Birkirkara secure pole position

Birkirkara 1
Floriana 1

An afternoon of football drama ended with three certainties.

Birkirkara have secured pole position for the start of the Championship Pool, Floriana joined Mosta and Pietà in the Relegation Pool and Valletta assured themselves of a place in the Championship Pool.

This three-way scenario came about after Birkirkara's final second round match against Floriana finished one-all. The draw was enough to give Birkirkara an unassailable lead at the top at the end of the first phase as the Stripes' 41-point tally cannot be equalled by either of their two closest rivals, Hibs and Sliema.

Further down the table, Floriana are now out of the reckoning for a top-six place with 19 points, one fewer than Valletta. The last Championship Pool spot will go to either Hamrun (19) or Msida St Joseph (18).

Within seconds from the referee's initial whistle, a defensive mix-up in the Birkirkara ranks was capitalised by Trevor Cilia who drifted towards goal from the right but his angled effort was repelled by Dave Simon.

Three minutes later, Cilia was through again, this time running on to a Christian Cassar lofted pass, but the shot by the Floriana winger came off the base of the near post.

It took Birkirkara some time to get their initial sloppiness out of their system and get to grips with a fired-up Floriana team who needed to win at all cost to stay in contention for a top-six berth.

On 13 minutes, Michael Galea mustered a powerful free-kick but Simon Agius was well-positioned to see off the danger.

Given the teams' mutual need for points, one expected a fiercely-contested encounter but for the best part of the opening half, the match was devoid of flair and pattern.

Just past the half hour, George Mallia made progress inside the Floriana box before squaring to Michael Galea who stumbled when in the act of shooting.

At last, the Stripes were showing welcome signs of life, winning a couple of corners but they lacked the cutting edge. The clock marked 34 minutes of the game played when William Camenzuli muscled in a rasping drive which cannoned off the upright.

Birkirkara's increasing supremacy forced Floriana to devote most of their energies towards retaining their defensive composure.

Latching to a floated pass from Barbara, Michael Galea fired high and a subsequent piledriver from Mallia also strayed wide of the intended target.

Ten minutes from the start of the second half had elapsed when Floriana goalkeeper Agius produced a top-drawer save, pushing away another stinging drive from Camenzuli.

Birkirkara's better start to the second half bore fruit on 57 minutes.

Galloping to a through-pass from Roderick Briffa, Barbara strode clear of the backtracking Floriana defenders and despatched a shot past the stranded Agius.

Floriana might have regained parity four minutes later when two substitutes, Anthony Eviparker and Nicolò Baldacchino, combined to carve an opening in the Birkirkara defence but the latter's grounder, when one-on-one with Simon, brushed the post.

Knowledge that only three points would keep their flickering top-six hopes alive spurred Floriana to intensify their forays in Birkirkara's half. Young midfielder Christian Caruana tested waters with a diagonal shot but the well-placed Simon saved.

The introduction of Eviparker and Rufin Oba at the start of the second half was undoubtedly aimed at providing fresh impetus to Floriana's attack. By and large, Birkirkara stayed in control of proceedings but they were clearly not at their incisive best.

The Stripes thought they had three points in the bag when the match entered its final five minutes but Floriana set up a tense finale when Eviparker crossed for Cilia who punished Birkirkara's loose marking by lashing the ball home with two minutes of the game remaining.

In stoppage time, Agius tipped away a dipping free-kick from Michael Galea.

Birkirkara: D. Simon-7, L. Galea-5 ('46 M. Calascione-5), P. Monye-6, W. Camenzuli-7, E. Barbara-7, M. Galea-6, R. Briffa-6, K. Scicluna-5.5 ('67 R. Sammut-6), G. Mallia-6.5, E. Yanchev-5.5, A. Ciantar-6 ('78 J.P. Mifsud Triganza).

Floriana: S. Agius-7, M. Caruana-6, I. Azzopardi-6, R.M. Gango-Rtsa-6.5, J. Briffa-5 ('46 A. Eviparker-6.5), I. Ciantar-6.5, T. Cilia-6.5, C. Cassar-6.5, A. Mifsud-6 ('53 N. Baldacchino-5), M. Micallef-5 ('46 R. Oba-6), C. Caruana-5.5.

Referee: Adrian Casha.

Scorers: Barbara 57; Cilia 88.

Yellow Cards: Barbara; Briffa; Camenzuli; Ciantar.

Bov Player Of The Match: William Camenzuli (Birkirkara).