The second round of the waterpolo season began with two of the top contenders, Sliema and Neptunes, sending out strong messages with convincing wins.
Sliema continued their perfect start with a solid performance against Sirens, taking full control after a tight first quarter. The match was close early on, but once Greek star Angelos Vlachopoulos found his rhythm, there was no stopping the Blues. He scored five times in the middle quarters, steering Sliema into a comfortable lead.
The early impact from Liam Galea and Benji Cachia, both grabbing hat-tricks before the halfway point, gave Sliema the platform they needed. Additional goals in the second half from Jayden Cutajar, Dino Zammit, and Jayden Cassar sealed the win, though Sirens’ Nicolas Bicari kept pushing, finishing as their top scorer.
There was some concern for Sliema as John Brownrigg appeared to pick up a new injury after recently returning from a long spell on the sidelines.
Before this, Neptunes made the biggest statement so far in the league, crushing Valletta 23-9. The gap in quality was clear from the start, and Neptunes made full use of it. Their fast-paced counter-attacks and confident finishing were simply too much for their opponents.
Hungarian international Gergo Zalanki found the net five times, while Stevie Camilleri and Alan Fenech both scored three each. The Reds also gave extended time to some of their younger talents, including Andreas Buhagiar and Benji Schranz, who made good use of their minutes in the pool.
Valletta had a few moments of their own, particularly through Igor Nagaev, but they struggled to match Neptunes’ intensity and organisation.
Meanwhile, in the tightest match of the round, Birżebbuġa edged past Ta’ Xbiex 15-14. The match was balanced for much of the game, with both sides exchanging goals across the first three quarters. However, a late surge from Birżebbuġa in the final session made the difference.
Rafael Pelicaric scored an impressive seven goals for Ta’ Xbiex, but it wasn’t quite enough to take the win, as Nikola Bursac and Joseph Ciantar led the charge for the Southsiders.
