HAM

The hockey national league came to an end over the weekend with a full programme of three matches. These last matches had a final twist to the plot when Sliema Hs managed to beat The Hunters Tower Rest to second place thanks to their 3-2 victory over Punch & Judy Rabat and the rather surprising 1-1 draw between The Hunters Tower and Celtics YS. The final table of the 2003/04 season, the first on a synthetic surface, reads as follows:

P W D L F A PTS
Punch & Judy Rabat 15 12 0 3 51 15 36
Sliema Hs. 15 10 3 2 29 17 33
The Hunters Tower Rest 15 9 4 2 26 11 31
The George Pub 15 3 4 8 20 41 13
Pasta Poiatti Qormi 15 1 4 10 10 32 7
Celtics YS 15 1 3 11 15 38 6

Top Scorer: Josef Antonelli (Punch & Judy Rabat) - 18 goals.

Pasta Poiatti 2 vs. The George Pub 2
H.T. 0-1
Umpires: Andre Ghio and James Mizzi

On Saturday The George Pub and Pasta Poiatti Qormi ended their league commitments with a 2-2 draw. This was a game that The George Pub should have won hands down if it wasn't for the performance of Pasta Poiatti's reserve goalkeeper Martin Azzopardi. Azzopardi turned on the performance of a lifetime to deny his former teammates. The first half was one-way traffic as The George Pub created chance after chance but were constantly denied by Azzopardi. Their only reward was a goal from their leading scorer Luke Busutill Leaver. The same player should have extended his sides lead before half time but his penalty strike was saved by Azzopardi.

Up to half time Pasta Poiatti were hardly in the game but incredibly early in the second half they were leading 2-1! The George Pub did not start the second half strongly and they were quickly punished as from two short corner moves Sandro Bartolo and Reno Bianchi quickly turned the tables. Pasta Poiatti created further chances, as The George Pub seemed to have lost the plot. When they did get back on track, once again they had to face up to Azzopardi's heroics who finally, however, had to succumb to a rather scrappy Borg Costanzi goal. There was still time for The George Pub to win and when they were awarded a second penalty it seemed that the three points would be theirs. Azzopardi, however, had other ideas, and once again he was on hand to save this time from Radojevic.






The Hunters Tower Rest 1 vs. Celtics YS 1
H.T. 1-1
Umpires: Paul Brincat and Joe Lewis

In Sunday's first game The Hunters Tower Rest dropped two important points that in the end cost them the second place. These derby matches have been all close affairs but few people would have given much chance Celtics pulling one over their rivals at this stage of the league. However, once again, Celtics put in an excellent performance to deny their opponents space and scoring chances. They did this despite the absence of their first choice goalkeepers. In fact Celtics, had to rope in player coach Ghio in goal and in the end his performance was an inspiration to his team-mates.

The goals that settled the issue came early in the game. For the umpteenth time this year it was the Celtics who took the lead when Chris Bugeja (who else!) converted a penalty stroke. The lead did not last long as at the other end it was Chris Attard who fired in the equalizer from a short corner. The game then took on a standard pattern with The Hunters Tower having much of the possession and chances with Celtics operating on the break. This pattern of play lasted till the end with The Hunters Tower increasingly frustrated as their efforts were not producing the desired results and the final whistle found them with just one point advantage over Sliema.

Sliema Hs 3 vs. Punch & Judy Rabat 2
H.T.1-2
Umpires: Ray Micallef and Reno Cremona

With this result in mind Sliema were faced with two options in the second game. A draw would have sent them to a decider for second spot with The Hunters Tower while a victory would have put them in second place. To absences in his first choice defence, Caruana Smith had to reshuffle his defence and despite this his team got off to a good start as Punch & Judy seemed to be already in celebration mode. However mid-way through the half Punch & Judy picked up their game and in the space of five minutes took a two goal advantage through Rene and Josef Antonelli. The game seemed decided but Sliema kept their shape and just before half time they pulled one back as skipper Henry Cachia finished off a short corner move.

The game opened up further in the second half as both sides had nothing to lose and the game swung from one end to another with both sides creating and missing numerous scoring chances. Sliema kept at their game and finally got the lucky break that swung the game their way. From a short corner move Pace's attempt at goal took a deflection off a defender's stick and looped over Seychell's outstretched hand and into the net. Punch & Judy were rattled and increased their efforts to regain the lead but in the end with barely five minutes left on the clock in was Baldacchino who got onto the end of a cross from the left and coolly slotted past Seychell to give his side second spot in the standings.

After the match HAM President Chris Busutill Leaver presented Punch & Judy with the League Championship Trophy.

The HAM competitions now take a break in view of the upcoming European Club Challenge II that will be held at Kordin between the 27th and 30th May. Local Champions, Punch & Judy Rabat, will be joined by Aker (Norway), HT-85 (Finland) and Kegioren Blediiye (Turkey) in this official European Hockey Federation competition.

The HAM Knock Out will be played in June.

Rate This Article

Select Here  5 Stars  (Best Rating)   4 Stars   3 Stars   2 Stars   1 Star  (Worst Rating)

Your opinion counts.
Rate this article or enter your comments below.