Birkirkara 0

Floriana 1

Birkirkara: R. Gauci, G. Sciberras, R. Nooitmeer, R. Muscat (T. Vella), R. Scicluna (L. Grech), P. Fenech, J. Silva, S. Bajada, A. Buhagiar, M. Avila, R. Pereira

Floriana: M. Bartolo, P. Doffo, M. Micallef, O. Bugeja, D. Pisani, T. Paris, C. Cassar (R. Darmanin), C. Caruana, A. Grabowski (J. Mintoff), I. Woods, C. Borg (J. Borg)

Referee: E. Azzopardi

Asst.refs: K. Borg, A. Grech

4th official: K. Azzopardi

Scorers: I. Woods 60

Yellow cards: O. Bugeja, R. Muscat, R.Scicluna, S. Bajada

Player of the match: Ivan Woods (Floriana)

TMI top 3: 1. C. Caruana 2. P. Doffo 3. S. Bajada

This was Floriana’s fourth league win on the trot, and although lacking conviction of any sort, it puts them in second place, one point above Hibernians (who have a game in hand) and six adrift of leaders Valletta.

The fluidity of their display against Qormi two weeks before, was conspicuously lacking as the team remained mostly in second gear. Ivan Woods scored the all important goal on the hour but otherwise they carried little threat against struggling opponents in an encounter devoid of incident.

Floriana were still without the injured Sodje and the suspended Akoto but John Mintoff, Malcolm Licari and Ryan Darmanin could not find their place in the starting line-up.

Birkirkara, without the suspended Joseph Zerafa, gave a debut start to their new foreigner, Dutch defender Regillio Nooitmeer. But they were as insipid as against Hamrun Spartans in last week’s Trophy defeat, prompting many of their fans to stay away from the match, while displaying a protest banner at the stadium.

The Stripes were again impotent, with their continuing failure to breach opposing defences and with Balzan edging closer to a laudable top-six finish, their table position looks the more precarious.

A depressingly dull first half matched the bleak weather at Ta’Qali.

Birkirkara had the better share of possession but that alone does not equate to a win.

In fact, for the first 45 minutes, Floriana’s keeper Manuel Bartolo needed only to make one intervention, that of holding out Fenech’s long range effort after 11 minutes.

If Birkirkara were unimaginative in attack, Floriana were even worse as they made few forays forward, lacking invention, pace and penetration.

The execution of set pieces was also of very poor quality from both ends. Pereira and Doffo both put free kicks off target.

Things did not improve much after the resumption, although Floriana, who put in Joseph Borg for Clyde Borg showed a little more attacking intent early in the second half. On 54 minutes Woods floated the ball inside the Birkirkara area towards Grabowski who was intercepted by Bajada into a corner.

Floriana scored the only goal of the game on the hour. Caruana went past Buhagiar from the left, played the ball square for the advancing Ivan Woods who arrived before Pereira to tap in from close range.

Birkirkara’s reaction was flaccid. Mosies failed to direct his header towards goal as he connected badly to Bajada’s cross and in the late stages, the Stripes put in Leighton Grech and Terence Vella, only for the innocuous Spanish forward Moises to miss again on another Bajada cross.

Birkirkara’s difficulty is that, these days, a one-goal deficit is close to insurmountable.