Floriana 3 Birkirkara 0

Floriana 3 Birkirkara 0

Floriana brushed aside Birkirkara to ensure they ended the season in second place in the Premier League for the first time since 1994.

The Greens needed only a draw to stay above the Stripes but they easily beat them to strike a psychological blow in a match billed as a dress rehearsal for the FA trophy semi-final next week.

This victory that secured their runners-up finish was no more than they deserved as they emerged as the vastly superior side to Birkirkara.

In their first significant foray after 11 minutes, Joseph Borg stung Manuel Bartolo’s hands with a rasping shot, before they took the lead five minutes later.
Christian Cassar’s free-kick arced past Birkirkara’s human wall and Bartolo appeared to make a hash of his attempt to save it only to drag the ball into the path of  Joseph Borg who nodded the ball home.

And Floriana looked threatening with every attack and they deservedly made it 2-0 on 27minutes albeit in a controversial circumstances. Joseph Borg’s tame shot eluded Bartolo as Dragomir Draganov was standing right in front of the goalkeeper in a clear offside position and seemed to be interfering with play.

Shell-shocked Birkirkara eventually regained their composure after the break and tried to pick a hole in the Floriana’s backline but clear-cut opportunities were in short supply. In the 64^th minute, Ibrahim Babatunde delivered a good cross inside the box but substitute Rodolfo Kumbrevicius could not direct his header goalwards.

Floriana survived another scare when Lattes raced into the box but his diagonal shot was touched away for corner by Matthew Towns.  After 75 minutes, Towns rescued the Greens again with a fine save to deny Karl Pulo as the striker swivelled quickly to crash a volley towards goal.

In the 82^nd minute, Lattes darted past two defenders only to be brought down in the box. The Argentine picked himself up to take the penalty but his shot crashed against the crossbar. 

With the points secured, Floriana’s substitutes served to give Brian Said the opportunity to set a new record for Premier League appearances and Daniel Nwoke a standing ovation from the Floriana supporters.