Floriana sweep past Hamrun to bolster their ambitions
Floriana were in strong voice yesterday and hopes renewed after their quarter final win, and a convincing performance, against Hamrun Spartans in the FA Trophy.
And on yesterday’s evidence, the Greens must fancy their chances of winning the competition this season.
Two goals in quick succession set the tone for an embarrassingly one-sided first half in which Hamrun were completely outplayed as they struggled to control the tempo.
The Spartans’ frailties were brutally exposed as Floriana played with the belief and freedom that saw them beat Birkirkara in the Premier League the previous week. They cut through Hamrun with such ruthlessness that had all of the Spartans’ concentration deteriorating early in the match.
Hamrun still had Jake Grech missing because of injury, while Floriana started without Justin Haber and Steve Pisani. The latter, though, came off the bench past the quarter hour to replace the injured Ryan Camenzuli.
After a very tight and uneventful opening 20 minutes, the match completely changed complexion with Floriana taking a double lead, within five minutes, that put them firmly in the driving seat.
Rodriguez failed to clear Cini’s throw-in from the right, and the ball reached Mario Fontanella, who confirmed his deadly finishing by shooting past Hamrun keeper Cassar from inside the area.
Hardly five minutes later, Floriana won a series of corners, with Steve Pisani taking one from the right for defender Enrico Pepe to score Floriana’s second with a firm header.
This double lead clearly provided Floriana with confidence, given the way they moved around and the chances they kept creating. The Hamrun custodian was kept busy as he turned Varela’s glancing header into a corner and then blocked Steve Pisani’s powerful drive on the ground.
Hamrun’s prospects of coming back into the game always looked remote in the second half as Floriana kept producing some flowing football and continuous presssing in midfield.
On 54 minutes, Varela connected well to a deep Fontanella cross from the right but hit the upright with his outstretched leg.
It says something that Hamrun’s first shot on target came after 65 minutes from Giusti but that was hardly of any concern for reserve Floriana keeper Matthew Grech, who was called to produce a more difficult save from Nanapere five minutes later.
Floriana threatened to widen the gap again in the dying minutes with a Cini low drive from the right that narrowly missed the target. But with Hamrun failing to channel their frustration into something more constructive, the qualtity, as well as the rhythm, dipped in the late stages.
The Spartans knew well by then that there was no way back as they were knocked out by superior opponents.