Championship: goal-fest in the fog as San Giovanni climb to seventh place

Just over two years on, a new clash between Cosmos and Virtus – again, coincidentally, in Montecchio – is swallowed up by the fog. Unlike in December 2022, when the match was played and completed, today there simply were no conditions to play. After several inspections, the last of which at 15:45, referee Emiliano Albani – in agreement with captains Battistini and Rinaldi – decided to postpone the match. It will already be played tomorrow evening at 20:45, again in Montecchio, with full live coverage on Titani.tv. Visibility was on the limit in Fiorentino, where Juvenes-Dogana and San Giovanni produced a spectacular match featuring no fewer than five goals. The Rossoneri took an acrobatic lead through Cocco as early as the 9th minute. The Serravalle club drew level right before the break thanks to an own goal from Ghiggini from a set-piece situation. Tognacci’s men all but wrapped up the three points in ten minutes: on the hour Aprea put San Giovanni back in front, with Augusto Garcia Rufer stretching the lead in the 68th minute. Mazzavillani’s strike a quarter of an hour from the end spiced up the finale (extended by seven minutes of stoppage time, mainly due to treatment on the pitch for Starna), but Juvenes-Dogana were unable to avoid defeat. San Giovanni move up to seventh place, overtaking Cosmos, who tomorrow evening – as mentioned – will be involved in the rescheduled fixture against Virtus. Perfect parity in Domagnano between Folgore and Fiorentino, who preserve the one-point gap in the table in favour of the Falciano club. The Giallorossoneri broke the deadlock inside five minutes, capitalising on Adami Martins winning the ball high up the pitch – before picking out the wicked left-foot finish from Raul Ura. After squandering a couple of chances to double their lead, Lasagni’s side then had to face a penalty against them. Miori’s clumsy challenge on Boubacar Diop was punished, sending Abouzziane to the spot: a right-foot effort at mid-height and not particularly in the corner, beaten away by Guddo on 15 minutes. Having escaped, Folgore doubled through Yero Touré, who scored with a header from a Sartori corner. Fiorentino reacted immediately and earned another penalty for Touré’s outstretched arm on a Belward cross: from eleven metres, confidently, Abouzziane again, this time sending Guddo the wrong way to reopen the game. The match then became a great spectacle, with chances raining down at both ends; Folgore missed several opportunities to land the knockout blow, while Tarini’s boys – when the clock hit 70 minutes – struck gold. Once more Belward was decisive, supplying a perfect assist for Chiaruzzi, who made it 2–2. In the closing minutes Miori and Golinucci failed to convert two big chances to tilt the balance Folgore’s way – who remain third even after the Sunday late kick-off involving Tre Fiori. The Gialloblù were redirected to Dogana, just like Domagnano, with kick-off pushed back to 18:30. It was impossible to stick to the original plan of playing in Montecchio which – engulfed in fog – had already claimed Cosmos–Virtus in the afternoon. The Fiorentino club started brightly, going centimetres away from taking the lead with Censoni’s turn from twenty metres. Buda’s reply drifted well off target. Of a completely different calibre was the chance created by Tre Fiori on 14 minutes, building down the right through Falzetta and Bernardi before the ball was delivered to the edge of the six-yard box, where Prandelli was denied by a monumental save from Celli. Not to be outdone was Nardi’s reflex stop in the 76th minute, denying Moscardi the joy of scoring. Earlier, Girolomoni’s side – the coach suspended and therefore replaced in the technical area by Stradaioli – had also had two attempts without success. The decisive episode that settled the three points came in the third minute of added time: Mazzavillani won a wide free-kick that Domagnano opted to take short. From the exchange came Fusco’s shot-cross, intended to find Moscardi at the near post. No touch arrived, however, and Nardi was left stranded by the bounce: the Giallorossi struck at the death and floored Tre Fiori, drawing level with Faetano on 20 points in the table and, above all, extending their play-off “parachute” to a seven-point cushion. Here is the partial picture of Matchday 20 of the Campionato Sammarinese: Click here for the updated standings.

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