Floriana- 1

Hamrun S 1

A lapse by Hamrun goalie Andrea Cassar allowed Floriana to get an equaliser yesterday evening as the two teams fought out a one-all result - their second consecutive draw from as many matches.

It was a fair result in a match which had two faces – a boring first half and a second full of action and entertainment.

The result left Sliema as temporary leaders ahead of the matches being played today and tomorrow.

In the first half, play was of a very low level with neither side able to create the desired openings. We were witnesses to a lot of midfield play which made the match boring to watch.

Floriana, perhaps, saw more of the ball, especially in the opening 25 minutes, but they only created one or two chances which they missed.

On their part, the Spartans never troubled goalkeeper Debono in the Floriana goal, especially after having missed the services of striker Terence Scerri through injury early in the game. He was later taken to hospital on a stretcher.

Floriana’s Christian Caruana played some fine touches while at the other end, Hamrun’s Bulgarian Lyubomir Vitanov tried hard to get his team-mates going without much success. Caruana, however, was surprisingly substituted in the second half.

The match sprang into action in the second half which was lively and very entertaining from start to finish.

For the Spartans, none played better than Gianluca Calabretta. He not only scored their goal, but was also the main threat to the Floriana defence on some other occasions. It was a pity he was injured in the final moments.

Floriana threatened first through a Tremarco freekick after just four minutes - goalie Cassar saved with difficulty.

Four minutes later, Caruana brilliantly set Verma who hesitated in front of Cassar and was robbed of the ball thus missing a golden opportunity to put his side in the lead.

Hamrun allowed the Greens to take the initiative and from another Cilia cross, it was Adrian Ivanov who just managed to clear to corner before Pisani could conclude.

Floriana appealed in vain for a penalty when Pisani seemed to have been pushed by a couple of Hamrun defenders, but referee Marco Borg, close to the action, saw nothing untoward.

The start of the second half promised better things to come as in the opening minute, Pisani tested Cassar with a shot from outside the area which the goalie saved with difficulty.

A few moments later, it was Brown who first timed a Cilia cross just over the bar.

The Spartans first attempt came in the 58th minute – an inviting cross from Yoshev found no takers, but immediately afterwards, they opened the scoring through a fine Calabretta header who anticipated Debono following a cross from the right from Bozhov.

Floriana went very close to an equaliser on the 71st minute – a shot by Verma just missing the post.

Three minutes later, at the other end, Calabretta was denied by Debono who turned to corner with difficulty. From the corner, a Massimo Grima shot was blocked by a Floriana defender.

Floriana equalised on the 79th minute somewhat unexpectedly. It was goalkeeper Andrea Cassar who presented the equaliser on a place. He dribbled round Darmanin, but then he was robbed by the same player who concluded in an untenanted net.

Soon afterwards, Hamrun were dealt another blow when skipper Roderick Fenech was shown a direct red card for a bad foul on an opponent.

Floriana now took control of midfield and they threw everything into attack but they could not score again.

At the end, the Hamrun players and coach Stefan Sultana were seen sympathising with goalie Cassar – a fine gesture which led to applause from those present on the Hamrun end.

Floriana: J. Debono, D. Pisani, A. Brown, T. Farrugia, K. Farrugia, T. Cilia, A. Verma, V. Alhinho (O.Bugeja), B. Farrugia (C. Borg), C. Tremarco, C. Caruana (R. Darmanin).

Hamrun S.: A. Cassar, G. Calabretta, R. Fenech, M. Grima, T. Scerri (R. Spiteri), T. Vella (D. Camilleri), D. Zerafa, A. Ivanov, A. Yoshev, L. Vitanov, N. Bozhov (A. Vergilov).

Referee: M. Borg.

Asst refs: I. Spiteri, M. Scerri.

4th official: AM Sant.

Scorers: G. Calabretta 59,

Yellow cards: A. Verma, N. Bozhov, M. Grima, T. Cilia, A. Yoshev, C. Borg, A. Brown,

Red card: R. Fenech.

Player of the match: G. Calabretta.

TMI Top 3: 1. G. Calabretta; 2. T. Farrugia; 3. M. Grima

Attendance: 1,012