Mosta 1
Zammit 88;
Floriana 3
Plut 53; Piciollo 66; Douglas 90+;
Floriana are a works-in-progress but in Vito Plut and Matteo Piciollo they have two of the most gifted forwards in the BOV Premier League.
Their electric movement illuminated this contest as Floriana reignited their top-four challenge with a 3-1 win over direct rivals Mosta.
Victory handed the Greens a much-needed tonic after a turbulent week had seen them crash out of the FA Trophy besides attracting attention for the wrong reasons after Senegalese striker Amadou Samb was handed a four-match ban following his latest misdemeanour.
They were worthy winners yesterday but their habitual failure to capitalise on their scoring opportunities almost returned to haunt them in a nailbiting finale.
With their striking duo toying with the out-of-sorts Mosta defenders, Floriana ought to have been out of sight by half-time only to be denied by goalkeeper Kyle Gerada and the woodwork.
Plut and Piciollo looked to have put Giovanni Tedesco’s team on the path to an easy win after hitting the target in the opening 20 minutes of the second half but a perfectly-flighted free-kick from Mosta’s Ian Zammit set up a tense finale.
Mosta almost snatched a late equaliser after throwing caution to the wind in stoppage time but Brazilian defender Douglas put Floriana’s minds at rest with a last-gasp goal after Mosta goalkeeper Omar Borg, who had come on for the injured Gerada, had surged upfield as his team pressed for an equaliser.
Midfielder Clyde Borg, restored to Floriana’s starting XI, took up an advanced role behind Piciollo and Plut as Samb’s absence induced Tedesco to deploy his team in a 4-3-1-2 formation.
Floriana strode forward from the off, forcing a series of corners. From one of them, Gerada did well to smother away Steve Pisani’s cross.
Tyrone Gauci, the Floriana goalkeeper, was also prominent, pulling off a diving save to beat away Ryan Grech’s piledriver.
The Greens were left to rue their ill-luck, and a top-drawer save from Gerada, on 15 minutes.
Latching on to Pisani’s set-piece cross from the right, Conor Borg mustered a dipping shot that ricocheted off the inside of the far post.
The trajectory of Borg’s effort had deceived Gerada but the Mosta goalkeeper showed quick reflexes as he produced a point-blank save to keep out Steve Bonnici’s follow-on effort.
The 24-year-old goalkeeper continued to justify Peter Smith’s faith when pushing away Piciollo’s angled effort as the astute movement of the Floriana forwards and the industry of their midfielders gave them a distinct edge over the static Blues.
Smith, the Mosta coach, had started with Matteus and Diogo Pinheiro de Sousa up front but the two Brazilian forwards were starved of any decent supply as Floriana bossed midfield.
Nigerian winger Haruna Babangida, Mosta’s mid-season marquee signing, was only conspicuous by his absence from the 18-man squad.
The contrast between Mosta’s pedestrian approach and Floriana’s attacking flair was epitomised by Piciollo on 26 minutes. Lurking in the inside-left channel, the Italian tricked his way past Rodriguez Ekani and Zammit only to curl his shot wide of the far post.
On another occasion, Piciollo had a low shot blocked by the alert Gerada. There was another escape for Mosta when Plut’s menacing drive, from a tight angle, was deflected away for a corner.
Mosta were on the ropes. Relief coursed through the Mosta players and fans when Conor Borg’s backward header, from Gary Muir’s cross, cannoned off the crossbar.
The danger was not over for Mosta as Piciollo again embarrassed the opposing defenders when running into the box from the left but his low cross narrowly eluded Plut before the Blues cleared.
Zammit unleashed a shot from the distance but Gauci was equal to the task. The subdued Gary Roberts, yesterday facing his former team, was high from outside the area.
Six minutes from half-time, Roberts supplied a raking pass to Matteus who held off his marker but his drive was high and wide.
There was an improvement in Mosta’s performance as the first half drew to a close. The woodwork denied them a goal as Roberts’s cross, from a left-wing corner, was met by Matteus but his header came off the crossbar.
At the other end, Pisani fluffed an inviting chance when driving wide from inside the box. Before half-time, Gerada fisted away Pisani’s cross-shot from a free-kick.
The Mosta no.1 remained the busier keeper when the second half resumed.
Gerada produced another stunning save, leaping into the air to tip Plut’s thunderbolt over the bar, but Mosta conceded from the ensuing corner.
Pisani’s cross flew towards the far post, Bonnici nodded the ball into the six-yard box and Plut headed into the net from close in.
Floriana deserved to be in front after their first-half supremacy had been undone by a combination of wayward finishing and the woodwork.
The onus was now on Mosta to raise their game. Karl Pulo, yesterday playing at left-back, picked out Zammit but his header was too central to trouble Gauci.
Moments later, Diogo tumbled to the ground under Emanuel Briffa’s challenge but Mosta’s appeals were turned down by the referee.
Their woes increased on 65 minutes as Floriana increased their advantage. Once more, the quick movement of the Floriana forwards had the Mosta defenders chasing shadows as Plut controlled the ball before floating a through-pass to Piciollo who charged through before flicking past Gerada.
Muir was wide with a swerving effort as Floriana maintained a firm grip on the proceedings.
Mosta might have gained a lifeline but Roberts’s well-taken free-kick was kept out by Gauci.
With seven minutes remaining, Piciollo again embarked on a surging run, leaving Tyrone Farrugia and Yannick Ossok in his wake but his grounder was blocked by Gerada.
The Mosta goalkeeper was then obliged to dive backward to pluck Douglas’s flick after Mosta had failed to clear Pisani’s corner.
Two minutes from the end, Mosta revived their hopes as Zammit’s sumptuous free-kick, from the distance, had the better of Gauci.
Floriana threatened to restore their two-goal lead when Piciollo laid the ball back to substitute Brooke Farrugia whose effort drew another fine save from Gerada.
The Mosta goalkeeper paid a high price for his bravery as he suffered an injury after landing awkwardly. Borg replaced Gerada who was taken off on a stretcher.
In stoppage time, Mosta went for broke with Borg charging upfield to boost his team’s late attacking surge. Borg almost made his mark at the other end as he controlled a cross with his chest before setting up Farrugia who looked odds-on to equalise but his close-range effort took a deflection off a defender.
The drama was not over as Floriana were quick to break through Douglas who produced a great finish as his shot from the halfway line rolled into the unguarded net.
Mosta
K. Gerada-8 (90 O. Borg), R. Ekani-4, T. Farrugia-4, Y. Ossok-5, K. Pulo-5, K. Magro-5 (78 J. Brincat), R. Grech-5, G. Roberts-5, I. Zammit-5.5, Diogo-4 (63 Z. Brincat-4), Matteus-5.5.
Floriana
T. Gauci-6, Douglas-7, Marcelina-7.5, S. Pisani-6.5, Clyde Borg-5.5, V. Plut-8, M. Piciollo-8, Conor Borg-6.5 (78 B. Farrugia), E. Briffa-6.5 (81 S. Borg), S. Bonnici-6, G. Muir-6.5.
Referee: Ignasi Villamayor (Andorra).
Yellow cards: Gerada; Grech; Clyde Borg; Matteus.
BOV player of the match: Vito Plut (Floriana).