MALTA NATIONAL DARTS LEAGUE – FEBRUARY ROUND UP
Kalkara SJ defeated by Marsa SM as title-race hots up
Marsa St Michaels winning streak extended to eight games in the month of February as the title race is now a two horse race in Division One.
Two key matches which gave Marsa a boost and moved them closer to current leaders Kalkara were the direct encounter 5-3 away win and an identical win against last year`s Champions, Floriana Ajax A. With six games left this season anything can happen and we got comments from two key players this season on their team`s title chance
Norbert Attard (Marsa St Michaels) “It balanced 50/50. Yes, Kalkara are 2 points above but they are yet to beat us this season, so the direct encounter in last round will be very interesting”.
Andy Keen (Kalkara St Joseph) “I feel that we have a great chance of winning the league. We have great team spirit and great support from our locals. It is going to be hard with games against our opponents Marsa and Floriana but obviously being top position at the moment is the best place to be.”
In Division Two, Mosta Horseshoe Bar look unbeatable as they have now accumulated 40 from the 42 points available and are almost certain to claim the title and a place in Division One next season. The race for the second promotion spot is still open with Gudja POs Bar B enjoying a 6 point lead over Zejtun Beland Bullseye which have a game in hand.
We asked the question of “How do you rate your team`s promotion chances?” to Anthony Coreschi of Gudja and Noel Ebejer of Zejtun.
Anthony Coreschi (Gudja POs B) “8 out of 10….We have eight finals left and if we win them all then the job is done, so all in our hands”.
Noel Ebejer (Zejtun Beland Bullseye) “I can’t see Mosta Horseshoe Bar losing many points. So it looks like a chase for second spot with Gudja POs B, who are just ahead of us. I believe it will be close”.
STANDINGS
| Division One – 2015/16 – 8-a-side | Pts | W | D | L | LF | LA | LD | LAST 5 RESULTS | |||||
| 1 | Kalkara St Joseph | 37 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 81 | 31 | 50 | W | W | L | W | W |
| 2 | Marsa St Michaels | 35 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 80 | 32 | 48 | W | W | W | W | W |
| 3 | Floriana Ajax A | 29 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 71 | 41 | 30 | W | L | W | W | W |
| 4 | Bormla Bocci Club A | 22 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 57 | 55 | 2 | L | W | W | W | L |
| 5 | B`Bugia Cox Sports Bar A | 17 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 50 | 62 | -12 | L | W | L | L | L |
| 6 | Gudja PO`s Bar A | 11 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 40 | 72 | -32 | L | L | W | L | L |
| 7 | Hamrun Education Bar | 7 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 35 | 77 | -42 | W | L | L | L | L |
| 8 | B`Kara Juventus Vero Amore | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 34 | 78 | -44 | L | L | L | L | W |
| Division Two – 2015/16 – 8-a-side | Pts | W | D | L | LF | LA | LD | LAST 5 RESULTS | |||||
| 1 | Mosta Horseshoe Bar | 40 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 88 | 24 | 64 | W | W | W | W | W |
| 2 | Gudja PO`s Bar B | 35 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 80 | 32 | 48 | D | W | W | W | W |
| 3 | Zejtun Beland Bullseye | 29 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 66 | 38 | 28 | W | – | W | L | W |
| 4 | Zejtun Juventutis Domus | 25 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 65 | 47 | 18 | W | D | D | W | W |
