The complexion of the game changed on the half hour mark with a controversial decision taken by referee Sandro Spiteri on the half hour mark as he delayed his decision to award a penalty when Felipe Douglas’s tackle on Alex Cini inside the area was judged to be illegal by the referee.

It may have been a harsh decision, but assistant referee Duncan Sultana who flagged the infringement was near enough the action and Floriana’s protests were turned down. Triston Caruana took the shot and scored.

The Floriana players were infuriated by this decision but they had the strength to make a fight. Four minutes later though the Green drew level when Clyde Borg fed Samb and his cross was turned into his own net from close range by a sliding Acevedo.

Minutes after the restart, Tarxien nearly went ahead when Edu Vallecillo was denied by Matthew Calleja Cremona who tipped his free-kick over the bar. The onus fell on Carlos Hevia to do more midfield grafting and Cini filling in the spaces on the Greens’ right flank as they put pressure on the Floriana’s rearguard. In the 54th minute, Vallecillo raced unopposed on to goal but shot just wide after the nippy Spaniard split open the Floriana defence with a smart pass.

The match drew to an exciting finish. Eight minutes from time, Plut showed some deft footwork to jink his way on the left flank before squaring for the unmarked Samb who stabbed the ball home.

Soon after, Igor Coronado, a replacement for Gary Muir, tossed a great chance, to put his result beyond his opponents’ reach as Cini blocked his effort after receiving from Steve Pisani.

The last seconds were nail-biting as Tarxien threw caution to the wind. Caruana could have notched the equaliser but his effort was palmed away by Matthew Calleja Cremona. At death, Soly Mouhmaed spoilt his copybook when he was red-carded probably for showing dissent, after being pulled up for a hefty foul on Brooke Farrugia. It was to be the last act in a rousing match.