BKN301 Championship: Cosmos-La Fiorita could already shape the title race

Last to play before the break, first back on the pitch is Giuseppe Angelini’s Murata, dealing with a few too many injuries. Tomorrow evening they face Cailungo in Montecchio (kick-off 21:15): both sides are yet to draw in this opening stretch of the league and are currently separated by six points in the table. The Bianconeri have won four of their five matches so far, while Iencinella’s team have taken half as many victories. At the same time Folgore and San Giovanni will also be in action, at Acquaviva. Split by just a single point in the standings, both are looking for answers – and above all for points to steer their seasons onto a more stable course. Tognacci’s men have not won since their opening-day victory over San Marino Academy, but in the following rounds they came up against four of the form sides of this period. Folgore are in a similar situation, their only real regret that draw against Domagnano. The Wolves collected their only point of the season in that match and on Saturday they will look to shift gear when they meet a Libertas side still searching for its identity. Sperindio did not mince his words after the 2-2 draw with San Marino Academy, highlighting the lack of cohesion in a Granata squad that has undergone major changes. In the early afternoon at Acquaviva we will see whether the break for national team commitments has helped in that respect. Meanwhile, in Montecchio the most eagerly awaited fixture of the weekend will see Cosmos take on La Fiorita. It is a chance for the Gialloverdi to close the gap on one of the two leaders, both of whom still boast a 100% record. Should they lose, however, Di Maio and his team-mates would drop nine points off the top. There are plenty of former Gialloblù in the Cosmos ranks, and just a few months ago Guidi made the opposite move to the one he took in the summer of 2022. Kick-off in Montecchio is at 15:00 for a match that could already prove decisive in the context of the title race, a race in which Manfredini’s La Fiorita have already shown they are serious contenders. The third afternoon fixture scheduled for Saturday is Fiorentino v Juvenes-Dogana. Along with Murata, Manuel Amati’s side have been the biggest surprise among the outsiders. The Biancorossazzurri are in fine shape and have only been beaten – narrowly – by Virtus and La Fiorita, the two leaders with a perfect record. The draw with Tre Penne and the victories – very different in nature – over Domagnano and Pennarossa have outlined the profile of a compact, well-balanced team. The same can be said of Fiorentino, who only really lost their bearings in the first half of the match against Virtus – effectively paving the way for a heavy defeat. Before that, Camillini’s Rossoblù had gone toe to toe with Cosmos and Tre Fiori, only to rue the loss to Cailungo despite playing with a man advantage for almost an hour. Title holders Tre Penne will bring Saturday’s programme of early fixtures to a close, taking to the field in Acquaviva at 18:15. On paper it looks a straightforward assignment for Ceci’s men, who meet a Pennarossa side still without a point and who only managed to get off the mark in terms of goals scored in the last round. That goal came in a bitter episode for the club now led by new president Manuel Poggiali, as Juvenes-Dogana produced a late comeback, scoring twice after the 90th minute (1-2). The Biancorossi, heavily revamped and rejuvenated over the summer, are still searching for the right chemistry to make up ground on the other contenders for a play-off spot. There are two fixtures scheduled for Sunday, both kicking off at 15:00. San Marino Academy will test their resilience against an in-form Virtus side at the "Federico Crescentini" in Fiorentino. Bizzotto’s players have won every match they have played so far, and have also rediscovered an Alessandro Golinucci capable of making the difference on the international stage (he scored the temporary 1-1 against Denmark last Tuesday). Suspended coach Matteo Cecchetti has welcomed back – among others – Nicko Sensoli, who will be available again for the clash with the Neroverdi. Many Academy players are just back from duty in Turkey with the Under-21 national team; after all, the federation project launched last summer is specifically aimed at the continuous, high-quality development of players eligible for San Marino’s Under-21s. At the same time Faetano and Tre Fiori will go head-to-head on the artificial pitch in Montecchio. The two Gialloblù clubs are experiencing very different spells of form. After the narrow defeat in their opener against Virtus, De Falco’s Tre Fiori have strung together four straight wins and surged back towards the leading group. The trend has been the exact opposite for Faetano who, in last round’s topsy-turvy 4-3 victory over Domagnano, at least managed to put an end to a run of four consecutive defeats – and picked up their first points of the season. This is the full programme for the sixth matchday of the 2023-24 BKN301 Campionato Sammarinese, which will all be broadcast live and free to stream on Titani.tv (Italian commentary):

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