| 5 | Bugibba Munchies Bar | 20 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 59 | 53 | 6 | W | D | L | W | L |
| 6 | Floriana Ajax B | 19 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 56 | 56 | 0 | L | D | W | W | D |
| 7 | Cospicua Rangers | 16 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 54 | 58 | -4 | D | L | L | L | L |
| 8 | Mosta Bocci Club | 14 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 51 | 61 | -10 | D | D | L | L | L |
| 9 | Bormla Bocci Club B | 11 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 33 | 79 | -46 | L | W | L | W | D |
| 10 | Hamrun Education Bar B | 9 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 46 | 66 | -20 | L | L | D | L | D |
| 10 | Fgura Xuereb Installations | 9 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 42 | 62 | -20 | D | – | L | L | D |
| 12 | B`Bugia Cox Sports Bar B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 24 | 88 | -64 | L | L | W | L | L |
REMAINING FIXTURES – DATES
| MARCH | |||||
| 4-a-side Round Robin | WK16 DIV2 | 17 | 5-a-side | Round 2 (Leg 2) | |
| 2/3 | 5-a-side | Round 2 (Leg 1) | 21 | 4-a-side Round Robin | Last 8 (Leg 1) |
| 4 | 8-a-side league | WK15 | 23 | Malta Doubles | |
| 7 | 4-a-side Round Robin | WK18 DIV1 | 28 | Malta Singles Champion | Last 16 |
| 11 | 8-a-side league | WK16 | 29 | Malta Singles Champion | Last 16 |
| 14 | Ranking Tournament | No. 7 | 30 | Malta Singles Champion | Last 16 |
| 16 | Ranking Tournament | No. 8 | |||
|
APRIL |
|||||
| 1 | 8-a-side league | WK17 | 15 | 8-a-side league | WK19 – Only Div 2 |
| 4 | 4-a-side Round Robin | Last 8 (Leg 2) | 21 | 5-a-side | Semi Final (Leg 1) |
| 5 | Malta Singles Champion | Last 8 | 22 | 8-a-side league | WK20 |
| 6 | Super Cup | 25 | 4-a-side Round Robin | Semi Final (Leg 2) | |
| 8 | 8-a-side league | WK18 | 28 | 5-a-side | Semi Final (Leg 2) |
| 12 | Malta Singles Champion | Last 8 | 29 | 8-a-side league | WK21 |
| 13 | 4-a-side Round Robin | Semi Final (Leg 1) | |||
| MAY | |||||
| 2 | 4-a-side Round Robin | FINAL | 11 | 5-a-side | FINAL |
| 6 | 8-a-side league | WK22 | |||
NATIONAL TEAM QUALIFIERS
SIX OF THE EIGHT – PHASE I TOURNAMENTS COMPLETED
In the month of February we have seen a further three National team qualifiers taking place and a further six players qualifying to the last 16 stage.
List of the qualified players so far and the deciding matches won to reach that stage.
| FINAL I | FINAL II | |||||||
| Tournament I | Andy Keen (Kalkara SJ) | 3-0 | Gordon Stanmore (Kalkara SJ) | John Agius (Floriana Ajax A) | 3-0 | Kevin Spiteri (Mosta Horseshoe) | ||
| Tournament II | Albert Scerri (Mosta Horseshoe) | 3-0 | Chris Cohen (Kalkara SJ) | Gordon Stanmore (Kalkara SJ) | 3-1 | Mario Aquilina (Kalkara SJ) | ||
| Tournament III | Vince Busutill (Floriana Ajax A) | 3-1 | Godfrey Abela (Mosta Horseshoe) | Mario Camilleri (Mosta Horseshoe) | 3-1 | Mario Tonna (Hamrun Education Bar) | ||
| Tournament IV | Norbert Attard (Marsa SM) | 3-0 | Emmanuel Ciantar (Kalkara SJ) | Mario Aquilina (Kalkara SJ) | 3-0 | Herman Bezzina (Gudja PO s A) | ||
| Tournament V | John Ciantar (Marsa SM) | 3-2 | Brian Abela (Marsa SM) | Paul Sammut (Marsa SM) | 3-0 | Stephen Spiteri (Bormla Bocci B) | ||
| Tournament VI | Brian Abela (Marsa SM) | 3-1 | Andre Zammit (Gudja PO s B) | Noel Ebejer (Zejtun Beland) | 3-2 | Alex Turnbull (Bugibba Munchies) | ||
Regards,
Andre Zammit | Public Relations Officer | Malta Darts Association