Jota Silva soft goal foils gallant Greens
Floriana: Mafoumbi, Garzia, El Hasni, Spiteri, Kouros, Fernand‐ inho, Vella, Grech, Garcia, Thi‐ aguinho, Reid
Vitoria SC: Varela, Costa, Oliveira Fernandes, Borevkovic, Mendes, Tiago Silva, Handel, San‐ tos, Jota Silva, Oliveira, Mangas
Referee: Ben MacMaster (N. Ire‐ land)
A soft goal scored twelve minutes from time by Jota Silva foiled Flori‐ ana’s gallant display yesterday against Vitoria Guimareas in the first leg of the second qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League.
Vitoria were arguably the better team, holding possession for much of the time, but the Greens defendd well and had some very good scor‐ ing opportunities.
The Greens surely deserved a draw from this game, a draw which would been a just reward for their very good overall per‐ formance.
In the opening stages two good scoring opportunities for Floriana, both created by Kemar Reid, one of the best on the field.
In his first move he passed to‐ wards Thiaguiho who failed to connect, and in the second he passed towards Jake Grech who shot slighlty over the bar from an ideal position.
Vitoria had nothing to show in the first half for their territorial su‐ periority with goalkeeper Mafoumbi never seiously tested.
At the start of the second half Flo‐ riana again had some interesting moves upfront, but as minutes ticked, Vitoria increased their tempo and Floriana were forced to defend, sometimes in apparent difficulty.
However Floriana had a golden opportunity when Thiaguinho passed towards Reid who was about to tap in an empty net, but was anticipated by an Alberto des‐ perate tackle.
The inclusion of Ramirez, Samu and Kaio Cesar just past the hour tipped the balance in favour of the Portuguese side.
Cesar had a couple of attempts well saved by the Floriana custo‐ dian, and then on 78 minutes the goal that broke Floriana’s hearts.
A long ball towards Jota Silva caught Garzia and goalkeeper Mafoumbi napping and the Por‐ tuguese striker nipped in to antic‐ ipate Mafoumbi and put the ball at the back of the net.
This goal was knock‐out blow for the Greens who never recovered as Vitoria easily preserved their lead, a lead which practically puts them through to the third qualify‐ ing round of the competition.