Floriana moved to the top of the VBet Malta Premier League standings after a strong second-half performance earned them a 4-1 victory over Gżira United at the Centenary Stadium.
The Greens were made to work hard by a spirited Gżira side during the opening 45 minutes, but Tomislav Gudelj struck twice after the break, with Ange Ndri and Carlo Zammit Lonardelli also finding the net.
Gżira had started brightly and created the first major opportunity after 20 minutes when Andy Borg surged into the penalty area before sending a diagonal effort narrowly wide.
The Maroons threatened again ten minutes later as David Xuereb unleashed a powerful drive which Floriana goalkeeper Pablo Picon managed to deal with at the second attempt.
Floriana gradually began to find their feet and Gudelj went close to breaking the deadlock when he created space on the edge of the area, only to send his low shot just wide.
The Croatian striker made no mistake three minutes after the restart, however, firing Floriana into the lead.
Gżira responded well and drew level on the hour. Picon failed to hold a cross into the Floriana area and Maxuell Maia took advantage of the goalkeeper’s mistake to fire home the equaliser.
The Maroons’ joy was short-lived as Floriana regained their advantage eight minutes later.
Dunstan Vella produced a clever chipped pass into the path of substitute Ndri, who met the ball with a fine volley to restore the Greens’ lead.
Floriana then took control and effectively put the contest beyond Gżira in the 76th minute. Paul Mbong powered his way into the penalty area before delivering a cross which Gudelj converted for his second goal of the match.
The Greens were not finished and added a fourth two minutes from time through Zammit Lonardelli to complete an emphatic victory.
The result lifted Floriana to the summit of the standings and provided another confidence boost ahead of their upcoming Super Cup clash against Valletta, while Gżira’s difficult start to the season continued.
Sports Editor
Veteran Journalist
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