Vittoriosa’s Siraj Arab (right) blocked by Andre Scicluna. Photo: Ian Pace

Floriana 2
Bogdanovic 87; Pisani 90;
Vittoriosa Stars 1
Guerrero 90+;

For 87 minutes of this slow-burning encounter, Vittoriosa Stars managed to keep Floriana at bay.

And it looked as though the Greens’ stuttering start was about to continue but two goals in the final three minutes gave them a deserved victory which could kickstart their season as, in the space of two days, they’ve managed to claw back more than half of their initial seven-point deficit.

On Saturday, Floriana received a boost with the news that the MFA Appeals Board had overturned a decision to dock the Greens one point over back-dated payment issues.

Yesterday, they secured their first win on the field of play but made heavy weather of beating the battling Vittoriosa who were compact at the back and occasionally threatened on the counter.

Floriana dictated matters for long spells but lacked a cutting edge to breach Vittoriosa’s defensive lines. With so many new faces in their squad, the Greens still lack cohesion while most of their leading players have yet to click into gear.

Diogo Pinheiro was a peripheral figure and Steve Pisani fluffed a host of inviting opportunities. Igor Coronado, their best player last season, and Daniel Bogdanovic are still far from their best but made a positive impact after entering the fray in the second half.

With Coronado and Bogdanovic certified only fit to start on the bench, Ian Dawes awarded first-team roles to Brooke Farrugia and Joseph Borg.

In goal, Daniel Hanford was preferred to Sean Mintoff. Dawes set up his team in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Pinheiro, Clyde Borg and Farrugia playing in support of Pisani.

Vittoriosa’s line-up showed only one change from the 5-2 loss to Hibernians, Siraj Arab starting ahead of Gilbert Martin. Coach Oliver Spiteri stuck with Brazilian Marcelo Pereira as his attacking pivot with Oscar Guerrero and Arab on the wings.

On 15 minutes, Floriana protes­ted for a penalty when Pisani ended on the turf after being challenged by Michael Camilleri but referee Glenn Tonna was unimpressed.

Floriana had a good chance to open the scoring on 18 minutes but goalkeeper Sean Cini stood in their way. Pisani’s corner soared towards the centre of the penalty area and Ibok Edet’s header flew towards Farrugia whose close-range attempt was repelled by Cini.

Vittoriosa survived a scare on 25 minutes when Farrugia’s drive struck a post with Cini possibly getting a slight touch to the ball.

Relying on counter-attacks, the Reds mustered a typical breakaway that had Floriana on the backfoot. Malcolm Buttigieg’s long ball from midfield released Guerrero who sprinted into the penalty area but his cross-shot was cut out by Hanford.

There was another uncomfortable moment for Vittoriosa when Samir Arab, under pressure from Pisani, failed to head the ball away. Pisani pounced on the mistake but his tame header allowed the Vittoriosa defender to finally avert the danger.

Floriana remained the brighter side. They should have opened the scoring on the brink of half-time when Clyde Borg, the most influential player on the field, produced a cute reverse pass to free Pisani but the latter volleyed over with only Cini to beat.

Six minutes into the second half, Vittoriosa again took rout one as Ramon strode out of defence before playing a long ball to Siraj Arab who ran into the box but was dispossessed by Sacha Borg after taking a touch too many.

Dawes made his first substitution, bringing on Bogdanovic for Farrugia.

And the newcomer should have scored when, a minute past the hour, Gary Muir’s cross from the right rolled in the Malta forward’s direction but his effort was wide and high.

Despite their affluence of attacking riches, Floriana were finding it hard to break down Vittoriosa.

A seemingly harmless cross by Coronado was fumbled by Cini but no Floriana player was on hand to capitalise. Pisani then blasted over from a good position.

It was all Floriana now. They were unlucky not to break the stalemate when Clyde Borg let fly a powerful drive that rattled the crossbar.

Another golden chance went abegging when Pisani was free but his grounder skimmed the far post.

Vittoriosa threatened to punish Floriana on the counter as Pereira stormed into the box but his effort was blocked.

With three minutes remaining, Floriana struck. Their two substitutes combined as Coronado floated a pass to Bogdanovic who despatched a perfect volley past Cini.

Floriana then doubled the score when Clyde Borg picked out Pisani with a chipped pass and the latter headed past Cini.

The late flurry of goals continued as Vittoriosa reduced the deficit through Guerrero. He tapped the ball into an empty net after Martin had opened up the dithering Floriana defence.

Floriana
D. Hanford-6.5, A. Scicluna-6, I. Edet-6.5, G. Roberts-6, S. Pisani-6, C. Borg-7.5, J. Borg-6, B. Farrugia-6.5 (53 D. Bogdanovic-6), G. Muir-6.5, D. Pinheiro-4 (61 I. Coronado-6.5), S. Borg-6.5.

Vittoriosa Stars
S. Cini-6.5, Ramon-7, M. Teruel-6.5, Siraj Arab-6.5 (61 G. Martin-6), O. Guerrero-6.5, C. Spiteri-5 (65 R. Mifsud-5.5), M. Camilleri-5, Samir Arab-5 (44 A. Spiteri-4), M. Pereira-4, F. Aguiar-4, M. Buttigieg-5.5.

Referee: Glenn Tonna.

Yellow cards: Spiteri; S. Borg; Roberts.

BOV player of the match: Clyde Borg (Floriana).