Brazilian duo combine to floor Greens

Tarxien rainbows 2
Denni 45; Ribeiro 49
Floriana 1
Darmanin 88

Tarxien Rainbows survived a tense final five minutes to earn a deserved victory over Floriana.

There was no hint of the late drama to come as Tarxien led throughout and had enough openings to build on the unassailable two-goal advantage with Brazilians Denni and Ribeiro in fine form.

Floriana, though, upped their game in the final minutes and had Ryan Darmanin not seen a last-gasp effort blocked, the match might have been hailed for one of the most remarkable comebacks this season.

But now, Zoran Popovic, who officially took the reins from Orosco Anonam as Floriana coach, has to face a mammoth task at Floriana.

Defeat at the hands of a resurgent Tarxien last night meant his team have won one of their last four league matches, a run which has sent them slipping towards the bottom of the table.

To emphasise the growing danger of their position, Floriana now find themselves, having to fend off Ħamrun and Tarxien for the coveted sixth place with a number of key players still sidelined with injuries.

What was hailed as a flawless defence suddenly seems nigh-on farcical, with Floriana conceding 12 goals in the course of three winless games.

Both sides had something to prove going into this game - Tarxien were still reeling from their crushing 5-1 defeat to Birkirkara while Floriana suffered a 4-0 drubbing to neighbouring rivals Valletta.

However, it was a strangely timid start to the match for two clubs eyeing the coveted sixth berth in the Championship with any sign of forward movement soon quelled by two very congested midfields.

After the scrappy start, it was Tarxien who were the quickest to settle and Denni was first to test Jovanovic with a low shot from the edge of the area after six minutes.

Tarxien's passing game was being matched with the willingness of Floriana's wide men to run at their defence but neither side could quite fashion a clear-cut chance.

But the quality of the game was abysmal. In fact, the Rainbows goalkeeper Anthony Curmi was not required to make a save until the 56th minute, when he turned aside a shot from Ryan Darmanin.

Yet, it was Floriana looking more likely to make the breakthrough after 35 minutes. Sunday Akani-Wasiu burst into the box but he dragged his shot just wide.

But Tarxien made amends just before the break, Anderson Mendes Ribeiro put a delightful back-heel flick into the path of Denni and the Brazilian fired home with a cool finish.

The Brazilian duo combined again on 49 minutes when Denni was the provider when he set up Ribeiro who unleashed a powerful drive that flew into the net.

Ribeiro and Denni were looking to pile more misery on the Greens as Tarxien began to firing on all cylinders, looking confident enough to score more.

Floriana had Jovanovic to thank when he got a touch on an effort by Denni who struck a beautiful shot on the turn after 72 minutes.

Then, a few moments later, a sweeping movement involving Denni, Ribeiro and Mark Tanti ended with the Maltese midfielder shooting over the bar.

On 79 minutes, Ribeiro flashed a beautifully weighted shot against the woodwork. Five minutes from time, in another devastating attack, Denni's low drive came off the base of a post.

However, two minutes from time, Darmanin unleashed a 25-metre sublime volley to reduce the deficit.

That made for a nervous final few minutes for the Rainbows' faithful as Floriana had their chance to salvage a draw late on with Darmanin shooting straight at Curmi.

Tarxien Rainbows
A. Curmi-6, M. Caruana-6 ('85 W. Chircop), D. Camilleri-7, G. Calabretta-6 ('77 K. Magro), E. Pereira-6, A. Ribeiro-8, M. Tanti-7, A. Decesare-6, L. Vella Critien-6, Denni-7, L. Galea-6.

Floriana
G. Jovanovic-6, D. Pisani-5, C. Ciantar-5, B. Said-5 J.Briffa-5 ('62 O. Bugeja), O. Anonam-5, P. Doffo-6, C. Borg-5 (53' Briffa M), S.A. Wasiu-5, R. Darmanin-6.5, C. Caruana-5 ('80 J. Borg).

Referee: Clayton Pisani.

Yellow cards: Doffo, Ciantar, Denni, Briffa, Borg, Curmi.

BoV player of the match: Ribeiro (Tarxien Rainbows).