Touch of class as Reds amble through against Sirens

Our boys were well aware that Sirens were not to be taken lightly after the northerners had shocked Sliema a week before. The lads’ match against Bogdan Rath’s team was also a wake up call after their none too slick outing against Exiles.

Master tactician Sergey Markoch set up the right plan to neutralise Sirens’ dangermen, particularly the Italian Christian Presciutti and Csaba Kiss who were shadowed most of the time by Peter Biros and Steve Camilleri. The irony was that these two Neptunes stalwarts netted four and six goals respectively, despite the five goals the Sirens’ foreigners scored between them, that is half the number of our two players’ conversions.

Our teamwork and smooth interchanging of positions complemented by effective shifting of the ball were stretching our opponents’ rearguard, with all six attacking positions constituting real goal threats. Michele Stellini’s hat-trick from the number one position was evidence of this.

Our lead widened as the game unfolded. Maestro Biros was as flawless in the covering phase as he was effective within shooting range, while Clint Mercieca underlined his qualities as a reliable defender without forsaking his scoring instincts. Otherwise, all the lads deserve credit for a clearcut victory which started with a 7-4 first session lead and was followed up a two-goal advantage in each of the third (5-3) and fourth (3-1) quarters after the second was drawn on two goals apiece..

The result meant that Neptunes are back in the rightful place at the top of the standings. The only ponderable is whether we can keep hitting this form in the remaining matches. On the evidence of long stretches of excellent fare against Sirens, our clan should feel confident that the boys can withstand the stern challenge by the other teams to unseat us.

Neptunes’ five-titles-in-a-row feat can become a reality. Keep it up boys. Our touch of class is unmatched by anything our opponents can muster.