BKN301 Championship: semi-finals kick off tomorrow

There is no break in the BKN301 San Marino Championship which, after completing the second legs of the quarter-finals last Wednesday, returns to the pitch tomorrow for the semi-finals. Four teams remain – Cosmos, Libertas, Virtus and La Fiorita – battling for second place, which grants access to the UEFA Europa Conference League preliminary round. The first legs are scheduled for Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 May, with the return fixtures to be played the following weekend (13-14 May). The Montecchio Stadium, next to the Casa del Calcio, will host both first-leg matches. It all starts on Saturday at 15:00 with Cosmos v Libertas. Nicola Berardi’s side, who finished the regular season in second place, just one point behind champions Tre Penne, will be seeded in the tie against Floriano Sperindio’s team, who took sixth place in the regular season. In the quarter-finals the Gialloverdi cruised past Faetano, scoring seven goals and conceding just one over the two legs. The Granata, meanwhile, knocked out Tre Fiori thanks to two excellent performances: a dramatic 2-1 win in the first leg and a 1-1 draw in last Wednesday’s return. As was the case against Tre Fiori, Libertas will again need to win at least one of the two matches, because there will be no extra time or penalties in the semi-finals either: if the aggregate score is level, the team with the better regular-season placing will reach the final for second place. In the league meetings this season, there was a 1-1 draw in the first half of the season and a narrow 1-0 victory for Cosmos in the reverse fixture (a match initially abandoned at half-time due to snow and replayed two weeks later). On Sunday it will be Virtus v La Fiorita, again kicking off at 15:00 in Montecchio. It was all straightforward for Thomas Manfredini’s side in the quarter-finals, with two wins and no goals conceded against Juvenes-Dogana. The Montegiardino club will go into the tie as favourites, having finished the regular season in third place, just ahead of the Acquaviva side, and thus taking seeded status. Virtus made the most of their better regular-season position to eliminate Folgore in the quarter-finals thanks to two draws (in both games the equaliser arrived in the closing stages). This time, however, that will not be enough and the Neroverdi will need to win at least one of the two matches if they want to reach the final. It will also be a special match for Virtus coach Luigi Bizzotto, who knows the Fiorita environment very well, having previously managed the club and lifted trophies there. In the regular season both previous meetings went Virtus’ way, with victories in both the first and second rounds. Finally, please note that both matches will be streamed live on Titani.tv with full commentary. Here is the line-up for the semi-finals of the BKN301 San Marino Championship:

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