360Sports Malta Premier
Floriana………1
Birkirkara……..1
Floriana and Birkirkara played out a 1-1 draw in the final match of the Top 6 Closing Round.
Maxwell Maya gave Birkirkara the lead early in the game but Dunstan Vella equalized with a well taken effort on 37 minutes.
Birkirkara started aggressively and after just 3 minutes they were already ahead: Mafoumbi parried but failed to hold a shot from outside the box by Makoma, and from the rebound Maxuell Maia fired into the net.
Floriana’s first response came in the 13th minute, when Birkirkara’s Neil Micallef was shown a yellow card after stopping a counterattack by Sasere with a foul. From the resulting freekick, goalkeeper Volpe turned Fernandinho’s shot away for a corner.
In the 19th minute, another action from Floriana: a freekick by Jake Grech found Sasere’s header, with goalkeeper Volpe once again turning it out for a corner. This was followed by two back-to-back actions from Birkirkara. In the 21st minute, a quick break by Kemar Reid saw him enter the box and attempt a cross towards Maia, but goalkeeper Mafoumbi intercepted. A minute later, a shot from Satariano from just inside the box went centimetres wide.
Floriana started becoming more adventurous: and in the 36th minute, their best chance so far saw Gamarra’s shot skim just past the post. A minute later, confusion arose in front of the Birkirkara goal from a corner action, with the ball eventually deflected out harmlessly for a goal kick.
In the 39th minute, Floriana equalised: Jake Grech entered the box after Sandona failed to stop him, and his cross found the unmarked Dunstan Vella, who beat Volpe.
Floriana remained on the attack, and moments later, Fernandinho got past Coppola but shot over in the 42nd minute. It took a sharp reaction save from Volpe to stop a downward header from Garzia, with the ball still appearing destined to end up in the net — but Morello cleared off the line with a header for a corner.
The chances continued in the second half as well. In the 56th minute, Maia tested Mafoumbi with a powerful but central shot. On the hour mark, it was Volpe at the other end who made a very good save from a shot at the edge of the box by Gamarra. And in the 72nd minute, Aleandro Garzia incredibly sent the ball wide from in front of goal after Volpe had deflected a cross from the byline by Jake Grech.
In the last action of the match, Mafoumbi saved from a long-distance shot by Satariano.
Even the 7 minutes of added time given by referee Philip Farrugia did not produce another goal — so the match ended 1-1, and everything will now be decided in the Final 4.
Both teams started with these line-ups:
Birkirkara: Giacomo Volpe, Manuel Morello, Agustin Sandona, Paul Mbong, Kemar Reid, Alex Satariano (capt.), Leandro Lacunza, Neil Micallef, Alessandro Coppola, Donovan Makoma, Maxuell Maia
Coach: Stefano de Angelis
Floriana: Christoffer Mafoumbi, Oualid El Hasni, Dunstan Vella (capt.), Owen Spiteri, Matias Garcia, Gonzalo Gamarra, Franklin Sasere, Alexandros Kouro, Aleandro Garzia, Fernandinho
Coach: Darren Abdilla
Referee: Philip Farrugia
There were chances at both ends although neither team could find the net. In the end the sharing of the spoils was a fair result.
Floriana now face Hamrun whilst Sliema Wanderers face off against Birkirkara in the Final 4.
