini 1, T. Agius 2, M. Lanzon 1, G. Mizzi, J. Camilleri 1, A. Zarb Cousin 1, S. Xerri De Caro 1, K. Debattista, B. Dougall, C. Mercieca.

San Ġiljan: D. Camilleri, C. Spiteri De Barro 1, A. Galea 1, K. Galea 1, K. Dowling, M. Zammit 2, K. Galea, A. Bianchi, K. Mock, J.C. Cutajar, P. Fava 1, Dino Zammit 1, Darren Zammit.

Referees: M. Dalli, M. Angileri.

Malta U-19 squad

The national squad for the European U-19 tournament in Malta between May 7 and 11.

Neptunes: Sean Xerri DeCaro, Matteo Cacici, Marc Lanzon.

Sliema: Nicholas Bugelli, Michele Mifsud, Mark Fenech.

San Ġiljan: Kai Dowling, Keith Galea, Andreas Galea, Ben Plumpton, Kurt Mock.

Sirens: Nicky Grixti.

Exiles: Benji Lanzon, Philip Paris, Steve Galea Pace.

Premier Division

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Sliema	4	4	0	0	48	25	12
Neptunes	4	4	0	0	51	28	12
San Ġiljan	4	2	0	2	33	27	6
Valletta	4	2	0	2	28	31	6
Sirens	5	0	1	4	32	52	1
Exiles	5	0	1	4	26	55	1

First Division

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Marsascala	5	5	0	0	52	31	15
Marsaxlokk	5	2	1	2	52	36	7
Otters	5	0	3	2	33	44	3
Ta’ Xbiex	5	0	2	3	27	53	2