Floriana FC 0
AEK Larnaca 8
Floriana’s return to European football was a nightmare yesterday as they were outclassed and humiliated by AEK Larnaca in a one sided encounter. After an eleven-year wait from their last Intertoto participation, and 15 years from their last UEFA Cup appearance against Beitar Jerusalem, the Greens surely did not expect such a dismal return to European football.
Larnaca guided, by Tom Caanen, were by far the better team as Floriana never really came to grips with their opponents. After the first ten minutes the match resulted in a training spin for AEK Larnaca, against a demoralised and demotivated Floriana side.
Hofland, Vandijk and Linssen dominated the midfield sector, with Maltese defender Luke Dimech playing on the right flank of Caanen’s defensive set up. The Floriana defence could not stop Larnaca’s superiority especially on the flanks.
Pavlou and Priso stretched the Floriana defence to the limit, as the Greens left gaping holes in the centre for Garcia and Mrdakovic, who had a field day.
The game was barely three minutes old and Larnaca were already in front. Edwin Lissen’s cross from the right caught the Floriana defence completely off guard and Miljan Mrdakovic had all the timeto head in the top corner past a helpless Towns.
AEK Larnaca were all over the place as the Greens could not settle down. Prios dribbled past Mano Micallefwho could only floor the ex-Valletta player, and from the resultant freekick Kyriakos Pavlou deceived a hesitant Matthew Towns to make it two.
Two minutes later Towns made amends when he dashed in Priso’s feet to avoid further damage. Larnaca displayed some touches and Vandijk blasted high following another god run by Priso, as the Greens were nowhere to be seen.
Floriana practically did not touch the ball, as Larnaca continued to show their superiority with Priso and Pavlou unstoppable on the flanks. On 23 minutes Kyriakos Pavlou again had the better of Owen Bugeja, and his cross was easy prey for Gonzalo Garcia who tapped the ball home from two metres.
Larnaca eased some of the pressure and Floriana tried to venture forward creating their first and best move on 30 minutes when Dos Santos Fiori crossed towards Julio Alcorse who headed wide from an ideal position. Sixty seconds later Priso put the top gear leaving Mano Micallef miles behind, and his cross was finished in style by Edwin Linssen who missiled home past Towns.
On 37 minutes an Alcorse header went slightly off target. But Larnace were simply in a class of their own as on 40 minutes they scored the fifth one with a breath taking move between the polished Vandijk, Mrdakovic and Garcia, with the latter’s precise grounder finding the back of the net.
No changes were made at halftimeand Larnaca continued their training spin after the break scoring the sixth goal on 53 minutes when from a Priso cross, Mrdakovic’s header was somehow saved by Towns , and Garcia was on hand to obtain his hat trick from close range.
The match dragged on with Larnaca missing some other chances and Floriana trying desperately
On 73 minutes substitute Ruben Gomez scored the seventh goal beating Towns from close range.
Six minutes from time another substitute, Nestor Mytidis scored the eighth one with an overhead kick from close range. The referee’s final whistle brought an end to Floriana’s nightmare, who must surely take a different approach when facing such opposition.
Floriana: M. Towns, M. Micallef, T.Paris, O. Bugeja, T. Farrugia, P. Doffo, C. Caruana (R. Darmanin 62 min), C. Cassar, E. Fiori Dos Santos, J. Borg (C. Borg 56 min), J. Alcorse.
AEK Larnaca: A. Negri, A. Serran, K. Hofland, G. Vandijk, L. Dimech, E. Linssen, M. Mrdakovic (K. Ekeh 58 min), G. Garcia (R. Gomez 58 min), K. Pavlou (N. Mytidis 70 min), J. Demetriou, N. Priso.
Referee: Emir Alechkovic (Bosnia-Herzegovina)
Scorers: M. Mrdakovic 3, K. Pavlou 10, G. Garcia 23, 40, 53, E. Linssen 31, R. Gomez 76, N. Mytidis 84
Yellow cards: Dos Santos Fiori
Attendance: 815