FLORIANA   4

Venancio 52

Fonseca 54

Paiber 87

Keqi 90 pen.

SIRENS                     1

Wellington 44

Floriana made a bold statement in their title aspirations after beating second-placed Sirens 4-1 at the Centenary Stadium, yesterday.

Following this victory, the Greens have now opened a four-point lead over the St Paul’s Bay-side after seven league outings.

Bar a few exceptions, it was a one-sided game with Floriana dominating possession, capitalising on their chances to secure an emphatic win.

Enzo Potenza’s team put on an excellent performance and the Italian tactician’s tactical nous was a major influence on this game.

In fact, the introduction of Jan Busuttil in the second half played in favour of Floriana as the Maltese youngster carried most of the weight in their offensive department, influencing almost all the actions that led to their goals.

Sirens, on their part, were handed a reality check but coach Steve D’Amato can surely take positives from this match as his side had managed to surprise Floriana by taking the lead in the first half.

Floriana knocked on Sirens’ door first when on six minutes, Diego Venancio let fly a trademark free-kick but David Cassar was alert to block.

Minutes later, Floriana came close again when Tiago Fonseca laid off the ball towards Kristian Keqi but the latter’s shot failed to hit the target.

Sirens tried to step up their game but could not breach Floriana’s backline.

Brandon Paiber came close but his effort flew wide before Fonseca saw his shot brush the upright. 

Sirens best chance in the first half came on 19 minutes when Siraj Arab found enough space but his shot was neutralised by Ini Akpan.  

On the half-hour mark, Akpan pushed away Cheveresan’s curling effort.

Floriana squandered another chance when after a well-engineered break, Keqi dropped the ball onto the path of Jurgen Pisani but the fullback saw his shot smothered by Cassar.

However, it was Sirens who forged ahead against the run of play just before half-time. Romeo Romao whipped in a delightful ball from his own half on which Wellington headed the ball over the onrushing Akpan to put the St. Paul’s Bay side ahead.

After the break, Enzo Potenza swapped Garcia for Busuttil and the Malta U-21 almost left an instant impact but his effort was blocked by Cassar.

For all the possession they had, it was a matter of time for Floriana to level terms and they did so on 52 minutes when a Venancio’s shot from a free-kick flew into the net.

Floriana completed the turnaround two minutes later when in a swift break Alex Cini sent an inviting ball into the path of Fonseca and the former Hibernians forward fired the ball home.

Floriana were now dominated proceedings with Sirens chasing shadows.

As the half wore on, Floriana made their possession count as they found a third through a long-range effort from Paiber.

In the closing stages, added a fourth in stoppage time when Daniel Sant blocked the ball with his arm inside the area. The Sirens player was dismissed and Keqimade it four after converting the resultant penalty to the delight of the Floriana fans.

Standings provided by Sofascore LiveScore

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