BKN301 Championship: Faetano’s collapse as Tre Penne defend top spot with 180 minutes to go

The first verdicts with two matchdays remaining concern Cailungo and La Fiorita. The former, swept aside by Cosmos, are now mathematically out of the play-off race, which still – albeit by a thread – includes Fiorentino. The reigning champions, meanwhile, can no longer catch or overtake the two sides above them in the table. Given how the season has unfolded, especially for Cosmos and Tre Penne, this is an outcome that had effectively only needed rubber-stamping for a few weeks. Curiously, the certainty arrived from the draw earned by San Giovanni who, also at Domagnano in the reverse fixture, held La Fiorita 2-2, leading to Lasagni’s dismissal and Manfredini’s debut as head coach. There were plenty of goals in the late fixtures: a total of twenty-one in five matches, three of them from Prandelli. The league’s top scorer was the standout figure in Cosmos’ 5-0 win, which temporarily returned them to the summit at half-time – when Tre Penne went into the dressing room at 0-0. Nisi broke the deadlock on 15 minutes, then a Prandelli brace around the half-hour mark effectively wrapped up the contest with Cailungo well before the interval. Shortly before the break, Errico also got in on the act, allowing Berardi to manage his resources ahead of the last two league games, which Cosmos are obliged to win. Along with their midfield metronome, Zulli and Pastorelli also stayed in the dressing room for the restart, just as word arrived from Montecchio of Tre Penne taking the lead. Cosmos, for their part, kept the pressure on and added a fifth on 80 minutes from the penalty spot, converted by Prandelli, who moved on to 19 goals in 25 appearances. Before laying down their arms, Cailungo found a consolation, capitalising on a break by Bara whose cross into the middle was buried by Canini, typically clinical as he notched his seventh goal in twelve matches. Tre Penne’s response, in simultaneous action at Montecchio against Folgore, keeps Ceci’s men one point clear at the top with two games left to play. After a goalless first half in which Folgore wasted a chance to go ahead, it was Nigretti who broke the deadlock, applying a scruffy but effective finish to a powerful run from Pieri. Once the dam burst, Tre Penne overwhelmed the Falciano club, doubling their advantage through former Folgore forward Imre Badalassi before further stretching the lead via Ceccaroli and Vandi in the final quarter of an hour to seal a 4-0 scoreline. Tre Fiori also hit four, and are still mathematically capable of catching the leaders. It is pure fantasy, however, to think that Tre Penne will lose both of their remaining games and that Cosmos will do the same – despite the fact that the final league match will pit the Gialloverdi against Selva’s side. Even so, the Fiorentino club needed little more than a minute to go in front through Tall, picked out in the middle by Gjurchinoski. An indirect free-kick in the box brought Salvemini’s equaliser, but before the interval the Croatian forward restored Tre Fiori’s lead, which they would go on to rubber-stamp after the break. On 53 minutes Bernardi bravely beat Gentilini to the ball to make it 3-1, while Tall completed the job with a superb lob midway through the second half. Amati’s men remain ninth, level on points with Murata and Pennarossa, but must observe their rest day in the coming weekend. In this context, the two surprise draws earned by San Giovanni and Faetano have set alarm bells ringing at the club founded in 2000 from the merger of the Dogana and Serravalle outfits. In particular, San Giovanni’s result, which prevented defeat against La Fiorita. The Gialloblù attack misfired but still managed to break through with Vitaioli on 45 minutes. Manfredini’s side failed to land the knockout blow and, from a wide free-kick by Celli ten minutes from time, Brighi’s own goal left Vivan helpless for the final 1-1. Tognacci’s team, who now face Virtus next, are three points adrift of the group of sides clustered on 26 points. Virtus last night produced something of a minor miracle in coming back against Faetano, who will be kicking themselves for throwing away three virtually certain points by half-time. The Gialloblù indeed returned to the dressing rooms 2-0 up and with a man advantage, after Golinucci was sent off for the foul that led to Ferrario’s second penalty – an incident in which Passaniti, the only goalkeeper available to Bizzotto yesterday evening, had to leave the pitch injured, handing his gloves and goal over to midfielder Pedrini. Earlier, it was Mema who had opened the scoring, also from the spot, with his twelfth goal of the season. Inexplicably, Faetano switched off and Ferrario’s moment of madness – sent off for two yellow cards in three minutes – breathed new life into Virtus, who got back into it with the third penalty awarded by Luci, converted by Buonocunto. The Gialloblù were reeling and conceded the equaliser less than 200 seconds later to Sopranzi. The draw lifts Faetano to 24 points, one fewer than Pennarossa who, as things stand, occupy the last play-off place. It is easy to understand the bitterness in Girolomoni’s camp after last night’s clash in Acquaviva. Sunday’s match with Domagnano, just off their own rest day, is a make-or-break encounter before finishing against a title-chasing Tre Penne. A few minutes after the final whistles last night, the fixture list for the penultimate round of the regular season was confirmed. Cosmos and Tre Penne will battle it out at distance in Saturday’s early kick-offs: Berardi’s team face the derby with Folgore, while the Città club take on Pennarossa. Virtus-San Giovanni and Libertas-Murata are also scheduled as early fixtures. On Sunday, La Fiorita and Tre Fiori will go head-to-head for third place – far from a secondary target with the play-offs in mind – while Fiorentino-Cailungo and Domagnano-Faetano are direct clashes in the race for post-season qualification. The final-day schedule will be announced at the end of the next round, with the aim – as far as possible – of ensuring simultaneous kick-offs for matches involving teams with the same targets in the table. This logic will be applied to all of the final three rounds of the regular season. Here is the full picture from Matchday 28 of the 2022-23 BKN301 Campionato Sammarinese:

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