The second phase of the Gatorade First Division league got underway a few days ago with Sliema Wanderers and Sirens consolidating their position in the standings after recording fine wins.
The Wanderers saw off Qrendi 7-3 while Sirens defeated Marsaskala 5-3.
Sliema gained the upperhand in the opening five minutes of the match, scoring three goals to leave Qrendi with a mammoth task to avoid defeat.
Qrendi did hit back with two goals before half-time but after the break, Sliema took advantage of some defensive blunders to score four more goals and seal victory.
Paul Bugeja, Christian Micallef and Aleksandar Ribic scored a double each and Mark Camilleri was the other scorer for Sliema.
Craig Pickard (2) and Antonello Brincat replied for Qrendi.
A gallant second-half rally wasn’t enough for Marsaskala to salvage a point against Sirens.
George Chircop was inspirational for the St Paul’s Bay side as he grabbed a hat-trick with the other goals coming from Ryan Gilmour Cassar and a Liam Gauci own goal.
Gauci, Shaun Ebejer and Franklin Abela were on the mark for Marsaskala.
In another match, Mqabba stayed in touch with the front-runners after a hard-earned 4-3 win over a determined Mdina Knights side.
Mqabba had keeper Malcolm Schembri to thank as he denied Mdina with a string of fine saves. Borja Lopez Fernandez scored a double for Mqabba.
Their other goals came from Kevin Loughborough and Miguel Alcaraz.
Gaetano Gesualdi, Leo Muscat and Cleaven Portelli were on target for Mdina.
A match from the Elite Round is being played tonight as champions Luxol take on Msida St Joseph at 8pm.