Traditional rivals Neptunes and Sliema both recorded their second victories of the season with convincing performances against Sirens and Exiles respectively.
Neptunes produced a stunning second-half performance to overpower Sirens 17-7, transforming what had been a close contest into a runaway win. After a competitive opening half, the Reds scored nine unanswered goals after the break to underline their dominance.
Sirens had started brightly and kept pace with their more established opponents for two quarters. Despite falling behind 4-2 in the opening session, Ranko Perovic’s side responded with energy and managed to edge the second quarter 5-4, heading into halftime trailing just 8-7.
However, their resistance crumbled in the second half. Neptunes returned from the interval with renewed intensity, scoring five goals without reply in the third session. Sirens offered little in response and conceded another four in the final quarter, finishing the match without adding to their first-half tally.
A point of note came before the match when Neptunes surprisingly named Jake Muscat in the squad, despite recent reports suggesting his departure. However, he did not feature, leading to speculation that the move was intended to prevent a transfer to rival clubs.
Elsewhere, Sliema were in dominant form in their derby win over Exiles, registering a 21-10 victory after a strong all-round showing. The match began evenly, with Exiles looking sharp in the opening exchanges and even taking the lead. But Sliema gradually took control, edging ahead 5-4 at the end of the first session.
By halftime, the Blues had pulled away to an 11-7 lead, with goals coming from multiple sources including braces from Jamie Gambin, Liam Galea, Elijah Schembri, and Angelos Vlachopoulos. Exiles stayed in contention through efforts from Zach Micallef, Kurt Griscti, and Konstantin Averka, who all scored twice.
Sliema’s depth became increasingly evident in the second half. Jayden Cutajar completed a quick hat-trick early in the third quarter before adding a fourth, extending the lead to 15-9. With eight different players on the scoresheet by that stage, the Blues rotated freely and maintained control throughout.
The final quarter was one-sided, with Sliema adding six more goals while conceding just once. Galea completed his hat-trick, and further contributions came from Jayden Cassar and Julian Chircop, bringing the tally of Sliema scorers to ten.
