Neptunes ease off to victory

Adapted from the report by Alex Vella in The Times

Exiles 9 – Neptunes 15
(0-4, 2-3, 2-4, 5-4)

Although not quite showing last year’s scintillating form, Neptunes Emirates shrugged off their recent opaque patch to sink Exiles in a match which had the familiar scoring figure of Steven Camilleri standing out with six goals.

The Reds were always superior to their opponents and banked on a solid 4-0 opening session base which was widened in the second and third quarters before they went into cantering mode in the last part of the game.

Exiles, fresh from their draw against San Ġiljan, could not quite get going even if Hungarian Marton Toth, scorer of a naphand of goals, made their defeat less embarrassing.

Neptunes’ coach Sergey Markoch opted to give Ryan Sciortino his first full outing since last summer’s fifth and deciding match in the ‘Best of Five’ final against Sliema. Ryan had a satisfactory performance.

The leading scorers in the Neptunes’ side also had a good outing, Steven Camilleri getting a double hat-trick, while Michele Stellini and Tamas Molnar returned with a hat-trick each.

This result means that Neptunes are again leaders but with Sliema having a game against Sirens Ritter Sport in hand.

EXILES: A. Borg Cole, J. Rizzo Naudi 1, K. Rizzo Naudi, D. Pace Lupi 1, T. Sullivan, S. Vassallo, J. Spiteri Staines 1, K. Grixti, S. Galea Pace, P. Borg, A. Kunac 1, M. Toth 5, K. Lanzon.
NEPTUNES: R. Sciortino, N. Lanzon 1, E. Aquilina 1, M. Stellini 3, G. Pace, A. Ciric, S. Camilleri 6, J. Camilleri 1, B. Lanzon, S. Gravina, I. Bugeja, T. Molnar 3, C. Mercieca.
Refs: M. Angilleri, P. Bensaia.