Floriana bounce back with convincing win

Floriana 4
Pietà Hotspurs 0

Floriana bounced back from their defeat to Marsaxlokk with a convincing display against Pietà Hotspurs that resulted in a 4-0 win that cemented the Greens' position at the top of the standings.

Danilo Doncic promised sweeping changes following his team's first defeat of the season against champions Marsaxlokk and the Greens mentor was true to his word as he fielded a revamped side to take on Pietà Hotspurs.

Christian Caruana and Christian Cassar were named as substitutes while Trevor Cilia was dropped from the squad. Up front, Ryan Darmanin was given the nod to partner Adrian Mifsud in attack for the first time this season as Yola Bolasie was deployed as an attacking midfielder in a bid to add more goal scoring opportunities for the Greens.

The overhaul vindicated Doncic's belief that his side possessed enough ammunition to beat the emerging Hotspurs who came into the match in high spirits following two successive wins.

Following a stuttering start, Carmel Busuttil's Hotspurs surprised pundits with two excellent wins against Hamrun Spartans and Birkirkara which lifted the perennial strugglers to a mid-table position and heaped more pressure on the sides struggling to avoid the Relegation Pool despite the campaign being in its early stages.

The Greens pounded the Hotspurs fort from the first minute and could easily have opened a two goal cushion inside the first five minutes. First, Bolasie had a venomous drive from close range magnificently blocked by goalkeeper Miguel Montfort and moments later Manolito Micallef managed a moment of wizardry which left two Pietà defenders chasing shadows as he flicked a pass towards Mifsud who was ruled to be in an offside position.

Inside the first quarter, Mauro Brincat had enough space to unleash a low shot from outside the area with the ball taking an awkward bounce on its flight towards goal but somehow the Hotspurs goalkeeper blocked.

Pietà did manage to create some tense moments for the Floriana rearguard as Svetlan Kondev lofted the ball towards Glanville Goodlip who surprisingly dodged his marker and tried to curl a shot into the net with Simon Agius doing well to block the attempt.

On the half hour, Floriana took the lead. Pietà defender David Camenzuli hooked Micallef with a late tackle just outside the box. Darko Krsteski marked his return from suspension with a solid drive from the resulting free-kick that was fumbled by Montfort with the ball rolling into the back of the net.

Four minutes into the second half, Floriana doubled their lead. Darmanin slipped a low pass towards Mifsud who powered his way through and slid the ball past the Montfort.

Mifsud nearly scored a second on 61 minutes as his fierce drive came off the bar with Montfort beaten.

The third goal was in the air and it was no surprise when Floriana scored again. Zoran Levnaic sent a dipping ball into the area and Bolasie was at hand to flash in past a crowd of players to head the ball past Montfort.

Floriana completed the rout on 83 minutes. Micallef persisted on the left flank as the ball seemed to have gone out of play. With the assistant referee's flag staying down, Micallef burst into the area and tapped the ball into the net as the Pietà players were expecting play to resume from a goal-kick.

The goal brought some harsh protests from the Pietà players who were clearly incensed at the referee's decision but the goal was allowed to stand.

Two minutes from time, Floriana almost hit goal number five when substitute Mark Gauci's cross exposed Pieta's shortcomings at the back but Mifsud's header just missed the target.

Floriana: S. Agius-6.5, M. Micallef-7, J. Briffa-6 ('90 M. Sevasta), D. Pisani-6, D. Krsteski-7.5, C. Ciantar-7 ('83 J. Brincat-7), M. Brincat-7, Z. Levnaic-7, V. Bolasie-7.5, R. Darmanin-6.5 ('73 M. Gauci), A. Mifsud-7.

Pietà: M. Montfort-5, P. Deliminkov-5.5, Q. Refalo-5.5, C. Pulo-5 ('63 D. Gatt), C. Sammut-5, D. Camenzuli-5 ('74 S. Grech), S. Kondev-5.5, G. Goodlip-6, M. Vella-5 ('63 D. Kovakessis), E. Herrera-5, R. Camilleri-5.

Referee: Andre Arciola.

Scorers: Krsteski 30, Mifsud 49, Bolasie 69, Micallef 83.

Yellow cards: Sammut, Kondev, Brincat M, Gatt.

BoV Player of the match: Darko Krsteski (Floriana).