Sliema ASC and San Giljan began their European Aquatics Challenger Cup campaigns with convincing victories in their opening Group A matches at the Cottonera Sports Complex. Both Maltese teams delivered confident performances that reflect their intentions of progressing to the next phase of the competition.
Sliema ASC, who reached the semi finals of the previous edition of the Challenger Cup, opened their tournament with an 18-13 win against Israeli side Hapoel Palram Zvulun. Sliema controlled much of the match and established a 5-2 lead by the end of the first session. Dino Zammit scored a hat trick, while Benjamin Cachia and Liam Galea added the other early goals.
Hapoel Palram Zvulun responded in the second session and won the quarter 5-3, although Sliema remained ahead 8-7 at the change of ends. In this period, Galea scored once, while Sam Engerer added two more goals.
Sliema regained momentum in the third session and outscored their opponents 6-4 to extend their lead to 14-11. Zammit completed another hat trick in this phase, Galea scored twice, and Elijah Schembri added one goal.
In the final session, Sliema managed their advantage well and ensured a secure finish. Early goals from Engerer and Jayden Cassar increased the gap before Julian Chircop and Jake Cachia scored late on to complete the victory.
San Giljan also produced a strong display as they defeated APOEL Nicosia 26-10. San Giljan opened the match with a 14-5 lead across the first two sessions, leaving their opponents with no opportunity to recover.
The match remained one sided in the final two sessions as San Giljan continued to add to their tally, scoring 12 more goals to close out a comprehensive win.
Marko Vavic and Nikolai Zammit each scored five goals, while Matthew Zammit registered four. The remaining goals were provided by Dean Bugeja, Russell Caruana with two, Gabriel Bonavia, Ben Plumpton, Jeremy Abela with two, Darren Zammit, Nico Schiavone with two and Luigi Dimech with two.
The preliminary round matches continue on Saturday, when Sliema and San Giljan will meet in the main fixture of the day at 19.30, with top spot in Group A at stake.
