Greens break their duck in last match

Floriana 4
Marsaxlokk 3

The gloomy atmosphere at the National Stadium was soon lifted by an entertaining encounter which yielded a total of seven goals, six of which scored in the first 36 minutes of a pulsating match that saw Floriana register their first win in the Championship Pool.

Floriana's success was far from straight-forward yesterday.

Willie Vassallo's team came into the match on the back of a disappointing run in the Championship Pool and their chances of breaking their duck seemed to be disappearing quickly when they found themselves trailing their opponents 3-1 just before the half hour.

The absence of defenders Ian Azzopardi and Riad-Mynel Gango-Rtsa certainly did not help their cause but they still found the strength to turn the match in their favour. Two quick goals from Anthony Evi Parker and Ryan Darmanin midway through the half put Floriana back on level terms before Manolito Micallef struck the winner a minute into the second period.

The victory was a much needed reprieve for the Floriana mentor who also had to contend with the inavailability of midfielders Mauro Brincat and Andre Rocha da Silva who was only fit to start on the bench.

For Marsaxlokk, yesterday's upset ended a very disappointing Premier League campaign by their ambitious standards. But they can still somewhat save their season when they face Msida St Joseph in the FA Trophy semi-final next week. A win would leave Marsaxlokk well placed to lift their first domestic honour in their history and also in the running to secure a second consecutive appearance in UEFA club competitions.

Coach Atanas Marinov yesterday refused to take any unnecessary risks when he opted to leave out Charlò Magro, Ivan Zammit and Mitko Trendafilov from his starting formation as they were one booking away from suspension. Striker Andre Schembri skipped the match altogether as he battles to regain his fitness in time for the semi-final clash next week.

Cleaven Frendo had the first sniff at goal after just two minutes as his free-kick from outside the area sailed agonisingly close to the post. But three minutes later the former Pietà forward hit the target with a gem of a strike as his shot from 25 metres out beat Floriana goalkeeper David Farrugia.

On ten minutes, the southerners struck again. Provider turned converter as Frendo chipped the ball towards Caruana whose volley flew into the net.

Floriana created their first chance on 18 minutes as Cilia beat the offside trap and drifted into the penalty area but he shot hastily for Casha to save easily.

This was the prelude for what was to follow as midway through the first half, the Greens bridged the gap. Man- of-the-match Christian Cassar lofted a free-kick into the penalty area and Joseph Craig Schembri had enough time and space to tower unchallenged and head home.

Floriana's hopes of staging a comeback lasted barely two minutes as Marsaxlokk re-established their two goal cushion through Edmond Thornton who beat Farrugia with a curling shot.

On 31 minutes, the Greens again reignited their hopes of rallying back into contention as Christian Cassar served Anthony Eviparker whose slick footwork stunned the Marsaxlokk defence before firing a low shot past Casha.

Five minutes later, equilibrium was restored as Darmanin's fierce drive again had the better of Casha.

The second half was less than half a minute old when Floriana surged into the lead for the first time in the match.

A one-two move between Eviparker and Micallef proved to be the undoing of the Blues' defence as the Nigerian headed the ball towards striker Micallef who shrugged off a challenge and planted a low shot into the net.

After this goal, the match lost much of its momentum as play was restricted to midfield with both sets of players failing to create any serious goalmouth action.

In the last quarter, Floriana nearly scored their fifth goal when Cesar Paiber, in his attempt to clear a Darmanin cross, deflected the ball towards his own goal but luckily for him Casha made a timely intervention to keep the ball out.

Floriana: D. Farrugia-6, J. Briffa-6 ('68 J. Brincat), J.C. Schembri-7, M. Caruana-6, C.Ciantar-6, C. Cassar-8, K. Formosa-6, M. Micallef-7, A. Eviparker-6, T. Cilia-6 ('82 M. Gauci), R. Darmanin-7.

Marsaxlokk: I. Casha-6, M. Caruana-6, C. Paiber-6, C. Mamo-6, K. Mamo-6, A. Cassar-6, T. Templeman-6 ('49 B. Darmanin-6), M. Licari-6, C. Frendo-7 ('74 M. Trendafilov), B. Caruana-6, E. Thornton-7 ('88 K. Gafa).

Referee: Adrian Azzopardi.

Scorers: Frendo 5, Caruana 10, Schembri 23, Thornton 26, Eviparker 31, Darmanin 36, Micallef 46.

Yellow Cards: B. Caruana, Briffa.

Player of the Match: Christian Cassar (Floriana).

Remaining Fixtures

Today
3 p.m. St Patrick vs Msida
5.30 p.m. Birkirkara vs Valletta.

Tomorrow
4 p.m. Hibernians vs Sliema.

Standings

Note: Msida were deducted two points