San Ġiljan beat Hapoel Palram to advance in European Aquatics Challenger Cup

San Ġiljan ASC joined Sliema in the next round of the European Aquatics Challenger Cup when they overcame the challenge of Israeli side Hapoel Palram Zvulun 14-10 at the Cottonera Sports Complex on Sunday.

After Saturday’s defeat to Sliema ASC, San Ġiljan needed to win at all costs to secure their place in the next round of the European club competition.

On Sunday, San Ġiljan were in for a fight from their Israeli opponents as the match remained balanced after the opening two sessions.

But the Maltese side took control in the latter stages of the match as a late flurry of goals earned them their second win in the competition and a qualification berth to the next round.

Darren Zammit and Nikolai Zammit were San Ġiljan’s leading scorers with three goals.
San Ġiljan were off to a fast start as goals from Matthew Zammit and Jeremy Abela put them 2-0 ahead.

The session remained evenly balanced with San Ġiljan taking a 4-3 advantage with further goals from Darren Zammit and Jeremy Abela.

There was little to separate either side in the second session, as six goals were shared to put San Ġiljan 7-6 ahead at the interval.

San Ġiljan’s scorers in the second session were Darren Zammit, Marko Vavic and Ben Plumpton.

The Saints stepped up a gear in the third session as they netted five times through a Nikolai Zammit hat-trick, Matthew Zammit, and Darren Zammit.

In the final session, San Ġiljan kept pushing and goals from Vavic and Russell Caruana sealed their victory.