FLORIANA 1 NAXXAR LIONS 1

Naxxar had been second best for most of the match but Angus Buhagiar’s last gasp header salvaged a point for the Lions.

Floriana’s opener within the first five minutes was a superb piece of control as Diogo took down Thiago Lopez’s short clearance but with plenty of time to do so, the 24-year-old midfielder arrowed a rasping shot behind the diving Julian Azzopardi, the Naxxar Lions goalkeeper.

However in the 12th minute, the Lions went close when Gilmar veered infield before executing a swerving shot which smacked against the undeside of the crossbar and bounced down on the line with Danile Hanford standing motionless on the goal-line.

That proved to be a crucial reprieve as the game fell in a lull with Ian Dawes’s side looking content to sit back and protect their lead, an approach that invited Naxxar to step up their attacking efforts but to no avail.

Dawes tried to infuse some much-needed urgency into their game. And in their first telling attack of the second half after 54 minutes, they should have doubled their lead. Despite his diminutive stature Coronado rose above the Naxxar defence to give the illusion of goal as his header flashed just wide.

Azzopardi gave his side 14 minutes of the second half to show some willingness and, when there was no change, he made a double substitution.

It almost made an instant difference when Gilmar displayed some deft to jink his way through before his strike was deflected away for a corner.

On the other side, Pisani threaded a through-ball to Christian Caruana whose effort was blocked by onrushing goalkeeper, ten minutes from time.

At death when everything was pointing to a draw, Naxxar equalised. The clock marked 90 minutes when Gilmar whipped in a teasing cross from corner and Buhagiar’s header had the better of Hanford.

Then on the cusp of time, the Naxxar supporters shouted ‘goal’ again when Gilmar’s freekick was deflected into the net by Buhagiar but the referee disallowed the ‘goal’ after ruling that the midfielder had punched the ball into the net.

The technical skills and attacking prowess of Floriana’s forward line proved too much for this toothless Naxxar team. As much as the direct running of Floriana’s attacking triumvirate, and their rasping shooting that caused Naxxar nightmares, their defensive organisation in the first half left much to be desired.

The opener within the first five minutes was a superb piece of control as Diogo took down Thiago Lopez’s short clearance but with plenty of time to do so, the 24-year-old midfielder arrowed a rasping shot behind the diving Julian Azzopardi, the Naxxar Lions goalkeeper.

However in the 12th minute, the Lions went close when Gilmar veered infield before executing a swerving shot which smacked against the undeside of the crossbar and bounced down on the line with Danile Hanford standing motionless on the goal-line.

That proved to be a crucial reprieve as the game fell in a lull with Ian Dawes’s side looking content to sit back and protect their lead, an approach that invited Naxxar to step up their attacking efforts but to no avail. Yet, the Lions were clearly being outwitted by Floriana whose ability to make a quick transition from defence to attack exposed Naxxar’s difficulties to deal with sides who can break forward at speed but their defence was rarely stretched beyond routine work.

Just before signalling the end of the first half, the referee Philip Farrugia sent off Naxxar Lions president Dione Drago as he felt aggrieved y certain decisions taken by the match official.

Dawes tried to infuse some much-needed urgency into their game. And in their first telling attack of the second half after 54 minutes, they should have doubled their lead. Despite his diminutive stature Coronado rose above the Naxxar defence to give the illusion of goal as his header flashed just wide.

A slick move engineered by Steve Pisani after 68 minutes, who drifted outfield on the right before picking out Diogo in the box but his volley was blocked by the Naxxar rearguard.

Azzopardi gave his side 14 minutes of the second half to show some willingness and, when there was no change, he made a double substitution. He reshaped his defence with substitute Kurt Drago who came in for Bellia, moved into the centre to flank Lopez. David Reano reverted to left-back and Ryan Cassar switched to the right-back as Angus Buhagiar was given the freedom to move forward.

It almost made an instant difference when Gilmar displayed some deft to jink his way through before his strike was deflected away for a corner.

On the other side, Pisani threaded a through-ball to Christian Caruana whose effort was blocked by onrushing goalkeeper, ten minutes from time.

At death when everything was pointing to a draw, Naxxar equalised. The clock marked 90 minutes when Gilmar whipped in a teasing cross from corner and Buhagiar’s header had the better of Hanford.

Then on the cusp of time, the Naxxar supporters shouted ‘goal’ again when Gilmar’s freekick was deflected into the net by Buhagiar but the referee disallowed the ‘goal’ after ruling that the midfielder had punched the ball into the net.