FLORIANA 1
Caseres 74
BIRKIRKARA 1
Bonanni 60
(aet; Floriana win 3-1 on pens)
FLORIANA
I. Akpan, M. Beye, E. Ruiz, C. Borg (68 J. Busuttil), K, Keqi, J. Pisani, M. Garcia, A. Cini (120 T. Vella), M. Dias (72 A. Caseres), R. Camenzuli, T. Fonseca.
BIRKIRKARA
A. Hogg, E. Pepe, M. Guillaumier, P. Mbong (78 R. Briffa), Y. Yankam, F. Falcone, C. Attard, C. Bonanni (120 R. Fenech), C. Prado (109 D. Capel), O. Carniello, I. Ntow.
Referee Glen Tonna.
Yellow cards Dias, Beye, Keqi, Vella.
Penalty sequence: Keqi(F) scored 1-0; Ntow (B) missed 1-0; Ruiz (F) missed 1-0; Guillaumier (B) scored 1-1; Busuttil (F) missed 1-1; Yankam (B) missed 1-1; Fonseca (F) scored 2-1; Capel (B) missed 2-1; Vella (F) scored 3-1.
Ini Akpan and Augusto Caseres were the catalysts behind Floriana’s dramatic victory over Birkirkara as the Greens remained on track for a league and cup double with a place into the semi-finals of the FA Trophy.
For much of the match, the Floriana players looked jaded and devoid of inspiration and the Stripes looked set to record their second win over the Greens in 2020 when Claudio Bonanni put them ahead.
But the Greens kept fighting and Caseres managed to send the game to extra-time and penalties and here it was Akpan who ensured the Greens remained in the competition when pulling off three crucial saves.
There was some gentle sparring between the two sides at the start of the match.
After seven minutes, Matthew Guillaumier curled a 20-metre free-kick through the Floriana wall but Akpan pushed the ball around the post.
Birkirkara were dominating the opening stages, and Oscar Carniello should have put them ahead after 42 minutes, heading straight at Akpan from Guillaumier’s corner.
Birkirkara, inevitably, stepped up the pace after the interval but Floriana held firm at the back. On 50 minutes, Caio came one-on-one with Akpan only to shoot wide after chesting down Isaac Ntow’s lofted ball.
The Stripes were piling up the pressure at this point and it was no surprise that they broke the deadlock on the hour mark, courtesy of a beautifully struck free-kick by Bonanni.
Birkirkara’s confidence was rising, but Floriana almost equalised when Dias’s flick when just off the outside of a post.
The Greens upped their game and started to put their opponents under more and more pressure with Jan Busuttil and Caseres coming on.
On 74 minutes, Jurgen Pisani broke through on the left flank before squaring the ball to an unmarked Caseres to score with his first touch of the ball.
Birkirkara endured some scary moments at the end as Busuttil blazed a later chance over. But the Stripes held out to extend the battle to extra-time.
Falcone, while not at his best, was always a danger and he forced Akpan to tip the ball over the bar to clear his overhead kick, two minutes into extra-time.
Paus, who had already introduced Roderick Briffa, brought on Diego Capel in extra-time, perhaps hoping a moment of quality from the Spaniard would avoid the need for penalties.
But there was to be no breakthrough and the teams went into a penalty shoot-out.
Here, the Floriana goalkeeper was the hero as the Greens kept their nerve to run out winners and book a place in the semi-finals.