Neptunes Grimaldi will be en-gaged in another titanic duel against San Ġiljan Crystal Finance this evening as the two sporting antagonists from Balluta Bay will be clashing against each other in the BOV KO final at the National Pool, Tal-Qroqq.

Thanks to the club’s strong investments, San Ġiljan have shown remarkable improvement over their showings from the previous season so much so that besides entertaining high hopes of beating the holders in the cup title match today, the Saints also very close to secure their first National League title in two decades.

Neptunes beat Sliema Frank Salt in last year’s final for their 22nd success in the tournament. This summer they had a more difficult path than the Saints to reach the cup showdown.

In fact, the Reds started in the preliminary round against Sliema, a tense derby which Neptunes won 9-7, before another intriguing fixture when facing Sirens Ritter Sport. This time, Zoran Mustur’s team emerged victorious 14-10.

In the semi-finals, San Ġiljan, cup winners on seven occasions the last time in the double-clinching campaign of 1995, were made to struggle by modest Valletta McDonald’s who lost by a two-goal margin (7-5) after having given their more-quoted opponents a good run for their money.

Neptunes and San Ġiljan have been the outstanding teams in the championship this summer as the three direct encounters between them clearly show.

In the first phase of the league campaign, Marko Orlovic’s team beat Neptunes 8-7 but the Reds made up for that setback by handing the Saints their first and only league upset so far 11-9.

The August 1 clash from the Championship Pool was a classic with the two teams remaining locked on seven goals apiece, a result that kept the Saints at the top of the table.

The match was played in front of a bumper crowd as Matthew Zammit gave the Saints a 7-6 lead a few minutes from time only for Ivan Krapic to right matters for Neptunes when scoring on an extra-man set to restore the equilibrium.

As things stand at present, San Ġiljan are enjoying a five-point lead over Neptunes.

Another direct clash between these two teams is pencilled for today week and this match will determine which way the title will be heading to but first Neptunes have to beat Sliema in their match in hand next Wednesday.

First Division decider

Another interesting fixture lays in store this evening as Marsascala Empire Nutrition take on Marsa-xlokk Fischer in a decider that will determine the First Division champions for 2015.

Marsascala led the standings for most of the season but they were pegged back by Marsaxlokk in the very last match from the regular season on Wednesday.

Marsascala and Marsaxlokk also qualified for the First Division KO final which will be played next Wednesday.

Sirens beat Valletta

With neither Sirens Ritter Sport nor Valletta McDonald’s in need of points except for statistical records, the final match of the Relegation Pool yesterday had a stale look about it.

However, both teams wanted to end their season on a positive note. This satisfaction went to the side from St Paul’s Bay who underlined their superiority over the other teams in the bottom pool with a more comfortable victory than the score indicates.

The northerners, who just missed out on a place in the Championship Pool, were in better shape and their third success over Valletta this summer was definitely merited.

Bogdan Rath gave most of his components in the squad a feel of the water and with Sirens five goals to the good no fewer than three times in the latter sessions, he looked tranquil when his team conceded three goals towards the end to have their lead trimmed down to just two lengths.

Sirens, for whom Csaba Kiss struck three times (one from a full 18 metres) were confident that they would end up winners.

Valletta 9
Sirens 11

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

Valletta: D. Camilleri, O. Zammit, M. Rizzo 2, K. Galea 1, A. Agius 1, R. Mock 3, G. Kiss, N. Bonello Ghio, M. Cordina, C. Zammit 1, D. Paolella, D. Filipovic 1, R. Sciortino.

Sirens: N. Grixti, Z. Mizzi, C. Presciutti 2, G. Pace 2, M. Grech 1, C. Kiss 3, J. Zerafa Gregory, D. Cutajar 1, J. Napier 1, E. Aquilina 1, L. Caruana, A. Sammut, J. Sciberras.

Referees: S. Licari, A. Petronilli.

Playing today
First Division (league decider): 18.15 Marsaxlokk Fischer vs Marsascala Nutrition Empire.
BOV Premier KO final: 19.30 Neptunes Grimaldi vs San Ġiljan Crystal Finance.