Blues win battle of giants to inch closer to title

Sirens 6
Sliema 10
(0-3, 2-2, 3-1, 1-4)

Sliema Burger King's success in recent years has been marked by their uncanny ability to grind their teeth and raise their game at the right time. They have the ingredients to do that, with all their manjack being able to give 150 per cent and perhaps more.

Their tactical acumen is beyond reproach and the spirited commitment is an added bonus. They can draw inspiration from several players. Last time round it was John Paris, this time it was John Soler, who hit a superb nap-hand to kill off Go Mobile Sirens' hopes of making a comeback.

It was a merited victory which went the Blues' way courtesy of a solid defensive base and timely counter thrusts, together with the judicious substitutions from coach Sergio Afric. Moreover, their man-up statistics seven on 12, were much better than Sirens' - two on nine.

Sirens had an uphill task, but towards the latter stages of the game they seemed to be able to bridge the gap and perhaps cause a surprise.

With the score on 6-5 and five minutes left, one sensed that Sliema's energies were draining. Not so, as the Blues again summoned their last doses of stamina and, more important, their killer touch, to keep the St Paul's Bay side gasping for breath. Sliema have now surely inched closer to the title.

The Blues went ahead on their first man-up through Cutajar. When Cauchi was excluded, Soler squeezed in the second via Farrugia's hands. It was the kick-start Sliema were hoping for. With James Falzon out, Sirens failed their first man-up test. To make matters worse for them Soler deceived an inattentive Caruana Dingli for a 3-0 lead.

Sirens twice failed the next man-ups and in between Sliema missed theirs. The Blues' lead looked comfortable in the opening session.

Tactics at both ends were flexibly shifting from stringent to loose cover. Jurgen Borg did not miss a fourth man-up for Sirens to make it 3-1. The Blues converted their sixth set through Soler, after missing out on the fifth.

With Jonathan Valletta well supervised by Nicky Falzon, the northerners had most of their potent play curtailed. Paris' front cover on the opposing centre was also proving useful. In the meantime, the Blues were timing their breaks extremely well, even if Sirens looked far from cautious not to be caught with their back-door open.

One such counter from the Blues brought an exclusion in their favour and Aquilina was quick to profit as Caruana Dingli was caught unawares. Neil Cassar flicked in his team's fifth man-up to reduce the deficit to 5-2 at the halfway stage.

Sirens went for press since they were after gaining time in order to redress the imbalance. But they were not finding it easy to breach Sliema's zone. However, within 40 seconds they managed to pull back two goals only for Soler to make it 6-4 after receiving an accurate pass from the gritty James Falzon.

An unwarranted exclusion for De Barro saw Sliema missing out their third on seven sets. Immediately, Montfort deceived Cachia to make it 6-5.

With the last session to go it looked set for an exciting finale. The big crowd, plus the bands, added to the colourful settings and they loved every second of this clash.

With Montfort out, Debono was allowed time and space to bank in and make it 7-5 early in the last session. A mistake by the Italian referee denied Jonathan Valletta of a goal as the official hurriedly excluded Soler.

Sirens failed to capitalise on that situation. They missed their seventh and paid dearly as Aquilina converted when Karl Montfort was fouled out. After the northerners wasted another extra man situation, Cauchi reduced the gap to 8-6, before Cutajar was quick to convert when Sirens had a man out.

When Soler again beat Caruana Dingli with a rapid shot from a distance, it looked all over for Sirens. It was two minutes 30 seconds to go and the score remained unaltered.

The Blues are again scenting success!

Sirens: J. Caruana Dingli, C. Spiteri de Barro, K. Rizzo Naudi, S. Cachia, C. Cauchi (1), J. Valletta, N. Imbroll, D. Cutajar (1), K. Montfort (2), W. Degiorgio, J. Borg (1), J. Farrugia, N. Cassar (1).

Sliema: J. Cachia, N. Falzon, E. Aquilina (2), M. Galea Pace, J. Falzon, J. Soler (5), J. Paris, K. Engerer, C. Debono (1), F. Cutajar (2), R. Coleiro, I. Muscat, A. Bianchi.

Refs: M. Dalli, F. Colantuoni.

Division II - New champions stroll to victory

San Giljan 14
Otters 6
(5-0, 3-2, 4-1, 2-3)

A match which had the makings of a formality prior to the destination of the First Division league honours, assumed the proportions of an afternoon stroll for brand new champions San Giljan.

Having made sure of the honours in absentia after nearest challengers Ta' Xbiex lost against Exiles on Saturday, the Saints, though not in celebratory mode, opened their scoring account in emphatic fashion before cruising to victory against the Gozitan team.

That first session extensive platform, which saw the Saints scoring five times without reply, was enough to procure a comfortable victory for Tony Camilleri's team.

Otters could only partially stem the tide when winning the last session 3-2. For San Giljan it will be celebrations day on Saturday.

San Giljan: K. Schembri, C. Bonello, S. Mercieca (1), M. Camilleri, N. Kerr (1), M. Zammit, I. Azzopardi (3), P. Cachia (4), G. Farrugia (3), A. Borda, G. Ghirxi (1), J. Spiteri, K. Grima Scott (1).

Otters: A. Sciberras, J. Mercieca (2), G.L. Zammit (1), J.P. Peresso, D. Saliba, S. Grech (1), K. Mizzi (1), P. Saliba, C. Zammit, D. Zammit, J. Cassar, M. Tabone (1), J. Cefai.

Refs: M. Ancilleri, A. Farrugia.