Exiles back in the Premier Division
Neptunes took a significant stride toward lifting the President’s Cup after edging San Ġiljan 16-14 in a dramatic penalty shootout.
The Balluta Bay outfit need to avoid defeat against Sirens to lift the cup on Saturday.
The Reds kept their hopes alive in a pulsating, topsy-turvy encounter.
Captain Stevie Camilleri was the hero of the hour, rescuing his side with a last-gasp equaliser to force the match into penalties.
The opening session was a tense, back-and-forth affair, with San Ġiljan drawing first blood but Neptunes always finding a reply.
Camilleri was once again an inspirational figure, netting a brace – his second goal a moment of brilliance as he pirouetted past Jake Bonavia and fired a diagonal shot beyond Jake Tanti.
Neptunes, who have finally found a reliable left-hander to complement their set-up, played with a renewed fluidity.
Their Hungarian import, Gergo Zalanki, gave them their first lead of the game at 4-3 with a sharp finish just before the buzzer ended the first session.
San Ġiljan, meanwhile, struggled to capitalise on their numerical advantages, converting just two of six man-up opportunities.
Still, Aaron Younger kept his side afloat, levelling the match at 4-4 early in the second session.
Mark Castillo restored Neptunes’ lead, but goals from Nikolai Zammit and Dean Bugeja swung the momentum back in San Ġiljan’s favour.
The game remained a seesaw battle – Jordan Camilleri made it 6-6 before Younger completed his hat-trick, handing San Ġiljan a slender 7-6 advantage going into half-time.
Ben Plumpton handed San Ġiljan their first two-goal cushion of the match, but Neptunes responded with grit and discipline.
A pivotal moment came when goalkeeper Matthew Castillo denied Younger’s five-metre throw, as the Saints failed to capitalise on a double man-up situation. The Australian looked out of sorts, and moments later, one-on-one with Castillo, he struck the crossbar – another missed opportunity.
At the other end, Steve Camilleri kept his composure, converting two penalties in quick succession to pull Neptunes level.
The second penalty stemmed from a ball-under infringement by the San Ġiljan goalkeeper, Jake Tanti, who was now hanging on two personal faults.
Neptunes’ defensive discipline was key, as they effectively stifled San Ġiljan’s attack – closing down positions 1 and 5 near the floating line and cutting off the supply to position 6.
Their compact structure left the Saints struggling to find a breakthrough, before Matthias Azzopardi made it 9-8 at the end of the third session.
Neptunes were down to the bare bones in the closing stages, with Sam Gialanze, Zalanki, and Mark Castillo all fouled out. Still, the drama was far from over.
Younger produced a moment of brilliance, bouncing the ball off the water to fire in a stunning equaliser.
But Julian Valletta matched his flair with a classy finish of his own, restoring Neptunes’ lead at 10-9. Ben Plumpton, however, kept his composure to level once again for San Ġiljan.
With just two minutes remaining, Younger didn’t disappoint his supporters, confidently burying a five-metre throw to edge the Saints ahead 11-10.
Moments later, Matthias Azzopardi became the latest Neptunes player to be fouled out, further depleting their ranks.
The tension rose when referee Alessandro Cavellini disallowed what would have been a second goal for Valletta, citing a ball-under infringement – a decision that drew loud protests from the Neptunes faithful.
Yet Neptunes refused to be denied. With just 23 seconds on the clock, Steve Camilleri stepped up and delivered, levelling the score at 11-11 and forcing the game into a penalty shootout.
Here, Neptunes kept their composure to prevail and move closer to lifting the President’s Cup.
Earlier on, Exiles secured their return to the Premier Division after a two-year absence, edging out Valletta in a decisive encounter.
Despite a late surge from Valletta, their sluggish start proved costly as they fell short in the opening three sessions.
Nicky Lanzon’s side came out firing, with Dominique Zahra spearheading the charge with an impressive poker of goals before being fouled out shortly after the break.
From there, Keith Tanti assumed control, while new foreign signing Kanstantsin Averka delivered a late hat-trick to keep Valletta at bay.
Although the game seemed out of reach, Valletta showed resilience. Max Zammit and Ivan Nagaev narrowed the deficit to just two goals, but it was ultimately a case of too little, too late.
Valletta must now defeat Birżebbuġa in their final fixture to preserve their Premier Division status.
EXILES 15
VALLETTA 13
(6-3, 3-3, 5-3, 1-4)
EXILES: A. Borg Cole, G. Gatt, Z. Micallef, D. Pace Lupi 2, T. Agius, M. Paris Roding, M.Fenech 1, K. Griscti 1, K. Averka 3, K. Tanti 4, K. Navarro, D. Zahra 4, G. Galea Curmi, L. Hyzler.
VALLETTA: A. Bugeja, M. Mifsud 4, M. Carani, J. Sciberras 1, S. Busuttil 1, J. Colombo, M. Zammit 2, I. Nagaev 3, K. Borg 2, K. Erdogan, M. Chircop, K. Cremona, G. Borg.
Refs: M. Angileri, S.Licari.
NEPTUNES 16
SAN ĠILJAN 14
(4-3, 2-4, 3-1 2-3)
Penalties Sequence: S.Camilleri (N) scored 12-11, N. Zammit (SG) scored 12-12. L. Mallia (N) scored 13-12; B. Plumpton (SG) scored 13-13; Valletta (N) scored 14-13; Younger (SG) scored 14-14; J. Camilleri (N) scored 15-14; N. Schiavone (SG) missed; 15-14; A. Fenech (N) scored 16-14.
NEPTUNES: M. Castillo, S. Gialanze, G. Zalanki 1, L. Mallia, J. Camilleri 1, J. Valletta 1, S. Camilleri 4, M. Castillo 1, B. Schranz, J. Bajada, A. Fenech 1, M. Azzopardi 1, M. Rossi, E. Mallia.
SAN ĠILJAN: J. Tanti, D. Bugeja 1, D. Tully, R. Caruana, A. Younger 3, M. Zammit, J. Bonavia 2, B. Plumpton 2, J. Abela, N. Zammit 2, D. Zammit, N. Schiavone, Z. Attard, G. Bonavia.
Refs: Alessandro Cavellini, A. Deraffaele.
