Mqabba 0
Floriana 1
Darmanin 89;
Ryan Darmanin was the toast of Floriana yesterday as the lanky striker came off the bench to score a vital last-minute winner and propel the Greens to a hard-fought victory over Mqabba.
It was far from a vintage performance though from Floriana who had toiled for long spells to break down the solid Mqabba resistance.
However, their never-say-die attitude again reaped dividends as they managed to strike the winner in the closing stages of the match for a second time running following the 3-2 comeback win over Mosta in their previous outing.
The Greens were the more enterprising side yesterday and the three points not only strengthen their grip on third place but also pushes them closer to a Championship Pool berth.
Floriana coach Michael Woods was boosted by the recovery of Pablo Doffo and Ivan Woods who passed late fitness tests. Clyde Borg was forced to miss out though as he had to serve a one-match ban.
Mqabba coach Clive Mizzi effected one change to the team that lost to Ħamrun Spartans as Clayton Micallef replaced Rene Duca who had to settle for a place on the bench.
The match was devoid of scoring opportunities in the opening stages as both teams looked short of creativity with the only attempt at goal coming from Andre Grabowski whose low shot was easily dealt with by Mqabba goalkeeper Kris Calleja.
Mqabba’s response arrived on 24 minutes when Thiago Mazzitelli’s shot flew wide.
Floriana suffered a blow on 33 minutes when they were forced to make their first substitution as Christian Caruana limped out injured. He was replaced by John Mintoff.
Four minutes from the break, Greens’ keeper Manuel Bartolo made his first save of the afternoon when he dived to his right to stop David Azzopardi’s drive.
Mqabba were trying to break a sequence of four winless matches and Mizzi effected his first change on the restart when Shaun Magro came on for David Azzopardi.
Calleja had to be alert to keep out Christian Cassar’s free-kick and at the other end Magro did well to burst through and send an inviting ball into the box but Mamic was late and the unmarked Marlon Briffa fluffed his chance.
Two minutes later, Woods almost profited from a mistake by Brano Timotic but his lob was cleared off the line by the backtracking Serbian defender.
Mqabba responded on 56 minutes. Mamic evaded his marker with some deft footwork before serving Magro whose header was stopped by Bartolo.
Close to the hour, coach Woods withdrew the ineffective Pessanha and roped in Darmanin.
Indeed, that change eventually proved vital for the Greens.
Calleja was on the alert to tip over another Cassar delivery inside his box as Floriana were now gaining in their momentum.
However, 15 minutes from time, it was Mqabba who had an excellent opportunity to break the stalemate when Magro’s incursion on the right unsettled Floriana before serving Mamic who headed into the side-netting.
The woodwork denied the Greens from goal ten minutes from time when Darmanin’s piledriver smacked against the upright with Calleja beaten.
But, Floriana insisted in attack and their stance paid off.
On 89 minutes, Mqabba failed to deal with Cassar’s centre, the ball fell into the path of Darmanin who hit past the helpless Calleja.
Mqabba
K. Calleja-7, M. Potezica-7, B. Timotic-7, D. Azzopardi-5.5 (46 S. Magro-6.5), M. Briffa-6, T. Mazzitelli-6, C. Calleja-6, M. Bonnici-6.5, R. Sammut-6, C. Micallef-5, B. Mamic-5.
Floriana
M. Bartolo-6, M. Micallef-5.5, D. Pisani-5, P. Doffo-6, O. Bugeja-6, J. Borg-6, C. Cassar-7, C. Caruana-6 (33 J. Mintoff-5), A. Grabowski-6.5 (87 T. Paris), I. Woods-6.5, L. Pessanha-5 (58 R. Darmanin-7).
Referee: Marco Borg.
Yellow cards: Sammut, Grabowski, Magro, Borg, Bartolo.
BOV Player of the match: Christian Cassar (Floriana).