Mifsud's brace propels Floriana into semis
Floriana 2Msida St Joseph 0\nAdrian Mifsud scored two goals yesterday to propel Floriana into the semi-finals of the FA Trophy. Mifsud converted an early penalty and added a second midway through the second half as the Greens cunningly soaked some...
Floriana 2
Msida St Joseph 0
\nAdrian Mifsud scored two goals yesterday to propel Floriana into the semi-finals of the FA Trophy.
Mifsud converted an early penalty and added a second midway through the second half as the Greens cunningly soaked some Msida St Joseph pressure before scoring the second goal. That strike proved to be a timely breather and dashed the Saints hopes of repeating last year's feat of reaching the final.
This quarter-final pitted two teams with contrasting fortunes this season. In the Premier League Msida look to have achieved their objective of a top six finish but Floriana are still engaged in a tricky tussle against the drop in the Relegation Pool.
Last year, Msida surprisingly made it all the way to the final but lost to Birkirkara by the odd goal in three and were left to rue the missed chance of European football.
On their part, Floriana are seasoned campaigners in this competition with a total of 18 FA Trophy successes to their credit.
Despite their strong surge in the second round of the Premier League, Floriana still missed out on a place in the Championship Pool and Dutch coach Jan Artz is heavily banking on a good run in this competition to rescue an otherwise disappointing campaign.
The Greens last lifted the FA Trophy in 1994 and the KO competition is their only window to potential football on the continent next season.
Floriana took to this encounter with Rufin Oba and Anthony Eviparker on the subs' bench but Ian Azzopardi was in the line-up.
The Greens' brisk start was soon rewarded with a penalty on seven minutes. Mifsud was floored by Omar Borg as he raced inside the penalty area. The lanky striker himself buried the ball to the keeper's right to put his team ahead.
The Saints were quick to regroup and nearly restored equilibrium through Ibrahim Babatunde's free-kick which narrowly missed the Floriana goal on nine minutes.
The first half went by with neither side creating any clear scoring opportunities.
Msida were finding it increasingly difficult to work their way past the sturdy Greens defence patrolled by Mario Caruana and Riad Mynel Gango-Rtsa.
Prolific strikers Babatunde and Daniel Nwoke may have enjoyed ample ball possession but they rarely got a sniff at goal in the entire first 45 minutes.
Positional tinkering was on the agenda for Msida coach Todor Raykov during the half-time break.
After the interval, central defender Daniel Theuma was deployed as a striker in front of Babatunde and Nwoke as Zongo maintained his role in midfield. Skipper Charles Sciberras was given the onus to marshal the Saints defence.
Early in the second half, Msida threatened to level the score through Babatunde. However, his shot from close range did not trouble Simon Agius in the Floriana goal.
On 55 minutes, Msida applied even more pressure as Theuma's free-kick was deviated to a corner. From the flag-kick Babatunde soared high in the air but could only head the ball wide of goal.
The Greens doubled their tally on 66 minutes and effectively sealed their passage to the semi-final.
The Msida rearguard failed to clear the ball upfield and Christian Caruana was quick to rob Fenech of the ball and squeeze a pass towards the unmarked Mifsud who planted an inswinger into the roof of the net.
On 70 minutes, Floriana nearly added a third as Christian Caruana turned from provider to near converter with a powerful drive that sailed over Borg's crossbar.
Seven minutes from time, Caruana flicked a measured pass towards Cilia whose shot was saved by Borg.
Mifsud could have notched a hat-trick five minutes from time.
He latched himself well to Cilia's pass but Borg was again at hand to dive at the striker's feet and block.
Floriana: S. Agius, R.M. Gango-Rtsa, I. Azzopardi, M. Caruana, C. Ciantar ('77 R. Oba), T. Cilia, K. Formosa ('51 J. Briffa), C. Cassar ('87 R. Darmanin), M. Micallef, C. Caruana, A. Mifsud.
Msida: O. Borg, D. Theuma, J. Mifsud, T. Farrugia, C. Sciberras ('86 M. Pullicino), D. Cachia, P. Fenech, L. Micallef ('75 D. Gatt), I. Babatunde, D. Nwoke, O. Zongo.
Referee: Kevin Azzopardi.
Scorer: Mifsud 7 Pen, 66.
Yellow Cards: Nwoke, Fenech, Mifsud, Cassar, Theuma, Gatt, Darmanin.