Żebbuġ Rangers 1
Britto 70;
Floriana 4
Samb 4, 10; Plut 78; Piciollo 80;
Amadou Samb was the hero and villain of the piece.
Returning from suspension, Samb served up an instant reminder of his qualities, hitting a quick brace inside the opening 10 minutes and tormenting the somnolent Żebbuġ Rangers defence with his marauding runs on the right wing.
The Senegalese was also useful in defence, breaking down a menacing Żebbuġ attack in the second half, but his increasingly abrasive duel with Matthew Gauci on the wing and the constant jeering from the opposing fans made him nervous to the point that Samb was dismissed two minutes from time following a confrontation with Mauricio Britto.
Luckily for the Greens, the points had already been sewn up by then.
After the Rangers had reopened the issue 20 minutes from time, Vito Plut and Matteo Piciollo, who partnered Samb in Floriana’s three-pronged attack, created and finished two devastating attacking moves to put the game beyond their opponents who were guilty of some atrocious defending.
Scottish playmaker Carlo Monti had been restored to Żebbuġ’s initial XI after suspension kept him out of the Tarxien win.
Monti, who replaced Melvin Farrugia, took up an advanced midfield position behind central striker Bojan Mamic with Matthew Bartolo and Britto on the wings in a 4-3-3 formation.
It took Samb less than four minutes to make an impact. A cute interchange between Plut and Samb opened the Rangers defence as the Slovenian forward’s return pass freed the Senegalese who steered his shot beyond Fabricio Rapchan Morales’s reach.
Samb struck again six minutes later, this time using his head to glance the ball into the bottom corner after meeting Steve Pisani’s set-piece cross from the right.
The Rangers were a shambolic lot in these early stages, lacking focus in all areas of the pitch. They almost conceded again on 15 minutes when Andre Scicluna’s pass released Plut who outpaced the stuttering Lee Galea as he dashed into the box but his shot came off the foot of the post.
Sensing their opponents’ frailties, Floriana pressed forward. Samb again stole the show when racing past a host of defenders before picking out Piciollo whose swerving effort from inside the box was turned away by Morales.
The Żebbuġ goalkeeper made another routine save from Pisani’s grounder.
Greco was an agitated figure in the technical area, constantly dishing out instructions to his misfiring troops.
The game was 25 minutes old when Żeb-buġ fashioned their first chance. Monti’s free-kick from the right was met by Yessous Camilleri but his header was stopped by Tyrone Gauci, the Floriana goalkeeper.
Tedesco was forced to make a change on 29 minutes as left-back Scicluna was carried off on a stretcher. He was replaced by Neil Spiteri.
Żebbuġ, at last, mustered a reaction. Muchardi teed up Britto from a free-kick but the Brazilian’s weak shot was blocked by Steve Bonnici.
At the other end, Samb crossed for Plut but his angled header was cleared by Jacob Borg.
There was little in the way of scoring chances in the last 10 minutes of the opening period but, on the stroke of half-time, the Rangers had a good chance when Monti controlled the ball on the byline and supplied a perfect cross to Matthew Gauci but the latter’s half-volley was blocked by Gauci.
Floriana should have put the game to bed in the first minute of the second half when Piciollo surged clear on the left before guiding the ball to the sprinting Conor Borg but the young midfielder rifled over with only Morales to beat.
Żebbuġ had a chance of their own when Monti’s measured cross dropped to Bartolo near the six-yard box but the winger’s first touch was heavy.
A passage of scrappy football ensued but, close to the hour, a swift breakaway by Żebbuġ caught the Floriana defence in a state of disarray.
It was Muchardi, Żebbuġ’s best player, who embarked on a brilliant run, pushing forward on the left wing before cutting in to bring the advancing Mamic into the play but Samb came rushing back to dispossess the Serbian striker as he was shaping up to shoot.
With 20 minutes remaining, the Rangers revived their hopes.
The erstwhile quiet Britto, now leading the line after Mamic’s withdrawal, burst into life as he jinked his way into the box from the right before unleashing an angled strike that had the better of Gauci.
Rangers’ optimism, however, was cut short as, 12 minutes from time, Floriana moved 3-1 up.
This time it was Piciollo who produced a reminder of his skills as the Italian, latching on to a forward pass from Emmanuel Briffa, feigned his way past the wrong-footed Borg on the left and veered infield before laying the ball to Plut who rifled the ball home.
Plut returned the compliment two minutes later as the Slovenian’s one-two with Piciollo had the Żebbuġ defenders in a state of confusion and the Italian winger rolled the ball into the net.
Samb was then given his marching orders by referee Esther Azzopardi but the game had already been won and lost.
Late on, Muchardi’s strike ended wide of the far post.
Żebbuġ Rangers
F.R. Morales-5, J. Borg-4, Y. Camilleri-4, L. Galea-4, T. Paris-5, C. Monti-6, M. Muchardi-7.5, M. Britto-5.5, M. Bartolo-5, B. Mamic-4 (68 L. Pena Marquez-4), M. Gauci-5 (69 M. Ciantar-4).
Floriana
T. Gauci-6, A. Scicluna (29 N. Spiteri-6), Douglas-6.5, E. Marcelina-6.5 (76 G. Muir), S. Pisani-6.5, V. Plut-7, M. Piciollo-7.5 (90 B. Farrugia), C. Borg-6.5, E. Briffa-6.5, A. Samb, S. Bonnici-6.5.
Referee: Esther Azzopardi.
Yellow cards: Pisani; Galea; M. Gauci; Samb; Britto.
Red card: Samb (F) 88.
BOV player of the match: Matteo Piciollo (Floriana).