BKN301 Championship: top-of-the-table clashes as Tre Penne look to capitalise

On the weekend of the sixth round of the BKN301 San Marino Championship, six of the top seven sides in the table meet – with the exception of Tre Penne. Among them are Virtus and La Fiorita, who feature in one of two Friday night fixtures: the match, originally scheduled for Saturday afternoon, has been brought forward in Acquaviva (tomorrow, 21:15) due to traffic restrictions linked to the concurrent Rallylegend. It will be up to Bizzotto’s Neroverdi – who already caused problems for the reigning champions last season – to try to halt the so-far perfect run of the Montegiardino club. At the same time there will also be action at the Federico Crescentini Stadium in Fiorentino, where San Giovanni and Fiorentino face off with contrasting moods (tomorrow, 21:15). The Rossoblù share bottom spot with Cailungo on just one point and will have to do without the suspended Torsani – on target against Faetano. San Giovanni, on the other hand, are keen to show they have turned a corner after a complicated start to the season. Convincing wins over Cailungo and Folgore – with a cup draw against Falciano’s club in between, with whom they will battle for a place in the quarter-finals next week – are seen as just the beginning of the team’s charge under Tognacci. Two matches are scheduled for Saturday afternoon, following the rescheduling of Virtus-La Fiorita. The stand-out tie will certainly be Pennarossa-Tre Fiori (Montecchio, Saturday at 15:00). Both tipped to be leading contenders this season, they come into the game off the back of painful defeats. Pennarossa fell narrowly to Cosmos after winning their first three matches. Tre Fiori, meanwhile, lost to Libertas: Selva’s side have collected just one point from the last three rounds, drawing with Cailungo and then going down in a comeback defeat to Tre Penne. Given the change in competition format – with the title now going to the team that finishes top of the regular season, leaving the post-season to decide qualification for Q1 of the UEFA Europa Conference League – the current eight-point gap to the summit is something Tre Fiori must take seriously. Falzetta is definitely out: the wing-back, who has scored twice in this early part of the campaign, is suspended. Folgore are still searching for a clear identity, having failed to build on the 3-0 win over Faetano and then slipping to defeat against San Giovanni. Lepri’s team have just four points on the board, two fewer than Murata – their next opponents (Acquaviva, Saturday at 15:00). The Bianconeri, who had put together back-to-back wins over San Giovanni and Juvenes-Dogana, are looking to get back to picking up points after suffering four goals at the hands of Tre Penne. It has been nothing but victories so far for Stefano Ceci’s side who – after sitting out the opening round – have beaten Cailungo, Domagnano, Tre Fiori and Murata. Next up is a showdown with Juvenes-Dogana (Acquaviva, Sunday at 15:00) as they aim to keep pace with La Fiorita – league leaders with maximum points and yet to observe a rest round. Tre Penne have their sights set on moving into overtaking position, given the demanding fixture awaiting the reigning champions. The fixture list dynamics could bring further advantages, should they beat Juvenes-Dogana, in light of the many head-to-head clashes at the top of the table. Such calculations, however, all rest on first overcoming the Serravalle club, who come into the game on the back of three straight league defeats and are eager to bounce back as soon as possible – relying, of course, on Davide Merli, scorer of four goals in five matches. Libertas-Cosmos is certain to be the headline act on Sunday’s schedule (Fiorentino, 15:00). The Granata from Borgo Maggiore are unbeaten, having recorded two wins and two draws in their four outings so far. The revamped and ambitious Cosmos project is proving highly competitive: four wins and a single defeat – that at the hands of defending champions La Fiorita – are the calling card of Nicola Berardi’s side, who will be looking for high-profile confirmation against Libertas. Rounding off the programme is Cailungo-Domagnano: second from bottom and third from bottom respectively, on two and one point, they will both be chasing their first win of the year (Montecchio, 15:00). The Rossoverdi have not had the easiest of schedules so far, having faced La Fiorita, Tre Penne and Tre Fiori in their opening league fixtures. More concerning, however, was the heavy defeat – in both performance and scoreline – against San Giovanni. Domagnano’s path has been no less tricky, and they might reasonably feel they could have taken more from their matches with Juvenes-Dogana and Fiorentino – both of which ended in draws.

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