Floriana grab vital win, Dingli go down

Floriana 2
Darmanin 55; Caruana 76
Msida St Joseph 1
Sciberras 59

A diving header by Christian Caruana earned Floriana a vital 2-1 win over Msida St Joseph yesterday.

With three points separating the sides and five games to play, their Hibernians Stadium encounter was considered as a classic relegation six-pointer which eventually went Floriana's way.

Though the Relegation Pool is still in its early stages, both teams will feel that this result could have a significant bearing on the final league positions. This defeat has seriously dented Msida's survival hopes as the Saints have slipped eight points behind Ħamrun Spartans and six adrift of Floriana.

The Greens' hard-earned victory yesterday also meant that Dingli Swallows, anchored to the bottom of the table with only two points, are now mathematically relegated.

Msida coach Keith Gouder made several changes from the team that came from behind to beat Dingli two weeks ago. Goalkeeper Gallen Mifsud, Matthew Borda and Adam Spiteri were dropped to the bench as Gouder awarded starting roles to Manuel Bartolo, Adrian Farrugia, Iro Curmi, Zoran Levnaic and Andrew Formosa. Tyrone Farrugia was ruled out by injury.

Floriana began well, their passing and movement quickly coming to the fore as they looked for an early goal. They had Orosco Anonam, Julian Briffa, Christian Caruana and Joseph Borg back in their line-up but Msida, who opted for a crowded five-man midfield, soon began to deny their opponents space and time on the ball.

The Greens lost Brian Said early on after he failed to recover from a challenge by Ndayi Kalenga. On 26 minutes, Kalenga made the most of Said's absence as he nudged substitute Owen Bugeja off the ball but his effort was ruled out for offside.

On the other side of the pitch, Msida goalkeeper Bartolo was having a bad day.

First, he dropped the ball by miscalculating a cross from Pablo Doffo. Then, he came sliding out of his only to miss the ball allowing Caruana a clear shot at goal. However, Floriana failed to take advantage on both occasions.

It was a fractious opening period with plenty of niggle as possession was surrendered far too cheaply for either team to find any kind of rhythm. For long spells, it seemed to suit Floriana who forced a first-half save from Bartolo following a decent long-range strike from Caruana.

Their best chance fell to Michael Ghebru who, just before half-time, unleashed a terrific dipping shot that sailed just over the bar.

The match finally came to life after the break and Floriana could have been three up within 10 minutes of the restart. Ghebru raced clear down the right but with Darmanin and Caruana screaming for the ball to be played into the box, the Ethiopian winger went alone and blazed wide.

Then, Caruana shot into the hands of Bartolo after a smart run from the right before Darmanin finally managed to put the ball into the net, finishing with his second attempt after Caruana's pass.

Msida did not take long to regain their composure and five minutes later they were level.

Capping an amazing start to the second half, Roderick Baldacchino's long-range shot looked harmless, yet Floriana goalkeeper Bernard Paris failed to hold and Cedric Sciberras nipped in for the simplest of tap-ins.

On the hour mark, Doffo struck Msida's wall from a free-kick and the ball bounced straight back to him but the Greens looked to have a legitimate claim for a penalty as the ball hit Levnaic's hand in the process.

However, the pendulum swung once more in favour of Floriana when, 14 minutes from the end, Caruana stooped to get his head to a free-kick by Doffo and arched a header beyond Bartolo's reach.

At the death, a wonderful point-blank save by Bartolo from Darmanin's close-range shot prevented Floriana from adding to their tally.

Floriana: B. Paris-4.5, S. Borg-6, O. Anonam-8, J. Briffa-6, S. Lijeskic-5 ('74 C. Ciantar-5) , J. Borg-6, R. Darmanin-6.5, B. Said ('16 O. Bugeja-6), C. Caruana-7.5, M. Ghebru-6.5 ('89 C. Borg), P. Doffo-6.

Msida St Joseph: M. Bartolo-6, L. Micallef-6, A. Farrugia-5, C. Farrugia-6.5, R. Baldacchino-6.5, I. Curmi-5 ('55 A. Spiteri-5), Z. Levnaic-7, K. Mifsud-6, A. Formosa-5, M. Ciantar-6, N. Kalenga-6 ('83 C. Black).

Referee: Chris Lautier.

Yellow cards: Anonam; Formosa; Mifsud; Briffa; M. Ciantar; Farrugia; Sciberras; Ghebru; Levnaic.

BoV player of the match: Orosco Anonam (Floriana).