Nine-man St George's lose status

St George's 2
Floriana 6

Floriana yesterday dealt the decisive blow to St George's by ousting them comprehensively 6-2 and condemning them to Division One football next season. Despite putting in a brave fight in the first half, the Saints lost their cool after the interval and expulsions to Clive Brincat and Lawrence Mizzi inside eight minutes spelt their downfall as the Greens ran riot in the final quarter.

Despite having failed to win in their last two outings, Floriana's survival in the top flight was all but guaranteed prior to this clash. Their midfield was missing its core elements in the likes of Trevor Cilia, Christian Cassar and Christian Caruana as the three players skipped the encounter through suspension. However, goalkeeper Simon Agius made a return to first team competitive action after a wrist injury had kept him out for most of the season.

St George's, their chances hanging by a thread before kick-off, pushed forward from the word go.

The gusts of wind sweeping across the pitch must have made ball control difficult but St George's nearly took the lead inside the first minute of play.

Eduardo Do Nascimento whipped a good cross from the right flank for Alfred Effiong to charge a header at goal and narrowly missing the target.

The initial stages were tight as both sides produced some highly charged football that had both goalkeepers particularly busy in guarding their net.

The Blues were soon in the picture once again as Effiong released a good shot with a quick half turn but Agius was on guard to smother the effort.

At the other end, Wendell Gomes tried his luck with a thundering drive that shaved the post.

Shy of the first quarter, the Cospicua side could have taken the lead as Do Nascimento beat the offside trap and broke free in front of goal only to hit the ball straight at Agius.

Midway through the half, the Greens took the lead. Pisani did well to pull the ball back towards the unmarked Adrian Mifsud who had a relatively easy task concluding the move as the Saints' rearguard was nowhere to be seen.

Stunned by this goal, St George's rallied almost immediately and Agius did well to fingertip Lagana's vicious drive from outside the penalty area into a corner.

The Blues drew level on the half-hour mark. Do Nascimento's free-kick rebounded off the bar and Spiteri was the first to react as he quickly made contact with the ball to beat Agius with a grounder.

A minute into the re-start, Do Nascimento nearly surprised Agius with an inswinger that had the Floriana no.1 in sixes and sevens before the defence came to his rescue.

On 53 minutes, the Saints were reduced to ten men when Brincat was sent off for a second bookable offence after tripping Micallef in the box. The Floriana midfielder executed a perfect penalty to put his side into the lead.

The Greens were now playing at ease and close to the hour, Mifsud darted inside the opponents' half and cut a low cross towards the surging Micallef who propelled a shot that was off target.

Things took a turn to the worse for St George's on 61 minutes as they were reduced to nine players when Mizzi was sent off for dissent.

Within two minutes, the Greens exposed the limitations of a side playing with two players short as Mifsud dribbled his way into the penalty area, rounded goalkeeper Gatt before putting the ball inside an empty net.

Floriana eased the pace but were made to pay for their slackness as the unmarked Effiong headed the ball into the net on 77 minutes.

This goal served as a wake-up call for Joe Grech's team. Soon, Gomes cashed in on some jittery Saints' defending to make the score 4-2 and goals flowed freely in the final minutes of the encounter.

First, Buhagiar's curling shot sailed into the net. Then, five minutes from time, Floriana were awarded a second penalty as Buhagiar was floored in the box by Lagana. Formosa completed the formalities from the spot.

St George's: A. Gatt-5, R. Conceicao-5, L. Lagana-5.5, E. Sevasta-5, L. Grima-5, E. Do Nascimento-6.5, L. Mizzi, A. Effiong-5.5, C. Brincat, J. Spiteri-6, K. Darmanin-5.

Floriana: S. Agius-6.5, R. Newell-6.5, R. Gango-Rtsa-6.5, J. Borg-6 ('77 L. Agius), A. Buhagiar-6.5, A. Mifsud-7.5 ('59 M. Gauci-6), W. Gomes-7, M. Micallef-7 ('84 J. Portelli), D. Pisani-6.5, I. Azzopardi-6.5, K. Formosa-6.5.

Referee: Saviour Tanti.

Scorers: Mifsud 23, 63, Spiteri 30, Micallef (pen) 54, Effiong 77, Gomes 79, Buhagiar 81, Formosa 85 pen.

Yellow cards: Grima, Micallef, Do Nascimento, Azzopardi, Gango-Rtsa.

Red cards: Brincat 53, Mizzi 61.

BoV Player of the match: Adrian Mifsud (Floriana).