Floriana 0
Sliema Wanderers 1
Ohawuchi 19;

Once the headline fixture of Maltese football, the Old Firm derby between Sliema Wanderers and Floriana has lost much of its lustre in the last decade as financial difficulties caught up with these two rivals.

Yet, their first-round meeting yesterday provided these two glorious clubs with an opportunity to demonstrate their progress as the Wanderers’ transformation under Italian coach Alfonso Greco has been such that they are now regarded as genuine contenders for the title while the Greens have invested heavily in new players to strengthen their Championship Pool hopes.

Spurred on by the running of their front trio of Stanley Ohawuchi, Abubakar Bello-Osagie and Matias Muchardi, the unbeaten Sliema outclassed Floriana in the first half but their failure to add to Ohawuchi’s early opener left the game finely-poised.

The Greens did summon a reaction in the second half as the likes of Igor Coronado, Steve Pisani and Clyde Borg stepped up their game but they lacked the flair and punch to breach the resistance of Sliema who managed to hold out despite their late decline.

Sliema’s line-up showed two changes from the 3-3 draw with Tarxien.

Beppe Muscat deputised for the suspended Clifford Gatt Baldacchino while Muchardi received Greco’s nod ahead of Pape Gueye.

Greco’s 4-3-3 set-up had Bello-Osagie in the central striker’s role and John Mintoff and Ohawuchi on the wings.

With Daniel Bogdanovic ruled out with injury, Floriana coach Ian Dawes awarded a start to Christian Caruana while Brooke Farrugia replaced Sacha Borg.

Dawes put his faith in Caruana and Coronado to unlock the Sliema defence as the two nimble forwards played off Steve Pisani in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Early on, Ohawuchi terribly miscued his shot from outside the box after quick movement by Bello-Osagie and Muchardi.

It was all Sliema in the opening stages.

Their supremacy was rewarded with a fantastic goal on 19 minutes.

And it came from a familiar source as Bello-Osagie’s floated pass teed up the prolific Ohawuchi who conjured up a superb first-time volley that soared over Hanford and into the net.

Sliema’s opener preceded a period of sloppy football as Floriana toiled to get their passing game off the ground.

Greco was forced to reshape his formation after Mark Scerri was forced to abandon proceedings after picking up a thigh injury. His replacement, veteran Ivan Woods, took up a position behind the strikers as Muchardi dropped into midfield.

Just past the half-hour mark, Floriana’s Gary Roberts was wide with a diagonal free-kick.

The Blues then put the Floriana defence under pressure as Paltemio Barbetti’s set-piece cross was headed by Stefano Bianciardi but Hanford deflected the ball away for a corner.

Sliema’s superior organisation enabled them to establish a foothold in the game as Floriana were strangely bereft of inspiration despite the presence of a host of creative elements.

A poor tackle by Roberts on Muchardi raised tempers, triggering a bout of pushing and shoving between the players.

The second half was only two minutes old when Sliema threatened to increase their lead.

Muchardi’s cross from a left-wing corner eluded Hanford but Bello-Osagie’s looping header was cleared off the line by Caruana.

There was another scare for the Greens when Woods’s perfect pass dropped at the feet of Ohawuchi who initially made a hash of controlling the ball before regaining it but his curling shot flashed against the far post.

This was the cue for Floriana to move through the gears. Pisani had a goal disallowed for offside after receiving from Clyde Borg.

The erstwhile subdued Coronado had a low effort saved by Henry Bonello who, on 62 minutes, blocked Pisani’s header from Caruana’s free-kick.

Sliema threatened to punish Floriana on the counter as Ohawuchi raced clear of Andre Scicluna but his attempt was repelled by Hanford. The Nigerian striker headed wide from the rebound.

With 13 minutes remaining, Pisani sent in a teasing cross after racing to the byline but the sliding Coronado narrowly failed to make contact with the ball.

Bonello saved Coronado’s grounder six minutes from time.

Dawes then made a double substitution hauling off goalkeeper Hanford, who was replaced by Sean Mintoff, as Brazilian Diogo Pinheiro came on for Farrugia.

Mintoff’s first and only intervention was to fist away a menacing free-kick by Woods.

Floriana
D. Hanford-5.5 (86 S. Mintoff), A. Scicluna-6, I. Edet-6.5, G. Roberts-5, C. Caruana-6 (71 L. Casha), I Coronado-6, S. Pisani-6.5, C. Borg-6.5, J. Borg-5.5, B. Farrugia-5 (86 D. Pinheiro), G. Muir-5.5.

Sliema Wanderers
H. Bonello-6, A. Muscat-7, J. Borg-7, J. Mintoff-5.5, M. Scerri-6 (30 I. Woods-6), S. Ohawuchi-7 (75 T. Cilia), A. Bello-Osagie-6 (70 P. Gueye-4), P. Barbetti-6, M. Muchardi-7.5, B. Muscat-5.5, S. Bianciardi-7.

Referee: Alan Mario Sant.

Yellow cards: Edet; B. Muscat; Roberts; Mintoff; Bello-Osagie; Scicluna; Woods.

BOV player of the match: Stanley Ohawuchi (Sliema Wanderers).