Brincat penalty sends Greens through

St Patrick 0
Floriana 1
Brincat 40 pen.

Floriana are through to the quarter-finals of the U*Bet FA Trophy after edging past St Patrick in a drab encounter at the Centenary Stadium yesterday.

The all-important goal for the Greens came from a disputed penalty that was converted by Mauro Brincat five minutes before half-time but other than that, Floriana had little else to be happy about as they were well below their best against the Division One opponents.

Shorn of their midfield lynch-pin, Argentine Pablo Doffo, the Greens lacked spark in their play and found the going tough against the stubborn St Patrick who gave it their best shot in a bid to create the biggest surprise of the competition.

However, once the Greens had taken the lead in controversial fashion, things became more complicated for the Żabbar side who, despite producing the better football after the break, rarely threatened the Floriana goal.

Nevertheless, judged by their performance yesterday, Floriana must step up their game by a few notches if they are to challenge for a place in this year's KO final.

For the second week in succession, Floriana coach Zoran Popovic and goalkeeper Dejan Maksic were unavailable with Tony Alamango again taking charge of the team and Glen Zammit replacing the Serbian custodian.

St Patrick were without Thomas Caruana, suspended, with Alex Ellul roped in by coach Winston Muscat to replace the former Hibs striker.

There was little between the two teams in the opening 15 minutes as both sets of defences easily dealt with anything their opponents threw at them.

The first attempt at goal arrived on 17 minutes when Floriana wing-back Duncan Pisani rifled a powerful volley that was pushed away by St Patrick goalkeeper David Cassar.

On 23 minutes, St Patrick were forced to make their first change when Simon Zerafa limped out injured. He was replaced by Flyad Scicluna.

Two minutes later, Orosco Anonam should have put Floriana ahead when Cassar misjudged Christian Caruana's free-kick, the ball falling in the path of the Nigerian-born player whose shot was blocked on the line by Matthew Fleri Soler.

Goalscoring chances remained few and far between until the 40th minute when Floriana forged ahead.

Referee Marco Borg ruled that Beppe Muscat's attempt to control the ball in the area resulted in a foul on Caruana and ordered a penalty. In the eyes of many at the Centenary Stadium, Borg's decision was harsh on the Saints.

Mauro Brincat coolly sent Cassar the wrong way to put the Greens 1-0 up before the break.

After the interval, Floriana seemed happy to defend their lead while St Patrick tried to raise their game in search of an equaliser.

Seven minutes into the second half, Daniel Gatt tried to surprise Zammit with an overhead kick but the Floriana keeper easily blocked the ball.

Four minutes later, Scicluna slid the ball towards Peter Anizoba whose angled shot was again saved by Zammit.

Just past the hour mark, Anizoba should have equalised for St Patrick when he raced into the Floriana penalty area and rounded Zammit but he got himself in a tight shooting position and the Greens somehow cleared.

St Patrick were now clearly having a go at the Greens but the latter were defending well and looking to catch their opponents on the counter.

Eleven minutes from time, Alamango withdrew Ryan Darmanin in favour of Montenegrin forward Aleksandar Madzar.

Floriana remained in control and in stoppage time, substitute Dylan Zarb burst into the area but skied his effort high.

However, Zarb's miss was soon forgotten as the final whistle followed with Floriana enjoying a safe passage to the last eight of the FA Trophy.

Quarter-finalists
Valletta, Marsaxlokk, Birkirkara, Sliema Wanderers, Hibernians, Tarxien Rainbows, Floriana, Ħamrun Spartans.

St Patrick
D. Cassar, M. Fleri Soler, S. Zerafa ('23 F. Scicluna), C. Grech, R. Cassar ('81 J. Farrugia), P. Anizoba, B. Bonnici, M. Pullicino, A. Ellul, B. Muscat, D. Gatt ('87 D. Pace).

Floriana
G. Zammit, C. Camoin, S. Eboh, O. Anonam, J. Borg, M. Brincat, L. Agius ('87 D. Zarb), R. Darmanin ('81 A. Madzar), C. Caruana, D. Pisani, J. Briffa ('41 O. Bugeja).

Referee: Marco Borg.

Yellow cards: Briffa; Muscat; Bonnici; Scicluna.