BKN301 Championship: Tre Penne held by La Fiorita as Cosmos profit

Tre Penne are held by La Fiorita and Cosmos are the beneficiary. The big Sunday clash of Matchday 22 in the BKN301 Campionato Sammarinese ends all square, returning top spot in the table to Nicola Berardi’s side – victorious yesterday in the derby against Juvenes-Dogana. The most eagerly awaited fixture did not disappoint, starting with the opener for Stefano Ceci’s team, who break the deadlock on 12 minutes with a magnificently struck free-kick by Righini that beats Vivan. Manfredini’s men, however, do not give up and immediately start to press forward. On the half-hour comes the key incident: Rinaldi goes down in the area after a coming-together, and referee Denis Perez of Gibraltar points to the spot. Amati steps up from eleven metres but Migani saves the penalty. La Fiorita then throw themselves forward and, right at the end of the first half, find a vital equaliser: Tommaso Zafferani battles away down the right and crosses for Rinaldi, who lays it off to the nearby Galip Arapi; the January signing in yellow and blue produces a precise, snooker-style finish to make it 1-1. The tempo does not drop after the break and the best chance comes just minutes from time, when Samuel Pancotti unleashes a superb effort from distance, only to see the ball crash against the crossbar. La Fiorita therefore miss out on a win that has eluded them for almost a month, but remain just three points off the summit. For Tre Penne, meanwhile, their run of consecutive league victories in 2023 (eight wins) comes to an end and – even more importantly – they must surrender top spot to Cosmos. An important win instead for Domagnano, who make it three victories in a row. The Giallorossi Wolves take an early lead against Folgore thanks to a moment of brilliance from Mattia Ceccaroli, who, set up by Morena, shrugs off his marker with a touch of magic before beating Pollini. Early in the second half there are two huge chances, one at each end: first Fedeli rattles the crossbar from distance, then, on the counter, Bernardi does exactly the same. The goal that seals the contest in Domagnano’s favour again bears the signature of Mattia Ceccaroli, who meets Fedeli’s fine assist and, with an exquisite lob, once more beats Pollini. With this win the Giallorossi climb to eighth place and move to within just two points of Folgore themselves, who see their good run of form come to an end. Pennarossa also return to winning ways thanks to a three-goal haul against Cailungo. The deadlock is broken midway through the first half, when Mattia Stefanelli makes an excellent run to the near post to meet Mezzadri’s corner, notching his 12th goal of the league campaign. After the restart, Gori’s side keep their foot on the accelerator and double their lead through Bahi, who is quick to capitalise on a Cailungo defensive error and put his team two goals to the good. The third arrives at the end of a fine team move: Mantovani plays in Daniele Conti, the Biancorosso captain gets to the byline and squares for Michelotti, who only has to turn it into the net. Things go from bad to worse for Cailungo when, late on, Lusini is also sent off for a second yellow card. Pennarossa thus claim their first win since 14 January, while Cailungo remain bottom of the table. The league will be back in action in just a few days, with Matchday 23 to be played on Tuesday 7 (two matches) and Wednesday 8 March (five matches), all kicking off at 21:15. Here is the full picture from Matchday 22 of the BKN301 Campionato Sammarinese:

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