Floriana ended a barren run of five successive seasons without a major domestic honour as they scored a goal in each half to see off Sliema Wanderers 2-0 and lift the FA Trophy, at the National Stadium, on Saturday.

In fact, the last time the Greens had held aloft the knock-out silverware was in 2011 when an Ivan Woods’s solitary goal gave them an edge over Valletta 1-0 in a tense final.

Saturday’s success was sweet revenge for Floriana who not only chalked up their first win over the Wanderers this season but also made amends for the 1935 upset to their Old Firm rivals when in the maiden edition of the tournament it was Sliema who had inscribed their names first on the trophy.

Giovanni Tedesco, the Floriana coach, was the architect behind the Greens’ success in his second stint at the club. The Italian’s wily tactics proved decisive in seeing his side emerge victorious as well as claiming his first personal honour in Maltese football.

This is a project which has three years of work behind it, starting from my first spell

“It’s a huge satisfaction for me, of course,” he told Times of Malta.

“Nonetheless, I want to give credit to the players for their contribution and also club president Riccardo Gaucci for his immense effort and dedication.

“This is a project which has three years of work behind it, starting from my first spell. When I was not around, Gaucci continued where we had started off to assemble a competitive squad and his efforts came to fruition this afternoon.”

Saturday’s triumph takes more significance for the Greens as they earned the right to return to UEFA club football which brings with it important cash incentives. They will be involved in the preliminary rounds of the Europa League.

In their last appearance in Europe, in the summer of 2012, Floriana were heavily defeated by Swedish side Elfsborg (12-0 on aggregate).

One of the players who left a very good impression at Floriana this season, and who is looking forward to play for the club in Europe, is rock-solid defender Enrico Pepe.

His defensive traits made him one of the best Premier League imports last year.

“It’s very important for a club like Floriana to play in the Europa League,” Pepe said.

“We dedicate the cup success to the fans mainly. Their support throughout the season was very encouraging.

“As players the FA Trophy victory also instils a lot of self-belief in our confidence and ability as now this confirms that we are more than capable to challenge for the main honours.

“All in all, we had a decent campaign. True, some of our performances, particularly in the Premier League, could have been better as I felt we lacked consistency at times.

“Indeed, we could have produced a stronger push for a top-three finish.

“That put a lot of pressure on us ahead of the final – the entire season was on the line. But we were fully committed not to throw away all the hard work we put in and now we’re delighted to have achieved our objective and took this wonderful trophy home.”

Pepe may have contributed heavily for Floriana to reach the final and claim the honour but one cannot omit the importance others in the team played for the club to claim their 20th FA Trophy victory last weekend.

Steve Pisani, the former Hibs versatile midfielder, proved to be the real deal in Tedesco’s team. His performance in the final underlined his importance in the team’s set-up.

“A cup win is always something great to cheer about at the end of the season,” Pisani, who has now won the FA Trophy three times following back-to-back triumphs with Hibernians in 2012 and 2013, said.

“Looking back from where we started, a relegation battle in our first season with Tedesco, this victory means a lot.

“In my opinion, this season we have closed the gap significantly with the other teams in the top half of the league. Perhaps, with more consistency in our play we can achieve something better next season.

“We now have to keep improving on our play and that would make us an even more competitive team.”

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