Late winner lifts Greens' gloom

Pietà Hotspurs 2
Floriana 3

Floriana collected an unlikely victory over Pietà Hotspurs with a last-gasp goal from Trevor Cilia in a thrilling encounter that had fortunes swinging at opposite ends of the spectrum before the balance finally swayed in the Greens' favour.

For 70 minutes, Floriana had to weather a torrid storm that threatened to sweep them off their feet. Trailing by two goals, missing a penalty and losing defender Ian Ciantar to injury early in the first half, inevitably led to thoughts that this was not to be Floriana's day.

Their coach Willie Vassallo could only ponder whether a curse had hit his team as, for the first time in many matches, Floriana had also been forced to field a formation devoid of non-Maltese players who are struggling with injuries.

As a result, the Greens' tried-and-tested line-up had to undergo a complete reshuffle as sturdy defender Riad-Mynel Gango-Rtsa, influential midfielder Andre Rocha Da Silva and temperamental striker Edoardo Do Nascimento were out of the equation.

Matthew Camilleri was given the nod to defend the Greens' goal for only his second match in the league this season after he played in the team's opening fixture against Valletta.

Despite these shortcomings, Floriana still managed to leave the Centenary Stadium with maximum spoils under their belt as a result of a late rally, inspired by the inclusion of midfielder Shaun Bajada midway through the second half.

Bajada, a Malta U-21 international, turned out to be Vassallo's trump card as he transformed his side in the final 20 minutes of the encounter. With Stephen Wellman getting a brace and Cilia stepping up to hit a late winner, Floriana drew rewards for their courage and determination.

Pietà must have been at pains to comprehend the manner of their defeat yesterday after they looked to be cruising to an easy win. That said, their cause was not helped by the expulsion of Kurt Farrugia on the stroke of half-time and some careless marking which ultimately proved to be their undoing.

As happened in their 3-2 defeat to Valletta, Georgi Deanov's team crumbled after they had a player sent off.

Ten minutes into the game, the Hotspurs had surprised the Greens with an early goal courtesy of a defensive blunder by Mario Caruana who headed the ball awkwardly back past goalkeeper Camilleri who scrambled backward to try and block the ball. Sanin Ortas nipped in to tap the ball home.

Within six minutes, Floriana had a golden opportunity to draw level as Chris Okoh was harshly deemed to have fouled Nicolò Baldacchino in the penalty area.

Christian Cassar stepped up for the penalty kick but his powerful shot hit the post and Floriana's hopes of an early comeback were dashed.

To make matters worse, Malta international defender Ciantar hobbled off with a knee injury before the half hour, his place taken by Julian Briffa.

For most of the first half, the two teams were content to size up each other in midfield but just before the interval, Pietà's Farrugia was given his marching orders following an off-the-ball incident with Wellman.

Ten-man Pietà could not have hoped for a better start to the second half as they doubled their lead with their first decent attempt on goal.

They won a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area, Ortas flicked the ball to Cleaven Frendo who unleashed a perfect shot that had the better of Camilleri.

On 70 minutes, Pietà goalkeeper Andrew Hogg made a basic mistake in trying to block the ball with an extended arm. Cilia darted in but his shot rebounded off the post and was cleared by the Pietà defence.

From the resulting corner, Floriana reduced the deficit. Substitute Bajada served Wellman who outpaced two defenders before planting the ball into the net.

At the other end, Pietà were still active in attack as Frendo tested Camilleri with a good shot which the Floriana guardian did well to parry.

The Greens kept up the pressure and were rewarded for their efforts in the final minutes of the game. One minute from time, Wellman was on the right spot to beat Hogg with a low shot after the Pietà rearguard failed to clear the ball.

With the match moving into added time, Floriana stole the winner as lanky striker Wellman turned provider by serving Cilia who freed himself in the penalty area and sealed his side's victory with a low shot.

Pietà: A. Hogg-5, P. Aquilina-6 ('53 A. Debono-6), C. Okoh-7, K. Farrugia, I. Woods-6, S. Ortas-7, S. Zahra-6 ('89 C. Sammut), B. Nisevic-6, S. Repuh-8, A. Spiteri-6, C. Frendo-7.

Floriana: M. Camilleri-6, J.C. Schembri-5, I. Azzopardi-7, I. Ciantar-6 ('27 J. Briffa-6), C. Ciantar-6 ('66 S. Bajada-8), M. Caruana-5, S. Wellman-8, C. Cassar-6, T. Cilia-7, M. Micallef-5 ('77 R. Darmanin), N. Baldacchino-6.

Referee: Roberto Buontempo.

Scorers: Ortas 10; Frendo 48; Wellman 71, 89; Cilia 90.

Yellow Cards: Repuh; Cilia; Ortas; Nisevic; Spiteri; Cassar; Wellman.

Red Card: Farrugia 45.

Player Of The Match: Senad Repuh (Pietà Hotspurs).