Naxxar Lions 1
Scerri 75;
Floriana 1
Muir 79;
Two goals in four minutes late in the second half saw these two teams taking a share of the spoils as newly-promoted Naxxar Lions denied the more quoted Floriana from victory in a game which was entertaining in the first half but turned scrappy after the break.
The Greens had more of the possession for most of the match but the spirited Naxxar team, led by Gilmar da Silva Ribeiro, also had their chances and created a couple of clear openings that could have yielded them goals.
Perhaps, a draw was a just result even though the Lions almost snatched a winner deep into stoppage time but that would have been sheer injustice on the Greens.
Yesterday, four former Floriana players – Angus Buhagiar, Pablo Doffo, Andre Rocha Da Silva and Marlon Briffa – were donning the Naxxar colours while Igor Bogdanovic and Sunday Eboh, who in the past played for Naxxar, were in the Floriana ranks.
It was the Lions who threatened first when Briffa dashed down the left flank and delivered an inviting ball to Terrence Scerri who, however, was taken by surprise as Floriana defender Ibok Edet lost balance inside the box.
Andre Rocha da Silva should have done better inside the Greens box but his shot was too weak and lacked precision. Four minutes later Ribeiro tried his luck from outside the area with the shot finishing just over the bar.
Floriana soon clicked into gear and midway through the half Bogdanovic was freed by Igor Coronado but his tame effort was stopped by keeper Julian Azzopardi.
On 25 minutes, Bogdanovic tested Azzopardi with a header following a Gary Muir cross as Naxxar replied with a Da Silva drive that was stopped by Daniel Hanford.
Six minutes from half-time, Azzopardi produced a superb one-handed save to keep out a Coronado header from close range following a Muir cross from the right wing.
On resumption, it was Floriana who went very close to opening the score with a Coronado shot from outside the area that slammed against the bar.
At the other end, Scerri also tried to beat Hanford from the distance but with scant reward.
Then, with 15 minutes to go, Naxxar forged ahead when Scerri deflected home a Briffa shot from just outside the Greens’ penalty area, giving Hanford no chance as the keeper was deceived by the last-minute deflection.
However, Floriana drew level four minutes later with a Muir cross-shot that left Azzopardi stranded on his line.
The match petered out to a draw but the Greens survived a mighty scare in added time when De Souza’s header from a corner beat Hanford but substitute Brooke Farrugia was on the right spot to avoid a huge upset for his team.
Naxxar Lions
J. Azzopardi-6.5, M. Briffa-6, A. Buhagiar-5.5, R. Cassar-5 (85 V. Bellia), G. Da Silva Riberio-7.5, A. Decesare-6, P. Doffo-5.5, K. Drago-6, T. Lopez Da Silva-6.5, A. Rocha da Silva-5.5 (73 O. Agboebina), T. Scerri-6 (88 D. Falzon).
Floriana
D. Hanford-6.5, S. Eboh-5.5, I. Edet-5, S. Borg-6, G. Muir-6, C. Borg-5.5, D. Pinheiro De Sousa-6, C. Caruana-6, D. Bogdanovic-5.5, S. Pisani-5.5 (80 B. Farrugia), I. Coronodo-6.
Referee: Adrian Azzopardi.
Yellow cards: Eboh, Rocha da Silva.
BOV player of the match: Gilmar da Silva Ribeiro (Naxxar Lions).