BKN301 Championship: all eyes on the Cosmos-Pennarossa showdown

With the first round of the Coppa Titano consigned to the archives, the Republic’s focus turns straight back to the new matchday in the BKN301 Campionato Sammarinese. The fifth round of the league does not feature a Friday night curtain-raiser but instead offers four games on Saturday and three on Sunday. Unstoppable La Fiorita, still with a perfect record in the league and victorious also in their Coppa Titano opener, will take to the field against Domagnano. The Giallorossi are still searching for their first joy of the season – they were also beaten on Tuesday in the cup by Libertas – and the Gialloblù from Montegiardino are probably the side in the best form they could have come up against. The fifth matchday continues with San Giovanni-Folgore, a replay of the fixture played 48 hours ago in the Coppa Titano, which ended goalless. Both teams picked up their first league win of the season last time out and are determined not to break this positive trend.   Tre Fiori-Libertas is a clash between aristocrats of San Marino football, two of the most successful and historic clubs in the Republic. The Gialloblù – who had a midweek rest in the Coppa Titano as holders of the trophy and therefore already qualified for the quarter-finals – are coming off a comeback defeat against Tre Penne and are eager to bounce back immediately so as not to lose precious ground at the top. The Granata, for their part, are fresh from a league draw with Virtus and a midweek cup win over Domagnano, and they too are keen to climb into the upper reaches of the table. Saturday’s programme concludes with the City Castle derby between Tre Penne and Murata in Acquaviva. Ceci’s side, unbeaten and with a 100% record in the league, drew in midweek in the Coppa big match with Pennarossa; the Bianconeri, surprisingly beaten by Faetano, have yet to draw in the league (two wins and two defeats). Sunday’s card is headlined by what is perhaps the showpiece fixture: Cosmos-Pennarossa. The Serravalle side are going through a tricky spell: in the last league round they suffered their first defeat of the season against La Fiorita, and in the cup they narrowly went down to Virtus. It will be an intriguing test for Nicola Berardi’s team up against a Pennarossa side still with a perfect record and boasting the best attack in the league (no fewer than twelve goals scored by Ben Kacem and company). For the Biancorossi, who come into this on the back of a cup draw with Tre Penne, it is yet another opportunity to measure their true level. Also noteworthy is the meeting between Juvenes-Dogana and Virtus. Manuel Amati’s team are coming off two league defeats, but their come-from-behind win in the cup against Cailungo has lifted spirits in the Serravalle camp. It is a good spell as well for the Neroverdi of Acquaviva, who have put together two positive league results in a row and claimed a precious cup victory over Cosmos. Sunday’s action rounds off with the game between Fiorentino and Faetano. The Rossoblù are coming from a heavy cup defeat to La Fiorita and in the league have collected their first and only point so far in the last round; the Gialloblù are currently bottom of the table, but the midweek win over Murata could help them reverse the trend. Finally, a reminder that all fixtures will, as always, be available live and free to watch via streaming on Titani.tv, the FSGC’s online platform.

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