Qormi midfielder Marcelinho (right) defends possession against Floriana. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Floriana 2
Muir 56 pen; Piciollo 58;
Qormi 2
Marcelinho 2; Gauci 13;

Floriana have shown Mark Miller the size of task he faces at Qormi.

For a half, it looked as though Miller’s arrival could have an uplifting effect on the flailing spirits of Qormi and, at 2-0, it was shaping up to be the kind of result which would boost their ambitions to maintain their Premier League status.

But on the restart, Qormi seemed to ran out of steam as Floriana fought back to claim a point.

Qormi’s collapse in the second half could be partly attributed to the sapping effects of a run of seven consecutive defeats – including a 1-0 upset to rivals Żebbuġ Rangers which led to Josef Mansueto’s resignation.

After the interval Qormi looked weary mentally as well as physically and were fading badly by the end.

Miller did not make it to the edge of his technical area, not even when his side threw away a 2-0 lead. Instead he left his assistant Rupert Mangion to dish out instructions to the players.

The 52-year-old former Valletta coach was only named as Mansueto’s successor last Thursday, but that did not stop him from ringing the changes as Alejandro Mendoza, Steve Agius, Zoran Levnaic and Ryan Micallef were included in his starting formation.

The early signs looked encouraging for Qormi with the team playing with verve and vigour.

Qormi were outstanding in the opening quarter of this contest, putting Floriana under pressure whenever they had possession.

That was encapsulated in the two goals Qormi scored within 11 minutes of each other.

First, in the opening two minutes, Marcelinho burst through the middle before arching a fine shot into the top corner of the net from 20 metres out.

Then, Clifford Gauci pounced on a short clearance by Rodrigo Aguiar to rifle home with a sweet shot in the low corner.

Floriana were being overwhelmed.

On 41 minutes, Aguiar sent an attempted clearance across the face of his own goal, where it landed into the path of Alfred Effiong who headed the ball against the post before Douglas cleared the danger.

The Greens seemed to be chasing a lost cause after the break.

However that all changed on 56 minutes when Floriana were awarded a penalty for a handball by Agius on Matteo Piciollo’s cross. From the spot, substitute Gary Muir reduced the arrears.

Two minutes later, Qormi were undone again when Piciollo was on cue, volleying the ball home after Vito Plut’s cross eluded the defence.

Floriana persisted with their renewed verve, Piciollo going close again with a shot on the turn that flew inches wide of the upright.

Qormi looked shell-shocked as they laboured to stage a reaction but Duncan Pisani tried to lift their flailing spirits when his cross-cum-shot flew across the face of goal after an elusive run on the right flank.

At death, Piciollo protested vehemently after his effort from a free-kick appeared to come off the arm of a Qormi defender but referee Marco Borg waved play on.

Floriana
M. Calleja Cremona-6, F. Douglas-6, Marcelina-5.5, R. Aguiar-4 (49 G. Muir-6), C. Borg-5.5, V. Plut-6.5, M. Piciollo-6.5, E. Briffa-6, B. Farrugia-5 (46 G. Galea-5.5), S. Borg-5.5, N. Spiteri-5.

Qormi
M. Farrugia-5.5, A. Mendoza-6 (61 A. Nillson-5), Marcelinho-6.5, S. Agius-5, A. Effiong-6, C. Gauci-6.5, R. Micallef-5 (61 B. Bondin-5), Z. Levnaic-6, D. Pisani-6.5, J. Bondin-5, B. Berntsson-5.5.

Referee: Marco Borg.

Yellow cards: Plut, Agius, Pisani, C. Borg.

BOV player of the match: Matteo Piciollo (Floriana).