The second phase of the Gatorade First Division league got underway a few days ago with Sliema Wanderers and Sirens consolidating their position in the standings after recording fine wins.

The Wanderers saw off Qrendi 7-3 while Sirens defeated Marsaskala 5-3.

Sliema gained the upperhand in the opening five minutes of the match, scoring three goals to leave Qrendi with a mammoth task to avoid defeat.

Qrendi did hit back with two goals before half-time but after the break, Sliema took advantage of some defensive blunders to score four more goals and seal victory.

Paul Bugeja, Christian Micallef and Aleksandar Ribic scored a double each and Mark Camilleri was the other scorer for Sliema.

Craig Pickard (2) and Antonello Brincat replied for Qrendi.

A gallant second-half rally wasn’t enough for Marsaskala to salvage a point against Sirens.

George Chircop was inspirational for the St Paul’s Bay side as he grabbed a hat-trick with the other goals coming from Ryan Gilmour Cassar and a Liam Gauci own goal.

Gauci, Shaun Ebejer and Franklin Abela were on the mark for Marsaskala.

In another match, Mqabba stayed in touch with the front-runners after a hard-earned 4-3 win over a determined Mdina Knights side.

Mqabba had keeper Malcolm Schembri to thank as he denied Mdina with a string of fine saves. Borja Lopez Fernandez scored a double for Mqabba.

Their other goals came from Kevin Loughborough and Miguel Alcaraz.

Gaetano Gesualdi, Leo Muscat and Cleaven Portelli were on target for Mdina.

A match from the Elite Round is being played tonight as champions Luxol take on Msida St Joseph at 8pm.