Football brings joy to the winners and despair to the losers. These mixed emotions were there for all to see on Sunday evening as Floriana revelled in their much-craved success over Valletta in the 2010/11 U*Bet FA Trophy final while the Citizens ambled out of the National Stadium as crestfallen figures.

At the post-match news conference, the mood of the two teams could hardly have been more contrasting. As a beaming Floriana captain Mano Micallef caressed the prized silverware – which was slightly damaged during the celebrations, Valletta coach Jesmond Zerafa and Paul Spiteri, the club’s vice-president, were unequivocal in their criticism of referee Paul Caruana.

Zerafa and Spiteri argued that Caruana was wrong in awarding a free-kick to Floriana, from which Ivan Woods scored the winning goal two minutes from time, as Valletta defender Ian Azzopardi had not committed a foul on Christian Caruana.

“This was a sporting final that produced several important episodes,” Zerafa said.

“We were the better team but paid the price for missing several scoring chances. The foul (which led to Floriana’s winner) was invented.

“A set-piece in that position is like a penalty and the wind made it more difficult for my team to defend that free-kick.

“Nevertheless, my players did their best, they gave everything but it was not to be.”

Spiteri echoed Zerafa’s senti­ments about the referee’s decision to sanction Azzopardi’s interven­tion on Caruana. “The referee got it wrong,” Spiteri said. “That free-kick should never have been awarded.

“I agree with our coach that we held the initiative for long stretches but because of that error, we’ve lost a Trophy final.”

Asked if the free-kick episode had a decisive impact on the outcome of the game, Spiteri replied: “Given that Floriana scored from that free-kick, I think that decision carried a big percentage (result-wise). It was 100 per cent clear that our player didn’t commit a foul.

“Floriana were hungry to win as they had gone 17 years without winning an honour. They were very determined.”

Sunday’s final was a tight affair with neither side managing to retain the upperhand for a sustained period. Valletta had been the more adventurous side and fashioned the better chances but Floriana upped the tempo in the final 15 minutes. Their revival paid spectacular dividends as Woods hit the winning goal with only two minutes remaining.

The Valletta coach was not surprised by Floriana’s gameplan. “Floriana opted to wait and try to operate with counter-attacks,” Zerafa observed.

“It’s true that they were more dangerous in the final 15 minutes but they didn’t have many shots on goal. I thought my players stayed focused and coped well with the counter-attacks of our opponents but they sneaked a goal from a set-piece. Still, we should have been ahead by then but we failed to put away our chances.

“The Trophy is a difficult compe­tition. In the championship, you can bounce back from a defeat by winning the next game but in the KO, you don’t have a second chance.”

Describing Floriana’s Trophy success as a “dream come true”, Micallef said the team’s commitment and concentration were key to their win in the final.

“It was not easy for us,” Micallef said. “A final is always a difficult game, especially when you’re up against a team like Valletta. We had to keep our focus from start to finish. Everyone is aware of Valletta’s potential and we couldn’t afford to relax for a second because we would have been punished.

“We managed to do that and the most important thing now is that we’ve won the Trophy.”

The post-match incidents may have put a damper on the final but Floriana secretary Matthew Paris preferred to dwell on the positives.

“I want to thank the public and players for putting on a spectacle of football,” Paris said. “All things considered, I believe the two sets of supporters conducted themselves well for most of the afternoon.

“With regards to the game, the plan we worked on during the week was put to practice by our team. The coach (Michael Woods) began the match with a certain strategy but modified the formation after the break. He always believed that we could attack and score a goal in the second half.

“I’d rather not enter the debate about the foul (that led to Floriana’s goal)... football is full of episodes.

“May 22 is a special date for Floriana because on this day 17 years ago, we also beat Valletta 2-1 to win the FA Trophy final.

“I’m very happy that our club has ended the season with such an achievement. At the start of the season, Floriana took some important decisions and made some important changes (to the administration).

“We never thought that we could win something as important as this in our first season. Our squad was a bit short in numbers but the players have given their all.

“Our aim is to strengthen the squad further in order to challenge for the three major honours in Maltese football in the coming seasons. We are determined to restore this club to its former glory.

“Qualification for a European competition was our top objective this season and we’ve attained that by finishing second. That increased our motivation to do our utmost to win the Trophy and we reached our aim. This is a significant feat for the club’s young committee and the whole team, especially when one considers that we had seven homegrown players in our side.”

Micallef, one of the seven Floriana elements in the Trophy-winning team, said he always believed they had what it takes to clinch the knock-out.

“I believed we could win in the days leading up to the game and during the final itself,” Micallef said. “At the start of the season, the president (Johan Said) told me that he was bringing me to the club to strengthen the squad and my aim was to repay his faith.

“Going back to the final, I think it was a balanced match with both teams enjoying short, positive spells of 10 to 15 minutes. We also had our chances and the goal came at the perfect time. Valletta had no time to recover.”

Not conceding a goal in the first half was also a key factor to Floriana’s victory, according to Paris.

“At the end of the first half, we were upbeat about our chances of winning this game,” Paris said.

“The coach told the players that if the score was still 0-0 at half-time, the goal would come in the second half.

“He adjusted the team’s tactical shape in the second half, bringing on Joseph Borg to push Caruana further upfield and the change paid off.”

Buoyed by their Trophy success, the 19th in their history, Floriana are now expected to step up their efforts to bring in some experienced reinforcements in the summer.

They have already been linked with a host of players, the likes of Paul Fenech, Trevor Cilia, Joseph Zerafa, Gareth Sciberras and goalkeeper Justin Haber but Paris would only confirm their interest in Sciberras, who is on the books of Marsaxlokk.