Floriana 1 Birkirkara 0
One goal was enough to secure three points for Floriana and keep them within touching distance of their neighbours – given that points will be halved at the end of this round - at the top of the table as with this victory they climb second spot albeit temporarily and piled more pressure for under-fire Birkirkara.
A limp first 45 minutes betrayed what was at stake for both teams with barely a noteworthy chance as caution ruled the match.
The Stripes were more comfortable in possession and one such passage of play led to an opening for Paul Fenech inside the area but his finish was well saved by Manuel Bartolo after 11 minutes.
Jorge had been contained comfortably by Doffo and Bugeja - as the Greens' game plan appeared to focus on being tight in defence and worrying about attack secondarily – but came out his shell to almost break the deadlock after 37 minutes. The Brazilian hit the crossbar when a corner by Fenech was taken short but his curling right-foot shot thundered the crossbar.
Birkirkara continued to look the more ordered side after the break but both seemed incapable of carving out clear chances.
Floriana's opening had been subdued as Birkirkara dominated possession but the hour mark approached they finally demonstrated a measure of self-belief and threat. In the 54th minute, Woods's pace took him clear of the defence to cross for Grabowski only to be thwarted by a lunging blocked tackled by Pereira. And as Floriana drew encouragement from their spell of pressure, they took the lead through Woods after 63 minutes.
The inventive Grabowski picked up the ball near the half-line and launched a spectacular long range pass for Christian Caruana who escaped from Angus Buhagiar to slip a perfect through ball into Woods as the nippy striker sneaked ahead of Pereira to score with ease.
As Birkirkara struggled to regain composure as they looked sloppy with their players crippled by fear and increasingly frustrated by their own shortcomings.
The Stripes finally got a clear sight of Bartolo with seven minutes remaining, when Bajada's cross fell kindly for Avila, who failed to make a meaningful connection with the teasing cross as they were made to learn a harsh lesson how to reap maximum of return with the least amount of effort.