Floriana 1
Borg 34;
Birkirkara 2
Ledesma 16; Scicluna 51;
With runaway leaders Hibernians showing no signs of slowing down, Birkirkara registered a hard-fought win over Floriana to maintain their hopes of clinching the runners-up spot in this year’s campaign.
The heat was on Paul Zammit and his troops to deliver maximum spoils from this game before turning their attentions to a tricky sequence of fixtures – against Hibs, Sliema and Valletta.
The Stripes showed admirable character in managing to turn this match in their favour.
In the opening 45 minutes, the Stripes had Justin Haber to thank for keeping them in the game as Zammit’s men struggled to cope with the rapid movement of the likes of Steve Pisani, Conor Borg and Emerson Marcelina.
At the back, Birkirkara hardly looked convincing as they were missing centre-halves Nikola Vukanac and Matheus Bissi, both suspended.
Although Floriana were showing the better ideas, they were also unsteady in defence. And when their young guns ran out of gas, Birkirkara’s experience came to the fore as they rolled up their sleeves to chalk up the three points.
The Greens paraded Manolito Micallef on the wing to replace Amadou Samb, suspended.
However, Micallef had an unhappy start to his second spell with Floriana as he limped off the pitch just before the break to be replaced by Brooke Farrugia.
Conor Borg and Gary Muir were handed starting roles at the expense of Neil Spiteri and Clyde Borg who were named as substitutes.
In the absence of Vukanac and Bissi, Alejandro Mendoza marshalled Birkirkara’s defence while Edward Herrera was assigned a role on the right flank.
Shola Shodiya Haruna, Eliandro and Rafael Ledesma formed a three-pronged line in front of Ryan Scicluna and rotated positions to cause problems to Floriana.
A brilliant interchange involving Ledesma and Haruna after seven minutes culminated in the latter shooting straight at Tyrone Gauci, the Floriana goalkeeper.
Birkirkara took the lead after 16 minutes. Herrera supplied a decent cross towards Ledesma who had little difficulty planting the ball past Gauci.
Floriana’s first sniff at goal came after 23 minutes when Matteo Piciollo saw his dipping shot tipped over the bar by Haber.
The absence of Vukanac and Bissi gave a boost to Floriana’s physical approach, particularly in the 34th minute.
Borg drifted down the length of the field and exchanged the ball in a swift one-two with Vito Plut before shooting past Haber.
Floriana’s equaliser stunned Birkirkara who were again caught out at the back five minutes before the break.
The Greens’ quick transition saw Borg guide another inviting pass to Piciollo but Haber blocked the Italian striker’s attempt.
Floriana faded badly during the second half as Borg and Pisani dropped deeper and Birkirkara’s Gareth Sciberras improved appreciably in the process.
The Stripes took control of the game. Six minutes into the second half, Scicluna profited from some loose marking to score with a rising shot from Herrera’s delivery.
Eliandro, served by Sciberras, saw his effort turned around the post by Gauci late on as Birkirkara came close to a third goal.
With 11 minutes left, the lanky Brazilian was unlucky as his shot was beaten away by Emanuel Briffa.
Floriana almost grabbed an equaliser through Plut but his header was hooked away by Ryan Camenzuli.
The Slovenian’s effort looked to have crossed the line before Camenzuli intervened but TV replays failed to clear the uncertainty.
The Greens’ last chance fell to Muir. Camenzuli illegally halted Piciollo’s progression towards the Birkirkara box.
The free-kick was awarded in Muir territory and the Scottish wing-back produced a right-foot shot that bent away from Haber’s despairing dive but the ball sailed wide.
Floriana
T. Gauci-6, F. Douglas-6, E. Marcelina-6.5, S. Pisani-7, V. Plut-6, M. Piciollo-6, C. Borg-6.5 (74 G. Galea), E. Briffa-6, G. Muir-5.5, S. Bonnici-5.5, M. Micallef-5 (45 B. Farrugia-5.5).
Birkirkara
J. Haber-6.5, A. Mendoza-6, R. Camenzuli-6, Eliandro-6 (82 N. Maachi), S. Haruna-6.5 (90 A. Curmi), P. Fenech-6, Z. Muscat-5.5, E. Herrera-7, R. Scicluna-6.5, G. Sciberras-6, R. Ledesma-6 (68 E. Agius).
Referee: Chris Lautier.
Yellow cards: Scicluna; Muir; Camenzuli; Haber.
BOV player of the match: Edward Herrera (Birkirkara).
Attendance: 1,319.