Floriana 2
Samb 32; Conor Borg 82;
Sliema Wanderers 0
It may no longer boast the dominant forces in local football but the Old Firm derby still holds special significance for both Sliema and Floriana fans.
The boisterous applause reser-ved for the Floriana players heading for the dressing room at the final whistle reflected the satisfaction of the Greens faithful who took bragging rights following a 2-0 win over Sliema.
Floriana were worth their success as they produced the better play throughout the match.
Dominant from the outset, Floriana were a goal to the good past the half hour mark but Sliema failed to summon any reaction.
When Floriana translated their superiority into a second goal, eight minutes from time, the game was all but over as it soon became clear that the Blues lacked the flair and punch to breach the Greens defence.
With defenders Clifford Gatt Baldacchino, Alex Muscat and Mark Potezica ruled out with injury, the availability of Andrea Scozzese, back after serving a one-match ban, alleviated Azzopardi’s defensive worries.
The Italian was drafted in for the suspended Mark Scerri and was positioned alongside Stefano Bianciardi at the heart of the Sliema defence. Michael Mifsud was roaming behind the two lanky strikers Guy Gnabouyou and Djumo Bocar in a 4-3-1-2 formation.
Floriana’s line-up showed two changes from the 5-0 upset to Hibs.
The inclusion of Floriana skipper Gary Muir in the starting XI necessitated other changes in the line-up. Giovanni Tedesco put faith in 17-year-old youth team goalkeeper Tyrone Gauci who starting ahead of Valerio Senatore while Brooke Farrugia was preferred to Conor Borg.
Tedesco’s 4-3-3 set-up had Vito Plut in the central striker role and Matteo Piciollo and Amadou Samb on the wings.
Early on, Clyde Borg’s long-range drive was too hot to hold for Sliema goalkeeper Glenn Zammit who blocked his shot in two attempts.
In the 13th minute, Piciollo sent in a low cross that took a deflection off Beppe Muscat with the ball sailing towards Samb but Zammit stood his ground to turn the Senegalese’s attempt around the near post.
Floriana’s supremacy was rewarded with a fine goal past the half hour.
And it came from a familiar source as Plut’s floated pass teed up Samb whose header soared over goalkeeper Zammit and into the net.
Ten minutes later, Andrè Scicluna slipped a throughpass towards Plut who had an unobstructed sight of goal but shot straight into the hands of Zammit.
A minute later, the Sliema goalkeeper drew an applause from the his fans when he tipped the ball over the bar following a Muir freekick.
There was another scare for the Wanderers seven minutes after the break, when Muir’s perfect pass dropped at the feet of Emanuel Briffa but his curling shot flashed at the far post.
The erstwhile subdued Gna-bouyou headed over the bar from a favourable position past the hour mark.
Two minutes later, Clyde Borg troubled the Sliema defence with a looping free-kick to the point that Bianciardi almost committed an own goal in a bid to anticipate Plut, heading the ball against the bar.
Fifteen minutes from time, Aiden Friggieri made his debut in the Premier League, believed to be the last trump card in Azzopardi’s sleeve, to add more weight to their attack.
But it was another stalwart of Sergio Soldano’s U-17 Malta side who stole the limelight seven minutes later.
Conor Borg, brought on for Brooke Farrugia, stabbed the ball home after timing his run to perfection to meet Samb’s inviting cross from the right.
Floriana
T. Gauci-6, A. Scicluna-6, F. Douglas-6, Clyde Borg-6.5 (80 E. Marcelina), V. Plut-5.5, M. Piciollo-4.5 (74 S. Borg), E. Briffa-7, A. Samb-7.5, B. Farrugia-5.5 (61 Conor Borg-6), G. Muir-7, S. Bonnici-6.
Sliema Wanderers
G. Zammit-6.5, L. Martinelli-5, D. Bocar-5 (60 T. Cilia-5), A. Scozzese-5, G. Gnabouyou-5, J. Mintoff-6, M. Mifsud-5.5, P. Xuereb-5 (82 F. Talato), F. Mangiacasale-5, B. Muscat-5 (75 A. Friggieri), S. Bianciardi-6.
Referee: Adrian Azzopardi.
Yellow cards: Mangiacasale, Caruana, Bianciardi, Scicluna, Marcelina, Scoz-zese.
BOV player of the match: Amadou Samb (Floriana).