Stunning Floriana goals down Msida

Msida St Joseph 0
Floriana 2

Training is all about improving performance, endurance and fine-tuning set-pieces. Yesterday, Floriana surged to the top of the standings courtesy of two expertly-taken free-kicks which proved to be Msida's undoing.

In Darko Krsteski, the Greens have not only found a reliable defender but also an excellent dead-ball situation expert. It was his craft that rewarded Floriana with the second goal late in the second half and allowed Danilo Doncic's men to breathe more easily as they established a healthy cushion that steered them to victory.

If Krsteski's goal was a scorcher, Mauro Brincat's opener early in the match was equally stunning as the midfield dynamo lofted his free-kick over a platoon of Msida players and into the net.

In between, Floriana missed a penalty as Adrian Mifsud's shot rebounded off the crossbar. This squandered attempt almost derailed Doncic's men who lost much of their flair after the interval until Krsteski stepped up with his gem of a goal.

Judged by this performance, Floriana seem to have struck the right formula that can lift them with the championship contenders despite such an early call in the campaign.

In reality, the Greens did not play any spectacular football but they still dug deep into their reserves to pick up another victory and maintain a clean sheet.

Msida did their utmost to clinch what would have been a vital point from this encounter but although they defended collectively and boldly, they were very poor and lacking ideas in attack to the extent that Simon Agius, the Floriana keeper, was hardly ever called into action.

Doncic effected one change from the last outing which yielded the Greens a healthy 4-0 win over Pietà Hotspurs. Christian Cassar was given a starting berth at the expense of Duncan Pisani. Otherwise, the Floriana coach stuck to the same tactical plan with Manolito Micallef deployed on the right-hand side of defence and Ryan Darmanin again partnering Adrian Mifsud in attack.

Ten minutes into the match Micallef embarked on a scorching slalom down the length of the pitch which went unchecked before he was wrestled to the ground some five metres outside the box. Krsteski stepped up for the free-kick which sailed close to goal as the curling shot evaded the Saints defensive wall.

The first quarter had hardly elapsed when Floriana toppled their opponents for the first time. Brincat kept up his reputation as an excellent free-kick taker with an exquisite effort from outside the penalty area with the ball gliding into the top left corner of the net.

Midway through the first half, George Ogbonna only managed to warm Agius's hands with a shot that had the ball filtering past a maze of legs directly towards the Floriana netminder.

Brincat was almost on song again on 26 minutes as he was quick to latch on to a seemingly astray pass with his shot forcing Bartolo into a difficult save as the Saints goalkeeper was quick on his reflexes.

The Greens' slick moves continued with a brilliant foray that resulted into a penalty.

Micallef darted into the box and Grima's extended foot caught the Floriana player and brought him crashing to the ground.

Mifsud's penalty produced the illusion of goal as the ball thundered off the underside of the bar and bounced on the line with Bartolo just managing to clutch the ball and hurling it upfield to safety.

The Greens kept up the pressure and only a superb Bartolo save denied them a second goal five minutes from half-time. Brincat delivered a corner into the box and Mifsud rose with a perfectly timed header towards goal which the Saints' guardian repelled with an extended hand.

Floriana did endure a scare just before the hour as Agius fumbled Sciriha's cross and Priso failed to meet the loose ball with an open goal at his mercy.

The Greens lost Ciantar to a muscle strain ten minutes after the re-start as Pisani was roped into the proceedings.

Goalmouth action was conspicuously missing in the second half but on 76 minutes Floriana all but ascertained maximum spoils.

Having won a free-kick from well outside the Msida box, Krsteski fired a powerful shot which sailed into the net with Bartolo completely off the mark.

The Msida rearguard were, perhaps, expecting Krsteski to opt for a cross in the box, given the considerable distance at goal. However, the central defender rode his luck with clinical precision as the Greens' fans were up in raptures.

Two minutes after Krsteski's stunner, it should have been 3-0 as Floriana again won a free-kick on the edge of the area. Krsteski delivered another inswinger but this time his shot shaved the post.

Msida: M. Bartolo-6.5, P. Sciriha-6, S. Grima-5.5 ('72 R. Baldacchino-5.), C. Brincat-5.5, T. Farrugia-5.5, D. Cachia-6, K. Ebejer-5.5, N. Doding Priso-5, A. Spiteri-5.5, G. Ogbonna-5 ('53 G. Magri-5.5), G. Camilleri-5.5 ('62 Y. Ouahchia-5).

Floriana: S. Agius-6.5, M. Micallef-7, D. Krsteski-8, C. Ciantar-6.5 ('55 D. Pisani-5.5), M. Brincat-7.5 ('87 O. Bugeja), Y. Bolasie-6.5, Z. Levniac-6.5, C. Cassar-6.5, R. Dar-manin-6 ('69 M. Gauci), A. Mifsud-6.5, J. Briffa-6.

Referee: Kevin Azzopardi.

Scorers: Brincat 16, Krsteski 76.

Yellow cards: Grima, Brincat, Priso.

BoV Player of the match: Mauro Brincat (Floriana).