Floriana 3
Doffo 79; M. Briffa 88; Darmanin 90
Tarxien Rainbows 1
Bueno 16 pen.
A three-goal flurry in the final 12 minutes enabled Floriana to pick maximum spoils from a game that had appeared to be drifting away from them. Tarxien Rainbows had indeed looked odds-on to chalk up their second victory after going in at half-time with a deserved 1-0 lead.
For long spells, Floriana looked confused and were it not for the woodwork, they would have been down and out by the time Pablo Doffo equalised on 79 minutes.
The Argentine's strike sparked a late surge by Floriana as Tarxien pressed the panic button and disintegrated under the pressure.
Floriana coach Zoran Popovic handed a first-team recall to Aleksandar Madzar who came in for the suspended Christian Caruana. In defence, Sunday Eboh, also ruled out by a one-match ban, was replaced by Steve Bonnici while in midfield, Luke Agius was preferred to Joseph Borg.
Warren Chircop was the only notable absentee from the Tarxien Rainbows squad.
Only four minutes from the start of the game had elapsed when Floriana almost grabbed the lead.
Chasing a seemingly lost ball in the box, Ryan Darmanin applied pressure on goalkeeper Anthony Curmi whose clearance cannoned off the Floriana striker's back but the ball landed wide of the near post.
At the other end, Daniel Mariano Bueno surged towards the by-line but his cutback just eluded Andrew Decesare. Rodrigo Martin Cariaga was first to the loose ball but his shot was blocked.
Tarxien's optimism of extending their positive run increased as they were awarded a penalty on 16 minutes. Pouncing on a short clearance by Orosco Anonam, Ivan Carapic darted into the box but his run was cut shot by Clyde Camoin's tackle.
Referee Paul Caruana pointed to the spot and Bueno dispatched his shot into the left corner as Dejan Maksic dived the other way.
On 26 minutes, Julian Briffa rescued Floriana from a dangerous situation by dispossessing Decesare with a well-timed tackle after a cross by Ryan Grech had caused consternation in the Greens' box.
Floriana's attacking play lacked flair and bite in those early exchanges whereas Tarxien were much more effective going forward as Cariaga and Decesare were quick to push up in support of Bueno.
Two minutes past the half-hour, Floriana came close to restoring equilibrium. Doffo swung in a cross from a free-kick but Darmanin's header brushed against the upright.
The Greens saw more of the ball in the opening stages of the second half but they lacked the cutting edge to open up the Rainbows rearguard.
Tarxien had a Grech piledriver going wide and Bueno's long-ranger stopped by Maksic.
Twenty minutes into the second half, Tarxien were unlucky not to double their lead when Decesare, unmarked in the centre of the box, headed Grech's cross past Maksic but the ball hit the foot of the post. Minutes later, the woodwork again denied Tarxien as Manuel Caruana's scorcher smacked against the bar.
Dylan Zarb, on for Madzar, brought some much-needed inspiration to Floriana's attack.
Thirteen minutes from time, Darmanin threatened to level matters when rising high at the far post to meet Brincat's free-kick but his header ended just wide.
In no time, Floriana gained an equaliser thanks to Doffo who, capitalising on some hesitant defending by Tarxien, forced his way through and curled the ball past Curmi.
Floriana struck again two minutes from time. Another long ball again caught the Tarxien defence napping as the reinvigorated Anonam dashed into the box before attempting a shot. His effort was somehow blocked by Tarxien but in came Marlon Briffa, a second-half substitute, who slotted home from close range.
In stoppage time, Darmanin finished off Tarxien when lobbing Curmi after receiving from Anonam.
Floriana
D. Maksic-5.5, D. Pisani-4, C. Camoin-4 ('46 O. Bugeja-5), J. Briffa-6, S. Bonnici-5, P. Doffo-6.5, L. Agius-4 ('58 M. Briffa-6), O. Anonam-6, M. Brincat-6, A. Madzar-4 ('71 D. Zarb-6.5), R. Darmanin-5.5.
Tarxien
A. Curmi-4, S. Sadowski-5.5 ('84 M. Pisani), L. Galea-6, M. Caruana-5.5 ('89 M. Zammit), I. Carapic-6, P. Sciriha-5, M. Tanti-6.5, A. Decesare-6 ('70 K. Borg-5), D.M. Bueno-6, R. Grech-6, R.M. Cariaga-6.5.
Referee: Paul Caruana
Yellow cards: Brincat; Camoin; Carapic; Grech; Anonam; Bugeja; J. Briffa.
BoV player of the match: Ivan Carapic (Tarxien).