Qormi-Floriana 0-1

Qormi: M. Farrugia, J. Vandelannoite, R. Sammut, C. Bjedov (M. Bartolo), J. Farrugia, B. Camilleri (H. Kang), A. Bello-Osagie, G. Mallia, J. Bondin, C. Frendo (J. Chetcuti), V. Da Silva

Coach: S. Azzopardi

Floriana: L. Saidi, B. Said, I. Sokolov, M. Micallef, C. Caruana, I. Woods, D. Pisani, J. Borg (C. Cassar), M. Gauci (M. Mecerod), T. Farrugia, C. Borg (P. Doffo)

Coach: T. Raykov

Referee: G. Tonna, Asst.refs: J. Camilleri, T. Debono ,4th official: M. Borg

Scorer: M. Mecerod 94

Yellow cards: A. Bello-Osagie, M. Micallef, G. Mallia, J. Vandelannoit

Player of the match: A. Bello-Osagie (Qormi)

TMI top 3: 1. A. Bello-Osagie 2. C. Caruana 3. J. Farrugia

Michael Mecerod went in as a second half substitute to score an added time goal of immeasurable importance for Floriana, giving his side a narrow win against Qormi, after he had previously missed a couple of easy chances.

After a quiet goalless first half, both sides missed chances galore in the second half and each could have won the match, were it not for some worrying profligacy both showed in front of the opposing goals.

But as we were heading for a draw, Mecerod scored the winner for Floriana, which lifts them into second place, on equal points with Hamrun Spartans before tomorrow’s Valletta-Marsaxlokk.

Qormi might feel hard done by the fact they were left with nothing to show at the end, after trading equal punches with their opponents, and they now linger in the bottom half of the Premier League standings.

Both teams had dropped points in previous goalless draws – Floriana against Vittoriosa Stars and Qormi against Sliema Wanderers.

Floriana recovered some of their players who had missed the previous outing as Sokolov, Joseph and Clyde Borg all started the match. Dzhorov was still unavailable though and Ryan Darmanin, Christian Cassar, Michael Mecerod, Pablo Doffo and Owen Bugeja all sat on the bench. Mark Gauci was their most advanced player up front, supported by Woods and Caruana.

Despite this, the Greens made the more assertive start, as they enjoyed more of the possession but could not convert it into goals. They forced a couple of corners and went close after eight minutes when on a Micallef cross, Caruana failed to connect inside the Qormi area.

Qormi had two notable absentees in Stefan Giglio and Matthew Bartolo, although the latter went in for the injured Bjedov shortly before the break. Ben Camilleri made a return in midfield while Vinicius Da Silva and Vandelannoite played as centre backs.

Their first noteworthy attack came after 22 minutes when Camilleri lobbed the ball inside the area but Vinicius Da Silva headed in the keeper’s hands.

Three minutes before halftime, Bjedov limped off and was substituted. Substitute Bartolo found the ball at his feet on a Bello-Osagie pass but was blocked by Micallef’s tackle.

On the other end, a long Caruana cross was missed by the Qormi defence but Gauci skied the ball.

With scoring ideas much at a premium in the first half, things improved in second. Qormi upped the tempo by the hour. On a Bartolo deep cross from the right, Frendo’s effort was blocked by keeper Saidi and substitute Kang headed off target.

Floriana fluffed the best chance on 65 minutes. Caruana played a through ball that beat both Sammut and Da Silva. Mecerod, who had gone in as a substitute ten minutes earlier, was clear but incredibly lobbed the ball wastefully out.

Qormi threatened again on 68 minutes. Bello-Osagie chased a long ball by Farrugia and even when pushed on the edge of the area, he shot against the upright.

In a goalmouth scramble in front of the Floriana goal, efforts by Frendo and Mallia were blocked.

The goal could have come on the other end though. A Doffo long free kick caused havoc inside the Qormi area but Tyrone Farrugia failed to conclude. And on 85 minutes, Qormi keeper Farrugia missed the ball on a deep Micallef cross but Caruana headed tantalisingly wide.

With both sides probing for a winner, the final minutes were hectic. Following a Farrugia corner, a Bello-Osagie header was saved by keeper Saidi and substitute Cassar cleared off the line.

Floriana grew increasingly menacing in the final minutes. Mecerod failed to punish Qormi after their keeper was unable to hold the ball. But two minutes from normal time, keeper Farrugia did well to hold out a close range Caruana effort and deep into four minutes of added time, Michael Mecerod stunned the Qormi defence as he controlled a Cassar pass inside the area and beat the keeper with a low drive to win all the points for Floriana.