Floriana battled more than expected to see off Lija Athletic 2-1 and reach the quarter-finals of the FA Trophy.

The Division One side started brightly and after eight minutes Enrico Pepe’s clearance landed on the feet of Roderick Taliana whose shot from the distance finished just over.

Floriana responded four minutes later when Mario Fontanello sped into the area but his angled drive was blocked in two attemps by Kurt Rizzo, the Lija goalkeeper.

The woodwork denied Floriana an opener on 39 minutes when the Lija defence struggled to deal with Enrico Chiesa’s cross with the ball falling into the path of Pepe whose thumping header came off the upright.

Floriana started the second half with added purpose and on 46 minutes Daniel Agius made headway on the left and his low cross found Chiesa but the Argentine midfielder incredibly hit the bar with an open goal to his mercy.
At the other end, Grech produce d a fine one-handed save to keep out Erjon Beu’s curling drive.

Floriana finally took the lead on 65 minutes when Pepe picked Chiesa on the edge of the area and the Argentine flicked the ball towards Juninho who beat Rizzo with a firm drive.

Four minutes later Floriana all but sealed their qualification when they were awarded a free-kick from the edge of the area and Chiesa curled the ball into the bottom corner of the net.

Lija refused to throw in the towel and 10 minutes from time they managed to pull a goal back when Antoine Borg delivered a fine cross towards Ige Adeshina who headed past Grech.

But Lija’s hopes of a comeback were dashed a minute from time when Beu was dismissed for a second bookable offence as Floriana safely administered their lead till the end.