It is inconceivable for a glorious club like Floriana to go 12 years without winning a major honour.

Floriana’s bleak period in the eighties was therefore nothing less than a disaster as the club even tasted the bitter pill of relegation.

All things, bad or good, come to an end, however, and this dark period in the club’s history finally came to an end in 1992-93 when the Greens won their 25th champion-ship and the FA Trophy.

This was a deserved success, carefully planned by president Tony Grech Sant and his committee.

On the field of play, the Greens were led by Mark Miller who added to his skills as a player his shrewdness as a football tactician.

In pre-season competitions, Floriana showed promise but it would have taken a very brave man to tip them for the championship.

At that stage, Ħamrun Spartans and Valletta seemed to be the clear favourites to win the title.

Ħamrun opened the season on a top note, winning the Euro Cup competition.

In the Super Five tournament, however, they had to bow to the superior Valletta in the final.

The Lilywhites won 3-0 to stake their claim as title contenders.

Things, however, did not work out as expected and the Greens went on to win the championship in one of the most-fiercely contested campaigns for many seasons.

After that triumph, Floriana were eager to add the FA Trophy and equal the record of 17 titles established by Sliema Wanderers.

Floriana had an edge over the other contestants. They were playing well and this built up their confidence. They stayed on the winning trail, knocking out arch-rivals Ħamrun and Valletta on the way to the final.

Floriana met the Spartans in the preliminary round. It was a keen and balanced encounter which was only decided in Floriana’s favour in the penalty shoot-out.

The clash against Valletta was the most attractive quarter-final but it proved to be a listless affair and it had to be a late goal to put Floriana through.

By contrast, the quarter-final between Sliema and Birkirkara was the most exciting of all.

This was a seven-goal thriller in which Sliema forced extra-time in the dying seconds and then won the tie with a goal on the stroke of time.

To add to the drama, this goal came seconds after the referee failed to see what appeared to be a clear penalty in favour of Birkirkara.

Semi-finals

In the first semi-final, Sliema, playing their best football of the season, ousted St Andrew’s.

The Blues won a keen encounter 2-0 with goals from Hubert Suda and Martin Gregory.

In the other last-four tie, Floriana outclassed Rabat 3-0. Therefore, after a lapse of 14 years, the traditional rivals of Maltese football went head-to-head in the final.

This was the 14th Trophy final between the two teams and evoked memories of yesteryear when such a game would have drawn huge crowds to the Gżira stadium.

The match, however, proved something of an anti-climax. The clubs and the colours were the same but the fighting spirit of the Wanderers was missing.

Floriana dominated their rivals to such an extent that they made it look so easy. In fact, they won it 5-0, bringing to mind the 1956-57 Cassar Cup final when they beat the Blues by the same score.

In all fairness, one must note that Sliema conceded two dubious goals at a time when they were sharing the exchanges with their rivals.

The first came from a suspected offside position and Brian Crawley blatantly handled in the second.

This, however, does not detract from Floriana’s achievement.

The Greens were riding on the crest of a wave as they confirmed a week later when they beat Valletta 4-1 in the Super Cup.