Floriana0
Aek Larnaca 8
Mrdakovic 4; Pavlou 12, Garcia 24, 42, 53; Linssen 36, Gomez 74; Mytidis 84;
Floriana’s return to European football descended into a nightmare yesterday as the Greens crashed to a humiliating 8-0 defeat to Cypriots AEK Larnaca.
Dictating the tempo from the outset, AEK Larnaca vindicated their favourites’ billing as they outclassed the limited Floriana team who had no answer to their opponents’ fluid and intelligent moves.
The least said about this game the better from a Maltese perspective as Floriana’s tame capitulation to the powerful AEK doubled up as a damning verdict of how far our clubs have fallen behind their Cypriot counterparts in the last two decades.
It could be argued that Floriana are not the strongest team in Maltese football but AEK Larnaca are hardly the heavyweights of the ever-improving Cypriot league. Still, the gulf between the two sides was so wide that this looked like a game between men and boys as AEK Larnaca quickly imposed themselves on the game to surge into a 5-0 lead by half-time.
Their supremacy may have come as a surprise to some, especially the Floriana supporters, but one only had to look at the nationality of the majority of the players in AEK’s initial XI to realise the disparity between the two teams.
Ex-Valletta players Luke Dimech and Njongo Priso were among nine overseas players in AEK Larnaca’s line-up. Kyriakos Pavlou and Jason Demetriou, who was born in England, were the only two Cypriot players in Ton Caanen’s selection.
With Ivan Woods unfit to start due to a hamstring problem, Floriana coach Michael Woods handed Argentine striker Julio Alcorse his debut. Ghanaian goalkeeper William Amamoo, another of Floriana’s close-season signings, was conspicuous by his absence from Floriana’s squad after picking up an injury in training.
Floriana endured a dismal start as they fell behind after three minutes.
Dutch midfielder Edwin Linssen was given time and space to storm clear on the right before crossing into the box where Serbian forward Miljan Mrdakovic headed past Matthew Towns, much to the delight of the AEK Larnaca fans who, as Caanen predicted before the game, travelled to Malta in their hundreds for this match.
AEK Larnaca stamped their superiority on the match with a second goal on 12 minutes.
Mano Micallef conceded a free-kick in the inside-left channel after tripping Priso and Pavlou’s curling drive from the ensuing set-piece stunned Towns.
The first 10 minutes confirmed pre-match suggestions that AEK Larnaca were superior to Floriana as Caanen’s men hardly allowed their opponents to touch the ball.
Alcorse, who completed his move to Floriana on the eve of the match, cut a lonely figure up front as he seldom received the ball.
The Cypriots threatened to make it 3-0 when Priso made a typically jinking run and set up Gregoor Vandijk who blasted over from a favourable position.
More misery befell Floriana when, after just 24 minutes, AEK Larnaca went 3-0 up. Receiving a diagonal pass on the left wing, Pavlou glided past Owen Bugeja and crossed for Spanish forward Gonzalo Garcia who flicked home from point blank. AEK Larnaca’s early three-goal blitz inevitably raised fears of a heavy defeat for Floriana. It was not before the 35th minute that Floriana constructed a decent attack. Having exchanged passes with Christian Caruana, Brazilian forward Edilson ran into the box from the left but his cross was too high for Alcorse who only managed to head the ball sideways.
Hopes that this move would spark an improvement in Floriana’s performance were brusquely extinguished by AEK who scored from their next attack. Once again, the danger came from Priso who surged clear on the right and centred for Linssen who fired past Towns.
AEK Larnaca made it 5-0 three minutes from half-time, Garcia beating Towns from close in after more abject defending by Floriana who had failed to deal with a pass from Pavlou.
The second half had just started when Pavlou again roared clear on the left and crossed for Garcia whose overhead kick sailed wide.
Eight minutes after the restart, AEK Larnaca made it a half-a-dozen of goals. Priso was the provider with another mazy run on the right that ended with the Cameroonian winger dragging a teasing cross into the six-yard box. Mrdakovic’s header was repelled by Towns but Garcia hit home from the rebound.
Nigerian substitute Kingsley Ekeh shot wide from just outside the box. With 16 minutes remaining, AEK Larnaca scored goal no.7, substitute Ruben Gomez tapping home after being picked out by Ekeh.
AEK Larnaca made it 8-0 six minutes from time. Ekeh charged into the Floriana box but his angled drive was deflected away by Towns but the ball fell to Nestor Mytidis, another substitute, who bundled the ball into the net from close in.
In stoppage time, Towns saved a point-blank header from Mytidis following a cross from Ekeh. Kevin Hofland, the AEK captain, almost gifted Floriana a consolation goal but his head clearance from Cassar’s cross landed wide.
Floriana: M. Towns, M. Micallef, T. Paris, O. Bugeja, T. Farrugia, P. Doffo, C. Caruana (61 R. Darmanin), C. Cassar, Edilson, J. Borg (56 C. Borg), J. Alcorse.
AEK Larnaca: A. Negri, A. Serran, K. Hofland, G. Vandijk, L. Dimech, E. Linssen, M. Mrdakovic (58 K. Ekeh), G. Garcia (58 R. Gomez), K. Pavlou (70 N. Mytidis) J. Demetriou, D. Priso.
Referee: E. Aleckovic (Bosnia).
Yellow card: Edilson.
Attendance: 815.