FLORIANA 1 NAXXAR LIONS 0

An own goal on 41 minutes was enough for Floriana to gain further ground in their bid to secure a championship pool berth.

The early exchanges were bereft of constructive football as the two sides struggled to find their passing range. Floriana enjoyed a distinct edge in terms of possession, but their efforts were undone by the poorness of their final pass.

The brisk movement of Floriana’s attacking trio - Igor Coronado as the central pivot and Christian Caruana given the freedom to interchange with Steve Pisani on the wings – were constant cause of concern for Naxxar who relied on a sound tactical organisation and incisive counter-attacks by Ousseni Zongo.

It took 22 minutes for the first shot on target - Caruana’s corner was half-cleared into Pisani’s path, the former Hibernians midfielder dragged a ferocious shot just wide.

The Lions may have been solid at the back, but they slipped up just before half-time when Diogo delivered a menacing shot from the left and former Floriana defender Doffo headed into his own net as he attempted to clear.

Floriana almost made it 2-0 in the 45th minute when Coronado floated an intelligent pass towards Caruana but the nippy striker saw the onrushing goalkeeper blocked his low effort.

Naxxar had their best opening of the match in the 52 minute, when Victor Bellia teamed up with Gilmar delightfully, the seasoned midfielder sliced open the defence with an inch-perfect ball over the halfway line which the Brazilian collected before producing a cheekly lob over the bar.

Muscat’s men increased the frequency of their attacking forays and Hanford bravely kept out a Daren Falzon free-kick as he made a superb finger-tip save to turn the ball around the post after 68 minutes.

But Floriana’s solid midfield and watertight defence resisted boldly to earn full points.