Stripes ease past toothless Greens

Floriana 0
Birkirkara 2
Bajada 8; Anastasi 36

Birkirkara kept their title hopes alive after a comfortable victory over a toothless Floriana side.

Leaders Hibernians and second-placed Valletta also registered easy wins on Saturday and yesterday the onus was on Birkirkara to clinch the three points to stay in contention of challenging for the league crown.

The Stripes did not disappoint as they were in control right from the start and once Shaun Bajada put them in front there was no looking back for John Buttigieg's men. They steamrolled past a Floriana side who never threatened to ruin the Stripes' plans for the day.

Bulgarian striker Krasen Valkov was an outstanding performer for the winners despite failing to put his name among the scorers. He was a constant threat to the Floriana defence with his speed and movement.

Courtesy of this victory, the Stripes not only maintained their title aspirations but they have also strengthened their grip on third place which would earn them a place in Europe next season.

Coach Buttigieg dropped Bernard Paris to the bench and gave the nod to Omar Borg to guard the team's goal. Michael Galea and Valkov were included in the starting formation after missing the 2-0 defeat to Valletta but Bulgarian Ivalyo Sokolov was not 100 per cent fit and again missed out.

Floriana coach Antonio Oliveira had to make do without Sunday Eboh who was serving a one-match ban but on the plus side Mauro Brincat was back after recovering from knee trouble.

Birkirkara had an outstanding start and took the lead on eight minutes. They were awarded a free-kick just outside the Greens box and Shaun Bajada delivered a perfect shot that flew past a helpless Stefan Suessner, the Floriana goalkeeper.

On 13 minutes Valkov chested down a long clearance from his defence and embarked on a scorching run into the area but his shot was stopped by Suessner.

That early goal settled any nerves Birkirkara might have had as they were controlling proceedings with relative ease while Floriana struggled to create any danger.

On 27 minutes, Trevor Cilia found space on the right flank before sending a pin-pointed cross towards Galea who headed wide with only Suessner to beat.

Five minutes later Suessner had to charge out of goal to block the advancing Martin Anastasi who was put through by a fine Bajada pass.

The Stripes doubled their lead on 36 minutes when Valkov raced past two opponents before sliding the ball towards Galea. The latter let the ball roll towards Anastasi who saw his first attempt stopped by Suessner. From the rebound, the Birkirkara wing-back tucked the ball home.

Birkirkara were now firmly in the driving seat forcing Vieira to make his first substitution during half-time. Marlon Briffa replaced Duncan Pisani as the Brazilian coach looked to add more pace to his team's attacking play.

Ten minutes into the second half Birkirkara came close to scoring. Galea showed some deft footwork to free himself for a cross but his centre towards the unmarked Valkov was intercepted by Steve Bonnici.

Floriana finally threatened to pull a goal back on 66 minutes when Claude Camoin picked Ryan Darmanin in the area but his header was stopped by Borg.

Nineteen minutes from time Buttigieg lost Cilia who limped out injured. He was replaced by Angus Buhagiar. Two minutes later the woodwork denied the Stripes a third goal when from a Bajada corner, Galea was first to the ball but his dipping header hit the upright.

Thirteen minutes from time Galea should have made it 3-0 but failed to connect to a Buhagiar pass in front of a gaping goal.

Buhagiar looked odds on to increase Birkirkara's lead late on but his fierce shot was pushed away by Suessner with the aid of the upright.

Floriana
S. Suessner-6.5, S. Bonnici-5, J. Briffa-5.5, C. Camoin-6, P. Doffo-5.5, O. Anonam-5 ('75 P.R. Da Silva), C. Caruana-5 ('57 D. Zarb-5), R. Darmanin-5, D. Pisani-5 ('46 M. Briffa-6), O. Bugeja-5, M. Brincat-6.

Birkirkara
O. Borg-6, T. Paris-6 ('90 A. Scicluna), P. Fenech-6.5, R. Hartvig-6, J. Zerafa-6.5, G. Mallia-6.5, S. Bajada-7, M. Anastasi-6, T. Cilia-6.5 ('73 A. Buhagiar), K. Valkov-8 ('76 J.P. Mifsud Triganza), M. Galea-7.

Referee: Kevin Azzopardi.

Yellow cards: Caruana, Fenech.

BoV Player of the Match: Krasen Valkov (Birkirkara).