FLORIANA-4, MARSAXLOKK-0
Christian Caruana scored a brace to help Floriana rout Marsaxlokk 4-0 in today's opening Premier League game.
The Greens were worth their win as they were superior to Marsaxlokk who paid a high price for their sloppy defending.
Floriana took just over eight minutes to open the scoring. Marsaxlokk were guilty of poor defending as Ivan Woods had time and space to advance on the left before sending a cross towards Caruana in the six-yard box.
The opportunity looked to have gone abegging when Caruana, under pressure from Sunday Eboh, fell but somehow, the playmaker twisted his body and guided the ball past Marsaxlokk goalkeeper Christian Cassar to give his side the lead.
Woods tried his luck from the distance but Cassar was equal to the task.
Floriana's unexpected opener shook Marsaxlokk but they came close to an equaliser when Dylan Kokavessis swerved a dangerous cross into the area but Florent Ramy's close-range flick was deflected away for a corner.
The Greens dished out instant punishment on their opponents as they extended their lead on 25 minutes. Joseph Borg's throw-in from the right was flicked on towards the centre and Woods powered his way through a host of static players before firing home from routine distance.
Two goals down, Marsaxlokk needed to raise their game to get back into contention but the Blues lacked invention as their efforts were easily dealt with by Floriana.
There was another moment of discomfort for Marsaxlokk when Caruana drilled the ball across the face of goal but Eboh averted the danger with an acrobatic clearance.
Six minutes into the second half, Cassar saved Marsaxlokk when he beat away Woods's grounder after Muscat's men had failed to deal with Cassar's corner.
The Greens continued to create the better chances. Pablo Doffo's cross prompted Cassar to run out of his box and cut out the danger but his short clearance fell to Woods who tried to drive the ball towards the untenanted goal but his effort went wide.
Marsaxlokk's reprieve was temporary as, two minutes past the hour, Floriana sealed the issue. Profiting from the open space in the Marsaxlokk defence, Borg advanced unchallenged before hitting a cross-cum-shot that Caruana turned in at the far post.
Floriana further extended their lead 15 minutes from time, John Mintoff, who had just come on for Borg, tapping Cassar's cross into the net.
Three minutes from the end, Woods was unlucky not to put his name on the scoresheet as his diagonal effort took a deflection with the ball finishing just wide of the far post.
Doffo then set up Ryan Darmanin, a second-half substitute for Caruana, but the lanky striker's shot was too central to trouble Cassar.
At the other end, Sacha Borg, who has joined Marsaxlokk on a season-long loan from Floriana, was wide with a shot from the edge of the box.
Floriana's Caruana was named BOV player of the match.