Malta: PACE DOUBLE PUTS SLIEMA IN SECOND PLACE
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February 6, 2004 
Hockey Association of Malta
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- First Points for Pasta Poiatti Qormi
The first round of the National League came to an end over the weekend with a full programme of matches that saw The Hunters Tower Rest confirm their leadership, Sliema Hs overhaul Punch & Judy Rabat to take second place and Pasta Poiatti Qormi pick up their first three points of the season.
The first round has gone pretty much as predicted although Punch & Judy’s recent slump may come as a bit of a surprise. After a fantastic start, in which they scored fifteen goals in three games, they come undone against The Hunters Tower Rest when they suffered a 2-0 defeat and then went on to lose again when they lost on Sunday against Sliema Hs. Sliema’s presence at the top of the table may come as a surprise especially after their poor performance in the Challenge. However their showings in the League have gone up a notch or two even though, ironically, they found the going tough against the weaker sides. The Hunters Tower Rest have been the most consistent side and their present position is well deserved.
The other three teams have found the going tough. The George Pub have been plagued by injury and have not been able to field their best formation. They did however thwart Sliema’s push to the top of the table when they held them to a 2-2 draw. Newcomers Celtics have given a good account of themselves and can only improve. Pasta Poiatti started the season brightly with a good showing in the Challenge Cup but the departure of their two foreigners had a negative effect on the side. They did however end the round on a positive note picking up their first points of the season.
The standings at the end of the first round are as follows:
P W D L F A PTS
The Hunters Tower Rest 5 4 1 0 9 2 13
Sliema Hs. 5 3 2 0 8 4 11
Punch & Judy Rabat 5 3 0 2 16 6 9
The George Pub 5 1 1 3 7 12 4
Celtics YS 5 1 0 4 3 11 3
Pasta Poiatti Qormi 5 1 0 4 2 9 3
The Weekend Matches
Celtics YS 0 vs. The Hunters Tower Rest. 1
H.T. 0-0
Umpires: Liam Pace and Reno Cremona
In Saturday’s game, the Floriana derby between The Hunters Tower Rest and Celtics YS, the current leaders were made to fight hard, against a resilient Celtics side that slowly but surely are getting to grips with life with the big boys. Despite their superiority The Hunters Tower Rest found it hard to create clear scoring chances from open play and their best chances came from short corners. They failed, however, to find a way past Abdilla during the first half. The pattern of the game did not change in the second half with Magro, Evans and Hughes pulling the strings in midfield for The Hunters Tower Rest. The Celtics held on with determination but ten minutes from time their defence finally collapsed when Chris Attard fired in from a short corner.
The George Pub 0 vs. Pasta Poiatti 2
H.T. 0-1
Umpires: Manuel Imbroll and Charles Micallef
In Sunday’s first game Pasta Poiatti Qormi picked up their first points of the season when they beat The George Pub buy 2-0 clear goals. The George Pub were coming from their 2-2 draw against Sliema Hs. On this game this correspondent must apologize to The George’s Pub player Kevin Filletti. In the Sliema game it was Filletti who got the equalizing goal and not David Agius as erroneously stated last week.
On Sunday both sides good not field their best formations and inevitably the game never reached great heights. Qormi were quicker of the mark and took the lead after ten minutes when Daniel Micallef pounced on a poor clearance from The George Pub defence, entered the dee and slipped the ball past Galea. The same Micallef forced Galea into a good save a few minutes later with Bartolo incredibly pushing the rebound wide when it seemed easier to score. The George Pub had their chances but Busutill Leaver wasn’t at his best. They were unlucky when Ray Micallef cleared of the line with the goalkeeper beaten. The level of play during the second half did not improve much during the second half and Pasta Poiatti finally sealed the issue on the half hour when Bartolo was put through and this time he did not fail securing the first three points for his side.
Sliema Hs 2 vs. Punch & Judy Rabat 1
H.T. 1-0
Umpires: Joe Lewis and Andre Ghigo
Sunday’s second game was a different kettle of fish with both sides determined to get the three points to maintain their challenge to The Hunters Tower Rest. Punch & Judy started strongly determined to put their defeat by the leaders behind them. Despite their possession they rarely tested Mallia. To be fair the Rabat goalkeeper was also rarely tested and the game was fought in midfield. Both sides had a number of short corners in their favour and while Punch & Judy failed to capitalize, Sliema Hs drew first blood when Liam Pace fired in their second short corner of the game.
Punch & Judy Rabat came out strongly at the start of the second half but they found the going tough against a resilient Sliema defence. Sliema on their part operated on the break and kept the Rabat defence on edge. Five minutes from time Punch & Judy finally equalised when following a short corner Seychell flicked in from close range. The game seemed destined for a draw when in their final attack Sliema were awarded a free hit a few metres outside the Rabat dee. Imbroll took the hit and Pace surprised the Rabat defence with a neat deflection into the net.
Next Fixtures
The second round gets underway on Sunday with the leaders The Hunters Tower Rest taking on Pasta Poiatti Qormi at 9.00am. The first round game ended 2-0 in favour of The Hunters Tower Rest. At 11.00am Punch & Judy Rabat will be hoping to get their campaign back on track when they take on The George Pub. The first round match ended 5-0 in favour of the Champions.
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