Sirens Ritter Sport 10
San Giljan Sir Alex 17 (3-3, 2-5, 2-4, 3-5)
Sirens: A. Grech, Z. Mizzi 1, M. Grech 1, J. Napier , A. Babay 1, C. Kiss 4, J. Borg 1, D. Cutajar 2, A. Zarb Cousin , G. Merten , S. Micallef, J. Zampa , J. Cremona
San Giljan: D. Camilleri, JC Cutajar , C. Gialanze 1, K. Galea 3, K. Dowl- ing, M. Zammit 3, M. Avramovic 4, A. Bianchi, C. Spiteri de Barro, P. Biros 6, P. Fava , D. Zammit , J. Sammut
Referees: P. Balzan, L. Castagnolo.
San Giljan went to within three points of leaders Neptunes after a no-nonsense victory over plucky Sirens. The Saints were a well-drilled outfit, and except for a hiccup in the opening period, when Sirens came back from three goals down, San Giljan were in command, and their lead was constant. They relied heavily on their foreigners in the goals scored, although two Maltese also obtained hat tricks.
This was the first official match for Sergio Afric at the helm of the Saints. Sirens were missing Alex Attard, and they kept harassing their adversaries for a long time, before they began to fall behind, against superior opposition.
San Giljan ran into a 3-0 advantage, with go0als from Marko Avramovic and two by Peter Biros, but Sirens came back strongly till the end of the session to tie the score, with Csaba Kiss, Jurgen Borg and David Cutajar strikes. In the next quarter the Saints obtained a trio of goals once more, with Karl Galea, Biros and an Avramovic penalty.
Marc Grech reduced Sirens’ deficit, but Christian Gialanze pushed in the Saints’ next goal. Kiss scored another Sirens goal, but Matthew Zammit made the score 8-5 for San Giljan before the interval. After the break Sirens began to feel the strain. Penalties at either end started off the scoring, with Arpad Babay for Sirens and Biros for the Saints. Zak Mizzi put in a rebound for Sirens, but then San Giljan strode forward, and another trio of strikes by Zammit, Biros and Avramovic had them on a healthy 12-7 advantage, when the last session began.
Galea and Avramovic goals for San Giljan had replies from Kiss and Cutajar for Sirens. Galea and a sixth Biros goal had the Saints extending their lead, but Kiss scored his fourth for Sirens. A powerful Zammit backhand closed down the score for San Giljan as they gained three more points. The Saints were strong in their man ups, scoring a total of eight from ten, with Sirens’ reply having three goals from eight expulsions.