Neptunes edge San Ġiljan in thriller; Sliema overcome resilient Exiles

Neptunes maintained their perfect start to the water polo season after overturning an early second-quarter deficit to defeat rivals San Ġiljan 14-13. San Ġiljan suffered their second successive defeat, fading in the latter stages of the match.

Before the opening swim-up, San Ġiljan players staged a silent protest regarding controversial refereeing decisions from their previous match against Sliema. The squad turned their backs on the main stand during the official team presentation, while their supporters boycotted their usual stand. San Ġiljan took the pool without their suspended skipper, Matthew Zammit.

Jake Muscat gave San Ġiljan an early lead against his former club, though Jordan Camilleri equalised immediately for Neptunes. San Ġiljan capitalised on consecutive man-up opportunities, with Dean Bugeja and Muscat scoring to establish a 3-1 lead. Luigi Dimech extended the advantage to three goals, forcing Neptunes coach Aleksandar Ćirić to call an early timeout.

The tactical break shifted momentum. Mark Castillo scored on a counter-attack and Steve Camilleri found the net, reducing San Ġiljan’s first-quarter lead to 4-3.

Early in the second quarter, Neptunes’ Julian Valletta missed a man-up opportunity after losing possession. San Ġiljan countered through Nikolai Zammit, who scored with a left-handed shot. Steve Camilleri then converted an extra-man opportunity to equalise. Nico Schiavone briefly restored San Ġiljan’s lead after capitalising on a contra foul, scoring one-on-one against goalkeeper Matthew Castillo.

Neptunes responded before halftime. Steve Camilleri converted a penalty, Ivan Nagaev equalised, and Camilleri scored his fourth goal of the match to put Neptunes ahead for the first time. Nagaev extended the lead from position five, but Bugeja pulled one back for San Ġiljan. Jerko Marinic-Kragić then converted a penalty won by Alec Fenech to put San Ġiljan back in front, before Nagaev scored on a man-up situation to leave the teams tied at the end of the second period.

Neptunes seized control during the third quarter. Jordan Camilleri restored their lead before San Ġiljan’s Nikolai Zammit was excluded for protesting. Camilleri converted the resulting penalty to give Neptunes an 11-9 advantage. Camilleri and Mark Castillo added further goals to stretch the lead to 13-9.

Alec Fenech scored for San Ġiljan at the start of the final quarter, but Nagaev immediately restored Neptunes’ four-goal cushion. San Ġiljan mounted a late comeback attempt with successive goals from Muscat, Bugeja, and Marinic-Kragić, reducing the deficit to 14-13. San Ġiljan failed to find an equaliser in the final seconds as Muscat’s late effort drifted wide, sealing the win for Neptunes.

Sliema recovered from an early deficit to secure a 16-12 victory over Exiles, pulling away in the third quarter behind a six-goal individual performance from Jayden Cutajar.

Exiles opened the match strongly. Trailing 3-1, they scored three consecutive goals through Matteo Martelacci, Konstantin Averka (penalty), and Alastair Cook to take a 4-3 lead. Sliema’s Jake Cachia equalised at 4-4. Before the end of the opening session, Sliema goalkeeper Alan Borg Cole saved a penalty from Alberto Barroso to keep the scores level.

Barroso restored Sliema’s lead early in the second quarter, and Cutajar converted a penalty to extend the advantage to 6-4. Mark Fenech replied for Exiles, but Cutajar scored again to complete his hat-trick. Exiles levelled the score at 7-7 following two quick goals from Francesco Scardino, but Cutajar scored late in the session to give Sliema an 8-7 halftime lead.

Sliema took decisive control in the third period, scoring three unanswered goals via Jamie Gambin, a Barroso penalty, and Dino Zammit to establish an 11-7 lead. Martelacci stopped the run for Exiles, but Cutajar responded with his fifth goal to maintain the four-goal cushion heading into the final frame.

In the fourth quarter, Nathan Bonavia and K. Tanti scored for Exiles, but Gambin hit back with two goals for Sliema, and Sam Engerer extended the lead to five. Late goals from Cook and Averka narrowed the gap, but Cutajar scored his sixth goal of the match to secure the 16-12 final scoreline.