BKN301 Championship: long‑distance battles for top spot before the break

Back on the pitch are Cosmos, who after their rest round will look to climb to the top of the table, taking advantage of tomorrow night’s early kick-off against Domagnano. La Fiorita, Tre Penne and Tre Fiori, meanwhile, will all be in action on Saturday and Sunday. It is a must‑win match for the Gialloverdi at the Ezio Conti in Dogana, kicking off at 21:15. Domagnano are seeking consistency, having collected two draws and a win in their last three outings. On Saturday’s programme, Tre Fiori vs Folgore is certainly the standout fixture. The Gialloblù appear to have rediscovered the assurance they had lost at the start of October, stringing together three hard‑earned victories over Pennarossa, San Giovanni and Murata. Folgore, on the other hand, are eager to prove they are worth more than the eighth place currently occupied by the 2021 Sammarinese champions. Pracucci and Sartori are suspended: the Folgore captain will only return for Matchday 12, having been hit with a two‑match ban that will technically expire when his side are on their bye week. The match is scheduled for Saturday in Montecchio (15:00). At the same time, but at the Federico Crescentini Stadium in Fiorentino, Tre Penne and Fiorentino will face off. Malandri’s men sit bottom of the table, needing to iron out some defensive issues (together with Murata, Fiorentino have the league’s leakiest backline with 19 goals conceded) and cope with the suspension of a key man in Colagiovanni. On the opposite side, Tre Penne – the only unbeaten team so far this season – want to get back to winning ways after two draws in their last three games, against Juvenes-Dogana and Virtus. The Serravalle club recently tasted victory again with a 2-1 derby win over Folgore, built on a perfect start and lethal counter‑attacking. This is exactly what San Giovanni will need to be wary of, having followed three straight wins with back‑to‑back defeats against Tre Fiori and Faetano. Juvenes-Dogana dream of overtaking them, while Tognacci’s men are aiming to consolidate their position just behind the teams considered frontrunners in the title race. They meet in Acquaviva on Saturday at 15:00. Among the title contenders, the holders cannot be overlooked. La Fiorita, back on top of the standings, intend to cement their lead before the break. On Sunday in Montecchio (15:00), they face one of the toughest tests: Cardini’s Libertas, who will be out to make amends for what they failed to achieve last week in the derby with Cailungo. The Granata created and squandered chance after chance, avoiding a cruel defeat only at the death thanks to Sapori. Speaking of Cailungo: for Elia Benedettini and his team‑mates, beaten just once in their last five games, the spark seems to have been lit. What better exam, then, than Virtus – one of the most solid and in‑form sides in the league, who managed to keep Tre Penne goalless in the last round? Cailungo vs Virtus will be played in Fiorentino on Sunday from 15:00. The round is completed by the meeting between Faetano and Pennarossa. The record so far for the Chiesanuova club is perfectly balanced: a draw in their last match, after three wins to start the season and three defeats in a row. Farabegoli’s Biancorossi are keen to get off the rollercoaster of this opening part of the campaign, in which Stefanelli and Ben Kacem have undoubtedly been the brightest notes (Pennarossa boast the league’s best attack, level with Cosmos). Faetano, however, are just a point behind, coming into the fixture on the back of three straight wins. Together with Tre Fiori, they hold the longest current winning streak going into this matchday. The clash, which promises to be even and intriguing, will be played in Acquaviva on Sunday at 15:00. Here is the schedule for the ninth matchday of the BKN301 Sammarinese Championship, available in full with live commentary on Titani.tv:

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