Neptunes stage an improbable comeback to defeat Sliema on penalties
Stewart Said
Neptunes Videoslots made an improbable comeback and fought off a Sliema side in a fes‐ tive mood following their win in the knock‐out final last Saturday. They came out as winners in an encounter that weren’t leading during the whole game, but their determination paid off. This de‐ feat is also an eye‐opener for Sliema not take anything for granted as we head to the decid‐ ing moments of the league.
Sliema got off to a flying start with a commanding 3‐0 lead. Dino Zammit scored an unusual early brace alongside Benji Cachia’s goal. Everything seemed easy for Sliema until Stevie Camilleri reacted for Neptunes.
Following Liam Galea’s goal early in the second session, Nep‐ tunes reduced the margin to 4‐3 with goals by Dmitrii Kholod and Camilleri for the second time until Giacomo Cannella kept Sliema with a two‐goal lead at the break.
Neptunes were determined to recover in the third session and partially managed as they equalised. Sliema’s response re‐ sulted in two goals by Cannella for a 7‐5 scoreline. Both teams went back and forth until Liam Galea and Zammit’s goals put Sliema 10‐7 ahead with only a session to play.
Considering the recent per‐ formances by Sliema and the sit‐ uation in the game, they started favourites to close the game. But Neptunes had other plans and found their inner strength to re‐ cover in a splendid fashion.
First, they reduced the gap to 10‐9 but Cannella’s fourth goal of the game kept Sliema 11‐9. Then, Neptunes turned the tables through goals by Dmitrii Kholod, Sam Gialanze and veteran Jordan Camilleri to give Neptunes the lead for the first time with two minutes left on the clock. Sliema had Cannella fouled‐out, but they still managed to equalise in the last seconds thanks to a low shot by Jayden Cutajar.
The penalties had to separate these two teams. Both sets of five players were brave enough to take good penalties and made it difficult for the goalkeepers to save. Stevie Camilleri, Jake Mus‐ cat, Alec Fenech, Sam Gialanze and Dmitrii Kholod were the penalty takers for Neptunes while Dino Zammit, Andreas
Galea, Liam Galea, Benji Cachia and Jayden Cutajar scored for Sliema.
The second round of penalties had to kick‐off. Stevie Camilleri and Dino Zammit scored again, Muscat made it 7‐6 for Neptunes but controversy stirred around Andreas Galea’s penalty, and he missed the chance to shoot fol‐ lowing Peter Balzan’s whistle. A strange ending as Sliema lamented against the decision to consider the occasion as missed while Neptunes first protested for the infringement and then celebrated the win. Both teams will face off again for a spot in the final.
Neptunes: A. Borg Cole, D. Kholod (4), S. Gialanze (2), G. Pace, J. Camilleri (1), L. Mallia, S. Camilleri (3), M. Castillo, J. Mus‐ cat (1), J. Bajada, A. Fenech (1), E. Mallia, M. Rossi, D. Bugeja
Sliema: N. Grixti, E. Schembri, L. Galea (2), J. Gambin, G. Can‐ nella (4), B. Cachia (1), J. Cutajar (1), D. Rizzo, S. Engerer, A. Galea (1), Z. Mizzi, D. Zammit (3), M. Castillo, J. Cassar
Referees: Peter Balzan, Stefano Pinato
After last Saturday’s defeat in the knock‐out final, San Ġiljan JP Projects had only one thing on their mind. They wanted to win as early as possible to qualify to the play‐off final. They faced Sirens Build Fitness, a team that didn’t look as determined as they were last week during the knock‐ out semi‐final against the Saints.
A goal by Aaron Younger and a couple of goals by Nikolai Zam‐ mit gave San Ġiljan a 3‐1 after Jake Cachia put Sirens in front. This was the only time that Sirens had the upper hand dur‐ ing the game. San Ġiljan’s lead became solid during the second session as the goal streak stretched to six goals. Daniil Merkulov reduced the arrears but Younger made sure that San Ġiljan started the third session with a five‐goal margin.
As the game was evolving, the question was when and not if San Ġiljan will win. A brace by Younger and a goal by Jeremy Abela was enough for Zeljko Ko‐ vacic’s men to guarantee the win. At that point, Sirens had only aim to at least avoid humiliation.
They responded by lowering the deficit to 11‐5 but left‐han‐ ders Matthew Zammit and Niko‐ lai Zammit kept San Ġiljan cruising. They continue control‐ ling proceedings in the last ses‐ sion as Jeremy Abela scored the last goal of the game following two goals by Sirens.
San Ġiljan: J. Tanti, N. Bugelli, D. Tully, R. Caruana, A. Younger (4), M. Zammit (1), J. Bonavia, J. Zammit (4), J. Abela (5), N. Zam‐ mit, D. Zammit, N. Schiavone, G. Borg, G. Bonavia
Sirens: M. Bonello DuPuis, P. Serracino, J. Chircop, P. Borg, J. Cachia (1), K. Agius, D. Merkulov (2), I. Riolo, J. Zerafa Gregory, G. Farrugia (1), M. Sciberras (3), M. Azzopardi, J. Parnis, M. Ortoleva
Referees: Ronnie Spiteri, Francesco Romolini