Dominant Greens could only manage a draw
Lija-Iklin Floriana 1 1
The final result does not reflect the true difference between the two teams as Floriana dictated matters for long stretches with waves of attacks which kept the Lija-Iklin defenders busy managing to survive the onslaught with difficulty.
Floriana created the first two actions. A flag kick by Kieron Grech was cleared with difficulty and Jamie Farrugia released Grech in the area but Lija-Iklin keeper Matthias Cuschieri foiled him with a timely sortie.
Lija-Iklin then created their only action after 9 minutes as Julian Xuereb was fouled outside the area and Ryan Sciberras drove over the bar from the free kick.
All other actions before the break were created by Floriana.
Ryan Caruana was fouled on the right flank and the free kick by Grech was cleared away by a defender. Neville Vella was fouled on the right flank; from the free kick by Neil Cassar, the ball was partly cleared outside the area but Grech drove over the bar from the rebound. Matthias Lufi was fouled on the left flank and the ball was cleared away with difficulty after the free kick by Cassar and Vella was fouled just outside the area and Thomas Debono drove slightly over the bar from the freekick.
The first two actions after the restart were created by Floriana. Vella was fouled on the right flank and the ball was cleared away with difficulty after the free kick by Mikail Mansueto. Vella then dribbled past an opponent on the right flank but Cuschieri saved his rising shot.
In the 46th minute Lija-Iklin opened the score when Sciberras received the ball from a long clearance just outside the area and, after advancing, he lobbed the ball over Floriana keeper Fedro Cachia and into the roof of the net.
Their joy was however shortlived as hardly a minute later Floriana equalised. Substitute Shaun Hartley served Vella with a through ball in the area and he scored with a hard low drive.
Encouraged by the equaliser Floriana resumed with their pressing. Cassar was fouled outside the area and after the free kick by Grech, Vella missed the upright from inside the area. A flag kick by Luca Accarino was cleared with difficulty and after another flag kick by the same player Cuschieri saved a header by Vella.
Lufi released Deacon D’Agostino in the area and from his hard drive the ball hit the base of the upright with Cuschieri beaten.
Lufi was then fouled outside the area and Cuschieri was forced to dive and save to a corner the free kick by Accarino. From the latter’s flag kick Debono headed slightly over the bar.
In the last action before the end Vella was fouled on the left edge of the area and after Accarino’s free kick, Cuschieri saved a header by Eman Micallef and also another by Debono.
M.Cuschieri, J.Mercieca, R.Sciberras, T.Azzopardi, S.Schembri, J.Cassar, A.Agius, J.Xuereb, M.Saliba, J.Azzopardi, D.Cull
F.Cachia, K.Carabott, R.Caruana, T.Debono, K.Grech, M.Mansueto, E.Micallef, J.Farrugia, M.Lufi, J.Darmanin, N.Cassar. Referee: Karl Stefan Galea Player of the match: Kieron Grech (Floriana)