Floriana 1
Diogo 5;
Naxxar Lions 1
Buhagiar 90;
A poor run of six losses and a draw in their last seven outings had turned up the heat on Naxxar Lions.
Yesterday, they needed some points not to slide further in the relegation mire but so did Floriana, themselves under pressure after a defeat against Tarxien had dampened their enthusiasm following the arrival of new owner Riccardo Gaucci.
Naxxar were second best for most of the match but Angus Buhagiar’s last-gasp equaliser saved their day in the end.
It was an unexpected turnaround for Naxxar after a poor first half but the introduction of Andrè Rocha da Silva and Kurt Drago paid instant dividends.
Naxxar’s starting XI showed three changes from the 5-1 loss to Qormi after Milan Vignjevic was preferred to Filip Stojanovic as the side was buoyed by the return of captain Victor Bellia from injury. Raimi Bakare was also available after serving a ban.
Naxxar favoured a straight-forward 4-4-2 module with Gilmar and Terence Scerri leading their attack.
Brooke Farrugia was drafted back into Floriana’s first team to fill the void left by the injured Joseph Borg as Andrè Scicluna was preferred to Christian Caruana.
Clyde Borg was tasked with shielding the back four in Floriana’s 4-1-4-1 system with Steve Pisani, Igor Coronado and Diogo given the freedom to roam and interchange up front.
The technical skills and attacking prowess of Floriana’s forward line proved too much for Naxxar at first. In fact, the Greens were already on the mark after five minutes had elapsed.
The goal came after Diogo took down Thiago Lopez’s short clearance and with plenty of time available he arrowed a rasping shot behind the diving Julian Azzo-pardi, the Naxxar goalkeeper.
The Lions went close to an equaliser on 12 minutes when Gilmar veered infield before executing a swerving shot that smacked against the underside of the crossbar and bounced down on the line with Daniel Hanford stranded.
But the game then fell into a lull with Ian Dawes’s Greens looking content to sit back and protect their lead, an approach that invited Naxxar to step up their attacking efforts but to no avail.
Clearly, the Lions were being outwitted by Floriana whose ability to make a quick transition from defence to attack exposed their opponents’ difficulties to deal with sides that can break forward at speed.
There was something worthy of note just before the half-time break when the referee sent off Naxxar Lions FC president Dione Drago who must have felt ag-grieved by some of the decisions taken by the match official.
Dawes infused some much-needed urgency into his team’s game after the break.
And in Floriana’s first telling attack after the restart they should have doubled their lead. Despite his diminutive stature, Coronado rose above the Naxxar defence but his header flashed just wide.
On 68 minutes, Steve Pisani drifted down on the right before picking out Diogo in the Naxxar box but his volley was blocked by the defence.
Midway through the second half Naxxar coach Winston Muscat opted for a double substitution. He reshaped his defence with substitute Drago replacing Bellia as David Reano reverted to left-back and Ryan Cassar switched to the right. Buhagiar was now given the freedom to move forward.
The changes almost produced an instant dividend when Gilmar jinked his way through but his shot was deflected away for a corner.
At the other end of the pitch, Pisani threaded a through-ball to Caruana whose effort was blocked by the alert Azzopardi.
Floriana seemed heading to a useful victory that would have propelled them to sole leadership in the Relegation Pool.
But as the clock marked 90 minutes Gilmar whipped in a teasing cross from a corner and Buhagiar headed past Hanford for Naxxar’s equaliser.
Naxxar shouted ‘goal’ again just before the final whistle when Buhagiar tapped the ball home from a free-kick but the referee had stopped play after spotting an infringement inside the Floriana penalty area.
Floriana
D. Hanford-6, A. Scicluna-6, I. Edet-5.5, S. Pisani-7, I. Coronado-6, Diogo-6 (84 R. Emeka), J. Xerri-6, C. Borg-6, B. Farrugia-5.5 (46 C. Caruana-5), G. Muir-6, S. Borg-6.
Naxxar Lions
J. Azzopardi-5, R. Bakare-5, V. Bellia-5 (69 K. Drago-5.5), A. Buhagiar-6.5, R.G. Cassar-5 (81 J. Debono), Gilmar-7, D. Falzon-5, T. Lopez-6, D. Reano-6, T. Scerri-5, M. Vignjevic-5 (69 A. Da Silva-5.5).
Referee: Philip Farrugia.
Yellow cards: Gilmar, Diogo, C. Borg, Muir, S. Borg.
BOV Player of the match: Gilmar (Naxxar Lions).