The curtains were brought down on the second phase of the Premier Division on Saturday with San Ġiljan surprising Neptunes to topple them off the perch and leave them second in the table.
The Reds will thus contest the best-of-three play-off against rivals Sliema as San Ġiljan meet Sirens.
All credit to San Ġiljan and their coach Zeljko Kovacic for infusing life and determination in a team on the receiving end of Neptunes’ brisk opening, who were in complete control until the third session.
The Reds took a 3-2 lead in the first session with San Ġiljan hitting back twice to level the score before Steven Camilleri edged his side ahead at the end of the first quarter.
With Neptunes pulling the strings and the Saints in pause/play mode, Gabriel Pace made it 4-2 off a great cross pass by Jeremy Abela.
San Ġiljan could not shrug off their uneasiness and Neptunes’ gritty resistance made life difficult.
The Saints could have levelled the score when they were 4-3 down with just over two minutes left in the second session but Alec Fenech netted for a 5-3 advantage with an angled shot, just after Steven Camilleri failed to score from a five-metre throw.
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