Camenzuli helps Stripes regain winning touch

The National Stadium was awash with present and former Floriana players yesterday as the Greens came up against title aspirants Birkirkara.

While Floriana are relying on their latest harvest of homegrown talent to guide them to a top-six finish, Birkirkara's championship-bidding side comprises a clutch of now established players who owe their football education to the Greens' nursery.

Etienne Barbara is the latest ex-Floriana stalwart to jump on Birkirkara's bandwagon but the former Marsaxlokk midfielder-cum-striker was eclipsed by another Green product on his debut yesterday.

Seizing the limelight with two well-taken goals, the second of which came at a crucial juncture of the game when Birkirkara were finding the going tough after Floriana had snatched an unlikely equaliser, was William Camenzuli.

His decisive contribution yesterday gave Birkirkara, now buzzing with enthusiasm after their successful forays into the transfer market, their first three points in three matches and put life back into their title challenge after they had suffered back-to-back defeats to Hibs and Pietà Hotspurs.

As expected, all eyes as the two teams came out of the tunnel, were trained on the new signings.

Barbara was thrust straight into the thick of things by coach Stephen Azzopardi. Defender Antonio Saliba, signed on loan from San Gwann, made Birkirkara's 18-man squad but Antoine Zahra and Roderick Briffa are still sidelined by groin injuries.

Willie Vassallo, the Floriana mentor, handed Mauro Brincat, his club's latest acquisition from Hamrun Spartans, the prestigious no.10 shirt and a coveted berth in the starting XI.

Steve Wellman provided the first significant intervention of the game when stretching his gangling frame to intercept Barbara's head-flick towards the unmarked Michael Galea.

Floriana nearly stained the enthusiasm of the Birkirkara fans after 11 minutes when Manolito Micallef powered his way through the middle and created an inviting opening for Nicolò Baldacchino. The swerving strike from the young Floriana hitman lacked the power to trouble Haber.

Reuben Gauci, Floriana's Malta

U-21 goalkeeper, also earned the plaudits for a diving save to keep out William Camenzuli's thunderbolt after the Greens' defensive wall had blocked Adrian Ciantar's free-kick.

Twenty-five minutes into the game, Ciantar and Camenzuli combined to put Birkirkara's noses ahead.

The former Hibs midfielder flighted a teasing cross from a corner and Camenzuli darted in at the near post to head firmly past Gauci.

A minute later, a carbon-copy action nearly did the trick again for the Stripes but this time, Michael Galea's header rolled just wide.

On the half hour mark, Andre Rocha Da Silva, restored to Floriana's team after recovering from injury, floated a dipping shot that nearly caught Haber's unawares but the Birkirkara netminder managed to get his right hand to the ball.

After a tepid interlude in which both sides seemed to struggle to achieve an adequate degree of cohesion in their offensive play, Birkirkara almost doubled their lead six minutes from half-time but Michael Galea's header from Ciantar cross sailed over the bar.

On the stroke of half-time, Barbara picked out Michael Galea with an exquisite through-pass but Gauci was quick off his mark to clear the ball before the Birkirkara striker could inflict further damage.

Barbara was prominent with a piercing run from the left after dispossessing Wellman but failed to run past Mario Caruana three minutes from the restart. The ball somehow squirmed into the path of George Mallia, yesterday granted licence to link midfield with attack on his return from suspension, but his grounder was stopped by Gauci.

Birkirkara's troubles in transforming their superior possession into clearcut opportunities kept the battling Floriana in the game.

Their task of obtaining their first victory in three matches was further compounded when the Greens drew level just past the hour mark, Cilia stroking a low drive past Haber after cutting in from the right channel, Birkirkara's weak spot.

The Stripes threatened to regain their lead in controversial circumstances midway through the second half. Barbara's stretched foot appeared to have caught Clifton Ciantar who tumbled to the ground.

The Floriana players expected referee Joe Attard to stop play but this did not materialise, opening the way for Birkirkara to launch a quick counter-attack with Michael Galea serving the incoming Haruna Doda whose diagonal effort from a favourable position was deflected away by Gauci.

Birkirkara's goal was not long in coming, Camenzuli again showing his striking team-mates how to score with a first-time scorcher after the Floriana defence had failed to clear a Mallia corner.

Eight minutes from the end of regulation time, Haber denied Floriana an equaliser but in their next telling inroad, Birkirkara applied the coupe de grace.

Gauci pulled off another fine save to hold out Doda's pulverising shot, tipping the ball to his right but Mallia, another ex-Floriana player in Birkirkara's team, flashed in like a bullet to regain possession only to be felled by Da Silva's rash challenge. From the penalty spot, Romanian Lucian Dronca had the better of Gauci.

In the dying moments, the post foiled Floriana's late rally from yielding a goal as Da Silva's effort came off the post.

Floriana 1
Birkirkara 3

Floriana: R. Gauci-7, S. Wellman-6, I. Azzopardi-6, M. Caruana-6, T. Cilia-7, M. Micallef-7, C. Cassar-5, C. Ciantar-6, A. Rocha Da Silva-7, N. Baldacchino-6 ('79 R. Darmanin), M. Brincat-5 ('83 J. Briffa).

Birkirkara: J. Haber-7, M.A. Bonnici-6, L. Galea-6, P. Monye-6, W. Camenzuli-8, M. Galea-6, C. Nwoko-6 ('64 H. Doda-6), L. Dronca-6, G. Mallia-7, E. Barbara-5 ('85 R. Sammut), A. Ciantar-7 ('51 J.P. Mifsud Triganza-5).

Referee: Joe Attard.

Scorers: Camenzuli 25, 76; Cilia 61; Dronca 84 pen.

Yellow Cards: Gauci; Brincat.

Player Of The Match: William Camenzuli (Birkirkara).