Leaders Neptunes face Sliema threat

Fired up by their victory over title rivals Go Mobile Sirens, Neptunes Vodafone will be bidding to increase their lead at the top of the first division when they face eternal rivals Sliema Burger King in a much-awaited derby this evening.

On Sunday, Tony Camilleri's men came from behind to defeat the St Paul's Bay outfit 9-7 and extend their advantage to three points.

Trailing 5-3 at the start of the third session, the Reds began to crawl their way back into contention and, with some determined play, they managed to turn the tables on their opponents to register an important win.

Coach Camilleri will again be hoping for another strong showing from key players Nicky Lanzon and David Camilleri who had an impressive outing on Sunday.

On their part, defending champions Sliema will certainly give the Reds a hard time as they seek to remain in contention.

Sliema are currently in third place, one point adrift of Sirens.

Another sparkling performance from John Soler would certainly benefit Sliema against their arch-rivals today.

Against Marsascala, Soler was the catalyst of his team's comeback, scoring a staggering six goals to help the Blues turn defeat into victory.

Sirens vs Marsascala

In the other match of the day, Go Mobile Sirens cannot afford any more slip-ups when they entertain Marsascala SC.

Trailing Neptunes by three points, another defeat against the southerners will leave the St Paul's Bay outfit with a mountain to climb.

Coach Bruno Cofino will have had a hard task to lift his side's spirits after Sunday's defeat. Sirens' inability to exploit man-up situations and their below-par breaking speed were their main weaknesses against Neptunes and Cofino will certainly be demanding a huge improvement in those departments.

Sirens are also aware that their opponents cannot be taken lightly as Marsascala have shown on more than one occasion this season that they can spring an upset against any side.

Their greatest scalp this season were Sliema who were defeated by Marsascala in their final match from the preliminary round, thus enabling the southerners to start the second phase in third place.

However, last Sunday, order was restored when Sliema avenged that defeat with a hard-earned 11-7 win.

Although the scoreline may point to an easy outing for the Blues, Sergio Afric's men were made to work very hard by their opponents, overturning a 5-3 deficit at the interval before taking maximum spoils.

Marsascala's Clint Mercieca poses the main threat to Sirens today. A natural goalscorer, Mercieca has established himself as one of the most lethal finishers in the game.

It came as no surprise when national coach Dirk Dowling included him in the Malta squad that landed a bronze medal in the Euro 'B' championships in Stockholm.

Today's programme at the National Pool - 4.30 p.m. Go Mobile Sirens vs Marsascala SC; 5.30 p.m. Neptunes Vodafone vs Sliema Burger King.