Qormi and Floriana seek boost

Qormi and Floriana will be looking to secure a boost tonight when they meet at the Tedeco Stadium after both had a difficult week.

The Yellows are still smarting from their 5-2 defeat to Birkirkara last weekend which cost them first place in the standings.

Floriana's problems have nothing to do with their results of late as last Sunday the Greens boosted their Championship Pool hopes with a last-gasp win over Msida St Joseph that stretched their unbeaten run to four league matches.

However, their enthusiasm was tainted on Tuesday with the news that Irish coach Roddy Collins had stepped down from his post, citing family reasons.

Qormi coach Jesmond Zerafa expects a strong response from his players following their shambolic display against Birkirkara.

"I hope that the defeat to Birkirkara was a wake-up call for the players," Zerafa, who has no injury problems for today's game, said.

"In the past few months, Qormi received a lot of praise and maybe that had a negative effect on the team as we became a bit complacent.

"I expect the players to approach the match against Floriana with the right attitude and concentration to get our Championship Pool bid back on track."

Following Collins's abrupt departure, midfielder Orosco Anonam has been put in charge of first-team affairs at Floriana on a temporary basis.

For tonight's game against Qormi, Anonam must make do without goalkeeper Bernard Paris who has been ruled out for a month with a wrist injury while Christian Caruana is rated as doubtful with a knee injury.

Anonam has urged his team-mates not to let off-field problems disrupt their on-pitch momentum.

"Losing the coach was a blow for us but that should not be an excuse to lose focus," Anonam said.

"We are coming from a positive run but we still have a lot of work to do to reach our pre-season target of gaining a place in the Championship Pool.

"It's important that we maintain our consistency as the second round will be very difficult. Qormi will be tough opponents but if we show the same attitude as in recent weeks, I'm sure we can get a good result."

Russian links

Meanwhile, the Floriana FC committee have continued with their efforts to secure long-term stability for the club.

In the past weeks, Floriana officials held talks with Sergei Kuzmin, vice-president of Russian club FC Volga Ulyanovsk who this year signed a partnership agreement with the Greens.

During his stay in Malta, Kuzmin watched Floriana's 2-1 win over Msida St Joseph and also had a meeting with Clyde Puli, the Parliamentary Secretary for Youth and Sport, the Premier League club said in a statement.

Floriana are also in discussions with Kuzmin to sign a Russian striker in January.

First round result - Floriana vs Qormi 1-1.

Programme

Today (Tedesco Stadium): 19.30 Qormi vs Floriana.

Tomorrow (National Stadium): 14.00 Ħamrun Spartans vs Hibernians; 16.00 Valletta vs Birkirkara.

Sunday (Hibs Ground): 14.00 Tarxien vs Dingli; 16.00 Msida vs Sliema.