Sirens 13 Exiles 8

(3-0) (2-2) (6-2) (2-4)

In another disappointing encounter, Exiles failed in their bid to win points and assure themselves of a place in the Premier League. On Friday 20th June, they were soundly beaten by a smart Sirens outfit.

The first quarter was characterized by three expulsions suffered by our team but Sirens did not capitalize when they failed to find the net in numerical advantage. They did manage to score however three goals to end the session in the lead. Exiles did build their attacks basing on shooting from outside the seven-metre area without any success. The second session saw Exiles claw back the initial disadvantage to one goal with a lucky goal from Peter Borg and another one by Luka Sekulic after four attempts, but did not take advantage of four exclusions to draw level for Sirens to widen the gap before the half-way stage to three including a brace by David Cutajar. The boys fought hard but the final shot even from a very close range somehow failed to reach its target.

In the first two minutes of the third session there was a reaction by the team and two quick goals by Peter Borg kept the team afloat. Then the team faded as our opponents piled four more goals to stretch their lead to seven without any reply from Exiles. At 4-10 Exiles got three exclusions but not only failed to score but also allowed their opponents to score from a fast break. It was all uphill for the team in the last session when after two minutes, Luka Sekulic was fouled out and this undoubtedly favoured the Northerners extend their lead to eight before two goals by Geregly Katonas and another one by Kurt Griscti seconds from the final horn made the end-score more respectable.

Coach Maurizio Mirarchi changed the team practically every time their was a score trying to find the right formation to fight back but he was never rewarded. With both sets of foreign players blocking each other out, it is crucial that the other players take the responsibility of shooting hard and accurate, knowing who is going to pot at goal whilst the other team mates start to fall back and defend our opponents’ next attack, This was evidently lacking with Sirens crowding their defence and breaking when possession changed. Taking the weaker opponent or giving the sharper shooter space for an easy shot are basic blatant mistakes which are unacceptable and this what Mirarchi has to work on.

The eleven players that took the water were Ian Bugeja, Julian Rizzo Naudi, Simon Vassallo, David Pace Lupi, Gergerly Katonas, James Spiteri Staines, Kurt Griscti, Luka Sekulic, Peter Borg, Benji Lanzon and Kayne Lanzon.

Within 24 hours – tomorrow Tuesday 24th June at 18.45 hours – the team has a crucial match against Gozitans Otters and nothing more than a better performance is expected in order to qualify for the next stage.

KaFa

Photo by Adrian Farrugia

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