Hibernians 2
Malasenoks 38, 90
Floriana 3
Ciantar 28; Darmanin 36; Herrera 39 og
As referee Paul Caruana blew the final whistle, Floriana coach Roddy Collins set off on an impromptu wild dance along the touchline.
Floriana emerged with all three points as they won by the odd goal in five in a pulsating match at the Hibs Ground.
The first 45 minutes contained enough incidents to challenge even the most robust of coaches let alone Collins, who followed the match along the touchline gesticulating and shouting out instructions, but in the end it was Hibernians whose weaknesses were exposed.
Barely seven minutes had been played when Duncan Pisani was adjudged to have fouled Andrew Cohen in the box and Etienne Barbara stepped up to take the penalty kick. He struck the shot firmly to Bernard Paris's right, but the ball went agonisingly wide of the far post.
Propelled by Orosco Anonam in the unusual position of central defender and with Marlon Briffa and Clifton Ciantar enjoying overlaps down the right flank, Floriana looked irresistible.
Mario Muscat was easily beaten after 28 minutes by Clifton Ciantar. Then both teams had the ball in the net in the space of a couple of minutes until a bizarre own goal by Edward Herrera restored Floriana's two-goal cushion.
After a lull in play in the beginning of the second period, it was a dramatic finale to a match that burst into life. But ten-man Floriana held on to take home all points.
The match got off to a flying start when Hibernians were awarded a penalty with less than 10 minutes played but Barbara failed to hit the target.
Hibs continued to pile on the pressure, Barbara breaking down the right to fire in a useful cross that was met by Christian Callejas but Bernard Paris held.
However, Floriana crafted the better openings during a physical start to the match. Attempting a hefty clearance, Callejas completely missed his kick but Sunday Wasiu screwed his first-time effort over the bar after 26 minutes.
However, the Hibs defence was showing signs of crumbling under pressure and two minutes later, a terrible mistake by Andrew Cohen let in Clifton Ciantar who controlled the ball on his chest before drilling an exquisite shot into the top corner.
As Hibernians desperately searched for a way back into the game, the match heated up midway through the first half with little in the way of shots on goal but a string of bookings for both sides.
Yet a pulsating match came to life just before the break when three goals in as many minutes provided an explosive finale to the opening period.
On 36 minutes, Marlon Brffa picked Ryan Darmanin out in far too much space inside the Hibs area and the Floriana striker was left with the simplest of finishes, smashing the ball into an open net for his first league goal of the season.
It was Hibernians who struck next when they pulled a goal back a minute later. Tristan Caruana swung over a corner to the far post and Oleg Malasenoks rose above everyone to power a great header into the back of the net.
The fightback was short-lived, though, when Edward Herrera inadvertently directed Wasiu's cross-cum-shot towards his own goal to restore Floriana's two-goal cushion on 39 minutes. The evening's drama did not finish with the half-time whistle and Julian Briffa was dismissed after picking up his second yellow card for a challenge on Herrera after 52 minutes.
On 75 minutes, substitute Mark Spiteri, exchanged passes with Wasiu and when the ball came back to him 20 metres out, he hammered a rising shot that flashed just wide off the mark.
Paris dealt with a couple of tame efforts from Barbara and Cohen before Malasenoks set up an unexpectedly tight finish when he latched onto a clever flick from Caruana to rifle home a half volley from close-range.
Few moments later, Floriana pushed out after defending their area but a clever flick from Cohen sent Barbara clear but Paris raced out of his area to clear.
Three minutes of stoppage time followed, but Floriana's defence held firm to record their third win of the season.
Hibernians
M. Muscat-5, E. Herrera-5 , R. Camilleri-5, A. Xuereb-4.5 (44'Tabone-5), A. Pulis-5 , C. Callejas- 6, T. Caruana-7, O. Malasenoks- 7, E. Barbara-4.5 , A. Cohen- 6, Y. Cauchi-5 (73'Duca).
Floriana
B. Paris-6.5, D. Pisani-6 , C. Ciantar-7 (83'Borg S) , J. Briffa, B. Said-6, M. Briffa-6 P. Doffo- 6, J. Borg-6 (61' Agius L) , R. Darmanin-7 (74'Spiteri -5.5), A.S. Wasiu-7 ,O. Anonam-8.5
Referee: Paul Caruana.
Yellow cards: Anonam; T. Caruana; Malasenoks; Herrera; J. Briffa; S. Borg.
Red card: J. Briffa (F) 52.
Missed penalty: Barbara (H) 7.
BoV player of the match: Orosco Anonam (Floriana).