CHRIS CASSAR
Premier side Floriana had to wait till extra time to have the better of first division side Hamrun Spartans in a scrappy game that confirmed the sorry state of Maltese football.
The strong winds that swept across the Hibs Ground yesterday morning did not make it easy for the players either.
Something better was expected from Floriana who were surely not at their best and had to rely on an extra time penalty to break the deadlock, and all that when Hamrun were playing with a man fewer.
On their part Hamrun, who are passing through a bad spell in the league, confirmed their difficulties especially in attack where they lack the necessary punch to worry their opponents. They played diligently in defence and in midfield: however, they failed miserably in attack and were never close to saving the match after conceding the penalty.
Hamrun took hold of the midfield sector in the early minutes, but Floriana created the first danger when Nicolo Baldacchino was denied by a good Cordina save.
On fifteen minutes Baldacchino was menacing again, this time his half volley going over the crossbar. On the other end Tarik headed wide a Kevin Borg cross.
With the strong wind at their back, Hamrun continued to control their opponents without much difficulty. Floriana found the going hard and the match resulted in a rather scrappy affair.
DoNascimento, who was completely blotted out in the first half, received a good ball from Cassar but his shot was completely off target.
On 41 minutes Floriana created their best move when Clifton Ciantar won a tussle in midfield with Mauro Brincat and crossed to the unmarked Trevor Cilia whose first timer hit the base of the upright.
For the second period both teams made a substitution with both teams changing one of their strikers, namely Tarik and DoNascimento. Floriana looked more determined now aided with the strong wind. Christian Cassar tested Cordina with a long range shot.
On 56 minutes Hamrun wasted a golden opportunity when substitute Ryan Fenech completely mis-kicked the ball from the penalty spot, with the ball going to Mauro Brincat whose shot slightly missed the target.
Midway through the second half Cassar passed to Cilia on the right but his effort was blocked by Cordina. With eleven minutes to go Mauro Brincat had a very good chance but his lob went slightly over the bar with Gauci beaten.
Floriana hit their second post minutes later when a cross shot by Trevor Cilia hit the upright.
The last minutes were the best with Floriana throwing everything forward and with Hamrun finding ample spaces in the Greens’ rearguard. Brincat had another good opportunity but Gauci saved well. In injury time Hamrun were reduced to ten players when Keith Fabri was shown the second yellow card.
Just at the start of extra time, Floriana obtained a penalty when Steve Sadowski who had just came in handled the ball inside the area and referee Caruana awarded the penalty. Shaun Bajada made no mistake from the resultant penalty kick.
Following this goal Floriana continued to attack and Cordina saved a close range header from Cilia. With seven minutes to go Floriana sealed the issue with their second goal when Wellman powered his way inside the Spartans’ area and crossed to the unmarked Nicolo Baldacchino who easily slotted home.