Vittoriosa Stars 1
Pereira 12
Floriana 3
Diogo 16; Casha 45; Muir 73 pen
At the final whistle, Floriana had good reason to feel relieved they had emerged unscathed from this tricky encounter against a gallantly competitive Vittoriosa Stars side.
Ian Dawes’s Greens came from behind to claim all three points thanks toDiogo and Luca Casha goals and Gary Muir, from a dubious penalty, after the break.
Defenders Malcolm Buttigieg and Samir Arab were absent due to suspension as Guinean defen-der Ousamane Sidibe made his bow for Vittoriosa Stars.
Coach Oliver Spiteri handed first-team starts to Oscar Guerrero, Mark Barbara and goalkeeper Jean-Mathias Vella.
Floriana’s initial formation showed two changes, Diogo preferred to Giacomo Favero and Joseph Borg taking the place of the suspended Brooke Farrugia.
Vittoriosa monopolised possession in the first 10 minutes but rarely stretched the Floriana rearguard beyond routine work.
Yet, as the game moved past the 12th minute mark the Stars reaped dividends thanks to Marcelo Pereira.
The Brazilian beat goalkeeper Daniel Hanford with a calibrated shot after being picked out by Gilbert Martin.
But Vittoriosa’s lead was short-lived as Floriana stunned their opponents with an equaliser four minutes later.
Brazilian Diogo unleashed a swerving shot into the top corner that left keeper Vella stranded.
After the initial sparks, there was a lull in scoring chances as unproductive play was very much in evidence and build-ups lacked imagination.
Vittoriosa were enjoying plenty of possession but they were hit with a sucker punch just before the break. They were caught out at the back by Floriana’s quick transition which saw Joseph Borg embarking on a mazy run that took him past two defenders before guiding an inviting pass to Casha who fired home.
After the break, Vittoriosa upped their efforts in pursuit of an equaliser. Barbara should have seen to that after 56 minutes but his central grounder was blocked by Hanford.
Spiteri was then forced to make his first substitution after Clive Brincat suffered what looked like a muscle injury after falling awkwardly. Former Mosta midfielder Francisco Arriaganda Mella was thrown in the fray to replace Brincat.
Floriana struck a definite blow on 73 minutes in a controversial manner.
Additional assistant referee Paul Caruana signalled an infringement in which he deemed Adam Spiteri had handled the ball inside box.
The decision irked the Stars players as the ‘incident’ was missed by referee Sandro Spiteri and the linesman.
From the ensuing spot-kick, Muir kept his cool as he rifled his shot past Vella.
Any slim chances Vittoriosa might have had of salvaging the game vanished into the air as Floriana finished on high with Casha hitting the crossbar from close-range nine minutes from time.
Vittoriosa Stars
J.M. Vella-5, O. Sidibe-5, M. Barbara-5.5 (68 J. Camilleri-5), M. Pereira-6, G. Martin-6, C. Brincat-5.5 (59 F. Arriaganda Mella-4); O. Guerrero-4.5, J. Aguiar-5.5, A. Spiteri-5, C. Spiteri-5.5, M. Camilleri-5 (71 Siraj Arab-4).
Floriana
D. Hanford-6, A. Scicluna-6, I. Ebok-6, C. Caruana-5 (71 S. Pisani-3), I. Coronado-5 (81 G. Favero), Diogo-6.5, D. Baldac-chino-6, C. Borg-5 (81 I. Galea), J. Borg-6.5, L. Casha-6.5, G. Muir-6.
Referee: Sandro Spiteri.
Yellow cards: C. Borg; Pereira; Barbara; Guerrero, Arab.
BOV Player of the match: Luca Casha (Floriana).