BKN301 Championship: Sapucci strikes on 90 minutes to peg back Tre Penne and keep the title race alive

Intense, incident-packed, hard-fought as expected, at times particularly nervous, but ultimately without any upheavals or decisive blows in the title race. The top-of-the-table clash between Tre Penne and Cosmos leaves the hierarchy unchanged: the 2-2 draw keeps Ceci’s side one point clear, even though there were chances to land what could have been a near knock-out punch. Above all, through the two leads earned first by Badalassi and then by Righini. Not to mention the long spell played with a man advantage. It was not to be. Cosmos show they have seven lives and, above all, they have the final word in a match that could have dealt a painful blow to their title ambitions. It is on 90 minutes that Sapucci finds the net, sparing Berardi and his men a bitter – perhaps fatal – defeat. The deadlock is broken relatively early. On 10 minutes Pieri stretches to play in Badalassi who, on the edge of the box, has the time and space to pick his spot and guide the ball into the bottom corner to Simoncini’s left. Wild celebrations from Tre Penne and their marksman, who a few minutes earlier had rattled the crossbar with a fine curling left-footer from the edge of the area. Someone who does not take kindly to the biancazzurri’s joy is Maggioli, who hurls the ball against the back of an opponent and is shown a straight red card. Reduced to ten men, Cosmos resist Città’s attacks, in particular a couple of serious threats from Vandi (a piledriver from the edge that finished just wide) and Gai (shot beaten away by Simoncini with a superb reflex save), before levelling right at the end of the half through Prandelli’s header from a pinpoint Pastorelli cross. The second half begins at a relentless tempo, with Guidi stopped around the penalty spot and, at the other end, Ceccaroli and Pieri just centimetres away from restoring Città’s lead. All within a matter of minutes. On 56 minutes there is another twist: Tisselli, already booked, receives a second yellow and numerical parity is restored. Cosmos grow in belief but on 72 minutes they are caught by a counter-attack that Tre Penne manage to perfection: Nigretti sparks it, exchanging passes with Badalassi before bursting into the box at full tilt, collecting the return ball and touching it away a split-second before Simoncini’s advance, drawing the foul. The referee points to the spot and Righini steps up: Simoncini guesses the right way but cannot prevent Ceci’s men from going back in front. The momentum of the match – and of the championship – now seems to be swinging clearly Tre Penne’s way. But Cosmos refuse to accept it. And on 90 minutes comes the thunderbolt that earns the draw and throws the title race wide open again: Pastorelli, from the left, delivers his second assist of the evening, Sapucci controls in the middle of the box and with his left foot drives the ball in off the post. The big match thus ends with celebrations for Serravalle and some long faces in the ranks of Città, even though Tre Penne will have the opportunity to manage their one-point lead in three fixtures that, on paper, are far from prohibitive, while Cosmos still have Tre Fiori to face and, above all, will not have their fate entirely in their own hands. Berardi, however, knows it could have been much worse. On the other pitches, Domagnano and Libertas enjoyed a successful evening with two 3-0 wins. The Granata had to wait until the 79th minute to finally break down Juvenes-Dogana’s resistance. Once they concede the first goal, though, they crumble, allowing the second and third within just six minutes. Sperindio’s men (the coach was suspended) take the lead through Barlafante, who pounces on a misplaced back-pass by Acquarelli. Moments later, Peretta powers down the left and is brought down on the by-line by D’Angeli, conceding a penalty that Olcese coolly converts. The final seal, again just a few minutes after the previous goal, is applied by Kuqi with a moment of shooting brilliance. For Libertas it is a second straight win, once again 3-0 as on Saturday against Domagnano. The latter, for their part, erase that particular defeat by beating San Giovanni by the same scoreline. Here the sending-off of Luca Angelini certainly proves costly, the defender dismissed for a second yellow just before the hour mark. In any case, by that point the Wolves had already taken the lead through Zonzini, left unmarked from Mazzoli’s corner and sharp enough to make the most of the freedom afforded to him to power his header home. After the red card, Domagnano need very little time to move into safe waters, thanks to another header, this time from Ceccaroli, supplied by Parma. As with Libertas, the final touch here is another piece of individual skill: Lombardi receives on the inside-left channel, runs at De Biagi and curls a right-footed effort that gives De Angelis no chance. With this victory, the giallorossi draw level with Juvenes-Dogana and bring to an end a four-game losing streak. This is the partial picture from Matchday 27: Click here for the updated standings

---