Floriana 1- Hamrun 0

Floriana banished their relegation fears after a 1-0 win over Hamrun Spartans gave them an unassailable lead over second-from-bottom Msida St Joseph who have thus lost their Premier League status along with Dingli Swallows.

After a dull first half, the two teams displayed signs of life in attack at the start of the second period. Floriana goalkeeper Juergen Micallef saved shots by Ian Zammit, Obinna Obiefule and Clyde Camoin.

In their first notable move of the second half, Floriana surged ahead. Clifton Ciantar’s well-hit drive from an angled position was beaten away by Andrea Cassar, the young Hamrun goalkeeper, but striker Ryan Darmanin fired home from the rebound.

Floriana might have doubled their lead when Ciantar and Darmanin combined again but the latter’s acrobatic volley was too central to trouble Cassar.

Hamrun suffered a blow when, 16 minutes from time, Gaetan Spiteri, who had replaced Jonathan Holland at the start of the second half, was given his marching orders by referee Andre Arciola.

The Greens had a host of other chances to increase their advantage but Cassar denied them with saves from Sacha Borg and Mark Spiteri.

Darmanin, the Floriana striker, was named BOV player of the match.