Sirens produced the first major upset of the Maltese Premier League season by defeating defending champions San Giljan 10-9, while Neptunes opened their campaign with a convincing win over Exiles.
Matthew Mifsud scored four goals as Sirens condemned San Giljan to a second consecutive defeat following their loss to Neptunes in the President’s Cup final.
San Giljan recovered from Kydon Agius’ opening goal to move 2-1 ahead, but Sirens responded strongly during the second quarter. Mifsud scored three times before halftime, although Russell Caruana levelled the contest at 4-4.
Ben Plumpton restored San Giljan’s lead after the interval, but Sirens overturned the deficit and moved 7-5 ahead through Isaiah Riolo.
Plumpton and Jake Bonavia brought the champions level at 8-8 before Gianni Farrugia and Zach Mizzi scored to give Sirens a decisive two-goal advantage.
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Jake Muscat completed his hat-trick to reduce the deficit, but goalkeeper Nicky Grixti and the Sirens defence held firm during a dramatic finish to secure a memorable 10-9 victory.
President’s Cup winners Neptunes made an emphatic start to their league campaign by beating Exiles 15-7.
Marco Zuvela completed a first-quarter hat-trick as Neptunes raced into a 6-0 lead. Steve Camilleri then added three goals before halftime to help the Reds establish a commanding 10-1 advantage.
Exiles improved after the break, with Konstantin Averka converting two penalties during their best spell of the match. However, Neptunes remained firmly in control and completed the victory through further goals from Zuvela, Camilleri and Julian Valletta.
Zuvela finished with five goals, Camilleri scored four and Valletta added three. Averka led Exiles with four.
Elsewhere, Birzebbugia defeated Marsaxlokk 25-16 in a high-scoring encounter. Marsaxlokk led 5-4 after the opening quarter, but Birzebbugia took control by winning each of the remaining three periods.
Savo Vidovic and Matthew Aquilina scored seven goals apiece for the winners, while Nikola Bogdanovic led Marsaxlokk’s resistance with eight.
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