Final result apart, which was another swamping victory, the 37th consecutive win for San Ġiljan, this time over Sliema, the limelight was drawn to a fiery ending to the game which resulted in three Sliema players being excluded.
Sliema were made to chase the score for most of the way as they contrived to mess up most of their man-up chances. Yet those expulsions in quick succession came at a crucial juncture when San Ġiljan were finding the going tough after Sliema clawed their way back into the game.
With their opportunism on transforming man-up sets, San Ġiljan took an early 3-1 advantage through goals from Dino Zammit, Peter Borg and Matthew Zammit, pegging back Sliema in the process.
When Sliema were off the mark in their shooting early in the second session, the Saint still enjoyed an edge, unsettling Sliema with their breaks, before the Whites reduced the arrears in a balanced second quarter.
The third session resulted in a tense duel replete with strong arm fare and a host of expulsion for Sliema who lost Jerome Gabarretta after reacting to a foul by an opponent and Michael Spiteri Staines on three personal faults.
At this point, Dino Zammit scored his second penalty to restore San Ġiljan’s two-goal cushion.
Kai Dowling followed Spiteri Staines on three expulsions at the start of the last session, after which San Ġiljan’s dominance became more pronounced with Ben Plumpton and Paul Fava adding further gloss to the scoreline.
Earlier, a very tight match between Exiles and Valletta ended with the team from Sliema getting the verdict on a 6-5 scoreline.
Pre-match indications pointed to a close battle between two evenly-balanced sides, expectation which were vindicated throughout the whole proceedings.
However, Exiles’ encouraging take-off during which they opened an advantage of three goals, served as the right platform for victory.
Sliema 5
San Ġiljan 8
(0-2, 4-3, 0-1, 1-2)
Sliema: J. Sammut, J. Gabarretta 1, D. Fenech, M. Carani, M. Meli, K. Dowling, M. Spiteri Staines 1, J. Saliba, M. Cordina, Z. Chetcuti, Z. Mizzi 1, N. Bugelli 2, Z. Sciberras.
San Ġiljan: Tanti, P. Borg 2, A. Galea, B. Grech, J. Galea, M. Zammit 1, B. Plumpton, C. Farrugia, T. Said, Darren Zammit, P. Fava 1, Dino Zammit 3, T. Micallef.
Referees: Massimo Angileri, Stefan Licari.
Valletta 5
Exiles 6
(0-1, 2-2, 1-2, 2-1)
Valletta: R. Sciortino, J. Staines Spiteri, N. Farrugia 1, M. Mifsud, T. Agius, R. Mock 1, D. Paolella, D. Saliba, A. Mifsud, A. Agius 1, K. Galea 1, L. Gialanze, M. Lanzon 1.
Exiles: M. Castillo, C. Von Brockdorff 1, A. Bianchi, P. Paris, T. Sullivan 1, S. Xerri de Caro 1, M. Fenech 1, K. Griscti, N. Paris 2, A. Cousin, B. Lanzon, L. Felice, G. Ciappara.
Referees: Alex De Raffaele, Peter Balzan.
Neptunes 9
Sirens 12
(1-4, 3-4, 3-3, 2-1)
Neptunes: A. Borg Cole, N. Lanzon 2, K. Erdogan, G. Pace 1, J. Farrugia, J. Culic, N. Zammit 1, J. Camilleri 4, M. Cutajar, M. Zammit 1, J. Muscat, M. Azzopardi, F. Buhagiar.
Sirens: N. Grixti, J. Zerafa Gregory, E. Aquilina 2, P. Privitera 1, M. Grech 1, I. Riolo 2, C. Mercieca 2, J. Sciberras 2, J. Napieri, C. Zammit, L. Caruana, J. Brown rig 2, A. Camenzuli.
Referees: Massimo Angileri, Ronnie Spiteri.
Marsascala 9
Ta Xbiex 7
(0-2, 2-0, 5-0, 2-5)
Marsascala: J. Micallef, JC Cutajar, D. Camilleri, J. Borg, D. Borg Millo 1, L. Grixti, K. Navarro 2, F. Borg 1, J. Bajada, C. Mifsud 1, D. Cassar, R. Attard 4, J. Cremona.
Ta Xbiex: A. Theuma, T. Gambin, M. Manara 1, L. Hyzler, B. Cachia, K. Mock, G. Blundell, L. Galea 5 , E. Carabott, G. Sammut, K. Tanti 1, N. Saliba
Referees: Alex De Raffaele, Peter Balzan.
Birżebbuġa 17
Otters 9
(4-1, 3-2, 6-3, 4-2)
Birżebbuġa: D. Abela, M. Borg 1, N. Cassar, D. Pace Lupi 3; J. Buhagiar 1, J. Rizzo Naudi 3, S. Vassallo 2, D. Cutajar 4, S. Micallef 2, G. Farrugia, K. Rizzo Naudi 1, R. Spiteri, D. Spiteri.
Otters: K. Schembri, M. Camilleri, A. Magri 1 D. Dimech, C. Teuma, C. Bugeja, G. Mizzi, S. Dimech 1, K. Scicluna, E. Gravina 1, A. Falzon 1, G. Sammut 1, M. Sciberras 4.
Referees: Peter Balzan, Neville Mercieca.