Neptunes took the lead in Group A after Friday's scraping win over a disciplined Sirens for whom goalkeeper Thomas Micallef pulled off a series of excellent saves.

However, the profligacy of the Balluta Bay team, without Jake Muscat, was very evident in their man-up sets. When they did find space for a pot, they either found the frame or Micallef sticking out his hand, to deny them. To complicate matters, Steven Camilleri also missed two penalties.

To their credit, Sirens under the stewardship of Gianni Farrugia, author of a hat-trick, were always in the game. On two separate occasions, they came back momentarily after being two goals down, on 5-3 and 7-5, scores which gave Neptunes a false sense of security.

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