Exiles Jetfreight 7 Sirens 10

Partial scores (1-2) (2-3) (2-3) (2-2)

Once again Exiles left the National Pool empty-handed after suffering their eleventh consecutive defeat this season against Sirens when the two teams which finished 6th and 4th in the Premier Division League, met in the Relegation Pool Competition on Friday 5th August.

Unlike the previous two encounters, the match was a balance affair, characterized by poor finishing by both teams, but the Northerners moved away from their opponents two minutes in the last quarter to build a five-goal lead (10-5), before Exiles rallied and reduced the gap to three by the final horn.

Exiles on their part suffered some avoidable goals in the first two sessions when their opponents’ finishing was not as sharp as in the previous two clashes. In the attack, our shooting was also erratic and more was expected from those players who posess that final killer shot. A penalty awarded to Exiles three and a half minutes to the end of the match could have put the team back in contention but Milos Vukicevic hit the post.

Coach Dorian Pisani made use of the following eleven players, Ian Bugeja, Julian Rizzo Naudi (3 goals), Simon Vassallo, David Pace Lupi, Daniel Borg Millo, Sean Gravina (1 goal), Kurt Griscti, Nicky Paris, Andrea Bianchi (1 goal), Milos Vukicevic (2 goals), and Kayne Lanzon.

For the record, Exiles had five man-ups, converted the first two but failed to score the next three chances. Two penalties were awarded in their favour with Milos Vukicevic scoring one on them. They had eight players sent off for twenty seconds with Sirens finding the net on three occasions when in numerical advantage. A penalty was also awarded to Sirens with Spanish player Sergi Mora converting from 7 metres.

The next match for Exiles sees them meeting Valletta United on Wednesday 10th August 2016 at 19.00 in their second match of the Relegation Pool though mathematically, Exiles are set to  the Relegation Play-Offs with recently crowned First Division Champions Marsaxlokk.

KaFa

photo by Adrian Farrugia shows Andrea Bianchi (White cap no 10) blocking Sergi Mori’s attempt at goal during last Friday’s match between Exiles and Sirens which the latter team won 10-7.

Comments