Hats off to Neptunes’ new foreign signing Kristjan Culina, whose outstanding display inspired his team to a convincing 14-9 victory over rivals Sliema in the President’s Cup.
Neptunes responded emphatically to their midweek disappointment against Sirens, with Culina leading the charge from the outset.
The Croatian completed a hat-trick within the opening minutes as the Reds stormed into a commanding 5-0 lead.
Sliema struggled to contain their opponents, and only Alberto Barroso managed to halt the early onslaught, scoring late in the first session to reduce the deficit.
Jayden Cassar struck early in the second session to make it 5-2 and briefly raise hopes among the Blues supporters of a possible comeback.
However, Neptunes quickly reasserted their dominance. Goals from Luigi Mallia, Sam Gialanze, Jake Bajada and Culina ensured the Reds remained firmly in control as they stretched their advantage to six goals.
Barroso and Elijah Schembri attempted to keep Sliema in contention, but Neptunes still held a comfortable 9-4 lead at the halfway stage.
There was to be no way back for Sliema. Culina and Gialanze extended Neptunes’ advantage further after the restart.
While Barroso continued to battle relentlessly, Mallia was also in inspired form, helping the Reds maintain complete control. Culina then made it 13-5, underlining his exceptional performance.
Barroso responded once again, but Culina immediately scored his seventh goal.
Late goals from Cassar and Jake Cachia, who netted twice, added some respectability to the scoreline before the final whistle confirmed Neptunes’ deserved 14-9 triumph.
For Sliema, it was another damaging defeat following their heartbreaking loss to San Ġiljan earlier in the week.
Earlier, Sirens were unable to replicate their midweek heroics against San Ġiljan as they faded badly in the final session, eventually succumbing to a 16-11 defeat.
Although Sirens spent most of the match chasing the game, they remained competitive throughout the opening three sessions.
San Ġiljan edged the first two periods by identical 4-3 scores to take an 8-6 lead at half-time.
Jeremy Abela, Matthew Zammit, Russell Caruana, Alec Fenech (2), Nikolai Zammit (2) and Nico Schiavone all found the net for the Saints.
At the other end, Daniel Angyal proved a constant threat to the San Ġiljan defence, finishing with an impressive four-goal haul.
Another entertaining and high-scoring third session ended 5-4 in favour of San Ġiljan, allowing them to extend their lead to 13-10 heading into the final quarter.
However, Sirens appeared to run out of steam in the closing stages.
San Ġiljan completely dominated the final session, scoring four unanswered goals through Jake Bonavia, Fenech, Abela and Jake Tanti, who crowned the victory with a remarkable long-range effort from his own goal area into an unguarded net, securing an emphatic 16-11 win.
SAN ĠILJAN 16
SIRENS 11
(3-4, 3-4, 5-4, 0-4)
SAN ĠILJAN
J. Tanti 1, D. Bugeja, N. Schiavone 1, R. Caruana 1, M. Zammit 2, J. Bonavia 1, B. Plumpton 1, J. Abela 2, N. Zammit 3, D. Zammit , A. Fenech 4, A. Muscat, L. Dimech .
SIRENS
N. Grixti, D. Angyal 4, A. Galea, G. Pace, J. Zerafa Gregory 1, K. Agius, M. Ortoleva 1, I. Riolo , P. Serracino, M. Sciberras 2, Z. Mizzi 2, G. Farrugia , I. Schembri, M. Mifsud 1, A. Dimech
Referees R. Spiteri, M. Scarciolla
SLIEMA 9
NEPTUNES 14
(1-5, 3-4, 2-4, 3-1)
SLIEMA
B. Busuttil, A. Barroso 4, L. Galea, J. Gambin , J. Cassar 2, B. Cachia , J. Cutajar, D. Rizzo , E. Schembri 1, J. Cachia 2, J. Chircop, D. Zammit, Z. Dzanovic, M. Bonello Dupius, S. Busuttil.
NEPTUNES
Matthew Castillo, M. Lanzon, S. Gialanze 3, L. Mallia 2, J. Camilleri , J. Valletta , S. Camilleri , Mark Castillo 1, K. Culina 7, J. Bajada 1, A. Fava, M. Azzopardi, M. Rossi, H. Shramm, C. Reeves
Referees: M. Angilleri, A. Zedda
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