Floriana 1
Bonnici 89;
Pietà Hotspurs 1
Pisani 87 pen.;

Floriana and Pietà Hotspurs were forced to settle for a point in a low-key encounter that came to life in the closing minutes.

Both teams left Corradino disappointed yesterday as the draw did little to improve their position in the standings.

The Greens will have rued their failure to take maximum points as they created the better scoring opportunities but their forwards Matteo Piciollo and Vito Plut were guilty of some glaring misses.

For their part, Pietà will have been frustrated not to have closed out the match after taking the lead three minutes from time.

A loss of concentration when defending a set-piece a minute from the end shattered their hopes as Floriana struck the equaliser through Steve Bonnici.

Pietà coach Noel Coleiro effected one change from the team that drew against Tarxien Rainbows last week as Brazilian midfielder Gabriel was handed a starting berth at the expense of Terrence Agius.

Giovanni Tedesco, the Floriana coach, made two changes in defence, awarding a first-team recall to Andrè Scicluna, who missed the 4-1 derby defeat to Valletta through suspension, and Emerson Marce-lina at the expense of Rodrigo Aguiar and Clyde Borg respectively.

Conor Borg was preferred to Brooke Farrugia while Amadou Samb was out as he was serving a one-match ban.

Floriana looked lively in the opening exchanges. In the eighth minute, Piciollo sent a fine through-ball towards Steve Pisani who was denied by the alert David Cassar, the Pietà goalkeeper.

The Greens had an even better chance on 17 minutes when Piciollo sent Plut clear on the right and the Slovenian immediately sup-plied a low cross for Pisani who just failed to make contact with the ball in front of a gaping goal.

Pietà responded a minute later when Rafael Xavier forced his way on the right before hitting a dipping cross into the path of Claudio Frances who shot just over.

On 26 minutes, Cassar again had to be on his toes to push over Pisani’s curling drive.

Ten minutes later, Floriana’s young goalkeeper Tyrone Gauci was well-positioned to block Xavier’s shot from the edge of the area.

Two minutes into the second half, Plut should have put Floriana ahead when the Slovenian was picked out by Pisani in the area but he incredibly headed over from routine distance.

On 50 minutes, Tedesco withdrew Conor Borg and roped in Clyde Borg. Seven minutes later Farrugia came on for Marcelina as the Italian looked to add energy and flair to his team’s midfield.

On the hour, Floriana created another clear-cut opportunity when Pisani released Piciollo who, with only Cassar to beat, lost his footing and fired wide.

The Hotspurs threatened on 66 minutes. They were awarded a central free-kick and Frances’s curling drive just missed the upright.

With 17 minutes left, Scicluna connected with Pisani’s corner but his firm header finished just over.

With the match seemingly heading for a draw, the Hotspurs struck three minutes from time.

Kyle Cesare flicked the ball towards substitute Malcolm Licari, who had just replaced Xavier, and the veteran forward was upended in the area by goalkeeper Gauci with referee Chris Lautier pointing to the spot.

Juergen Pisani stepped up for the kick and drilled his shot into the net.

Floriana refused to throw in the towel and equalised a minute from time. In a free-kick action, Gary Muir’s dipping cross was met by Bonnici who headed past Cassar.

At the final whistle, tempers flared as both teams made their way to the changing rooms. Players from both sides were involved in a fight and, according to the match report, Coleiro, the Pietà coach, clashed with Floriana winger Pisani after a hot argument between the two.

Police officers and stadium staff had to intervene to restore order.

Floriana
T. Gauci-5.5, A. Scicluna-6, D. Cobo-5, E. Marcelina-5.5 (57 B. Farrugia-6), S. Pisani-6.5, V. Plut-5.5, M. Piciollo-6, Conor Borg-5 (50 Clyde Borg-6), E. Briffa-5.5 (70 I. Galea), G. Muir-5.5, S. Bonnici-7.

Pietà Hotspurs
D. Cassar-6, C. Attard-6, C. Grech-6.5, L. Fortunato-6, J. Pisani-5.5, O. Anonam-6, Gabriel-6.5 (78 K. Cesare), R. Rodrigues-6, R. Xavier-5.5 (84 M. Licari), C. Frances-6, L. Micallef-5 (63 T. Agius-6).

Referee: Chris Lautier.

Yellow cards: Anonam; Gabriel; Agius; Clyde Borg.

BOV player of the match: Matteo Piciollo (Floriana).

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