Sirens strengthened their claim to be considered genuine Maltese title contenders with an emphatic 18-13 victory over reigning champions San Giljan, who have now suffered three consecutive defeats.
Daniel Angyal led the way with six goals as Sirens controlled the contest from the opening quarter, repeatedly finding an answer whenever San Giljan threatened to close the gap.
Matthew Mifsud scored twice during a fast Sirens start before Nikolai Zammit opened San Giljan’s account. Angyal and Jerko Marinic-Kragic then exchanged goals, but the Northerners finished the first period strongly to establish a 6-3 advantage.
San Giljan attempted to respond through Zammit and Alec Fenech in the second quarter, only for Sirens to continue attacking with pace and purpose. Gregory Zerafa and Matthew Sciberras struck in quick succession, while Zach Mizzi helped extend the lead to 11-6 by half-time.
Mifsud completed his hat-trick after the restart and Sirens moved seven goals clear through Sciberras and Andreas Galea.
The champions finally produced a sustained response towards the end of the third period. Captain Matthew Zammit scored twice before Marinic-Kragic registered his fourth of the match, reducing the deficit from seven goals to four at 14-10.
Any suggestion of a comeback was quickly dismissed by Angyal, who scored twice at the beginning of the final quarter to restore Sirens’ commanding advantage.
Marinic-Kragic finished with five goals and Jake Muscat added two for San Giljan, but the champions were unable to disrupt a composed Sirens performance. Matias Ortoleva provided the outstanding moment of the closing stages, rounding the goalkeeper before finishing into an empty net.
Kydon Agius completed the scoring as Sirens secured an 18-13 victory and inflicted another damaging defeat on the defending champions.
After three successive losses, San Giljan face an increasingly difficult start to their title defence. Sirens, meanwhile, continue to demonstrate that their impressive early-season form is no temporary run.
Di Fulvio scores five on Sliema debut
Earlier in the evening, Francesco Di Fulvio marked his first appearance for Sliema with five goals as his new side swept Valletta aside 26-8.
The Italian international, who joined Sliema for the remainder of the summer campaign, immediately added another dimension to an already powerful attack.
Sliema led 5-2 after the opening quarter before scoring eight times in the second to take a decisive 13-4 advantage into the interval.
There was no reduction in intensity after the break. Sliema won the third quarter 6-2 and added another eight goals in the final period to complete the largest victory of the evening.
Elijah Schembri finished as the game’s leading scorer with six goals, while Jayden Cutajar added four and Di Fulvio struck five on an impressive debut.
Sliema’s 26-goal performance underlined both the depth of their squad and their attacking potential, with goals coming from throughout the team as Valletta struggled to contain their movement and speed.
Results
Valletta 8-26 Sliema
(2-5, 2-8, 2-6, 2-8)
Sirens 18-13 San Giljan
(6-3, 5-3, 3-4, 4-3)
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