BKN301 Championship: Cosmos reclaim top spot

A show of strength from Cosmos in the Serravalle derby against Juvenes-Dogana. Nicola Berardi’s side rack up yet another win and move back – albeit temporarily – to the top of the BKN301 San Marino Championship table. In today’s early kick-offs on matchday 22, the Gialloverdi hit four in a game that was virtually one-way traffic. The deadlock was broken early on by Errico, who unleashed a superb right-footed effort from distance that flew into the corner, out of Gentilini’s reach. Cosmos doubled their lead shortly before the interval through the ever-reliable Prandelli, who made the most of a sustained attacking move to finish from inside the box. It was the striker’s 14th league goal of the season, keeping him at the top of the scoring charts. The third for the Gialloverdi arrived at the start of the second half through Loiodice, the midfielder collecting the ball on the edge of the area before driving forward and lashing in a powerful left-footed shot. Juvenes-Dogana were unable to respond, Cosmos controlled proceedings without difficulty and the match drifted away. In stoppage time Denis Broccoli – who had replaced Fabio Gentilini between the posts in the closing stages – even saved a Pastorelli penalty, but the fourth goal was only a matter of minutes away as Lorenzo Capicchioni found the net with a fine strike from the edge of the area. As mentioned, Cosmos reclaim top spot with a two-point lead over Tre Penne, who will be in action tomorrow at 15:00 in Fiorentino in the big match against La Fiorita. Juvenes-Dogana, on the other hand, suffer a third consecutive defeat and slip to within one point of the bottom. Tre Fiori remain firmly in the title race as well, taking three points that allow them, for the moment, to climb into third place, moving ahead of La Fiorita. However, the game against San Giovanni did not start well for Andy Selva’s Gialloblu: early on they lost Alessandro Semprini to injury after a heavy clash with Montebelli, forcing him off. Alex Castagnoli came on to replace him in goal. San Giovanni tried to catch Tre Fiori out when Greppi hit the post, but the Gialloblu replied with a Bernardi effort against the crossbar on the half-hour. Tre Fiori’s clearest chance of the half came just before the break, only for De Angelis to save a penalty from captain De Falco. Andy Selva’s side were not to be denied and, before half-time, struck the woodwork again through Tommaso Leon Bernardi. The game finally opened up after the restart: Selva turned to his bench and Lamine Tall – beautifully picked out by Rizzo – applied a delicate touch to give his side the lead. In stoppage time came the goal that definitively wrapped things up: a delightful pass from Falzetta for Dolcini – also on as a substitute – who finished first time on the turn to make it 2-0. Saturday’s third win came from Murata who, thanks to a 5-2 victory over Faetano, are no longer bottom and climb towards the play-off positions. After just six minutes the deadlock was broken by Raul Ura. The Bianconeri forward – presented before kick-off with the BKN301 MVP award for the month of February – picked out the corner to put his side ahead. Murata were in fine form and doubled their lead on 18 minutes: Carlo Valentini whipped the ball in from the right and Ferraro slid in to find the net. After the break the pattern remained the same and, in fact, within seconds Angelini’s side were celebrating again: once more, Carlo Valentini was a force down the right, delivering another excellent ball for the arriving Jacopo Semprini, who made it three. Faetano failed to react and instead were hit again by the Bianconeri around the hour mark: Semprini was on the scoresheet once more with a delightful lob from just inside the opposition half that caught the entire Gialloblu defence out. Faetano at least showed some pride and on 77 minutes Gatti scored a consolation goal. But late on Ura once again stole the spotlight, driving past the Faetano centre-backs with a powerful run and beating Porcellini again to make it 5-1. In stoppage time there was still room for another Faetano goal, Composto heading in from a corner. It was not enough, though, to prevent a fourth defeat in the last five matches, with last place now just a single point away. Matchday 22, however, had kicked off last night with a spectacular contest on the artificial pitch in Acquaviva. Libertas and Fiorentino shared a thrilling 3-3 draw in which anything and everything happened. Early on, a goal was disallowed at both ends: first Tall for the Rossoblu, then Ben Kacem for the Granata, setting the tone for an exciting evening. The deadlock was broken by a stunning strike from Barone, who took aim from long range and sent the ball into the top corner, beyond Bianchi’s reach. Fiorentino’s reply came shortly before the interval: this time the Hirsch-Tall combination paid off, with the centre-back meeting a fine cross from the national team winger and heading in the equaliser. Malandri’s side believed, and at the start of the second half produced a devastating one-two. On 55 minutes Baizan found Torsani with a perfect pass, and he kept his cool to chip his side into the lead. Just a few minutes later Fiorentino extended their advantage: Torsani was the main man again, skilfully working space in the box to find the angle and beat Zavoli. Libertas refused to give up and pulled one back ten minutes later through Olcese, who finished off a cross from Sapori to reopen the contest. In the 82nd minute the comeback was completed when Olcese struck again, converting a penalty – awarded after Bianchi brought down Guglielmi – to make it 3-3, which would prove to be the final score. As mentioned, matchday 22 concludes tomorrow with three late fixtures: Pennarossa-Cailungo (Montecchio, 15:00), Folgore-Domagnano (Domagnano, 15:00) and the heavyweight clash Tre Penne-La Fiorita (Fiorentino, 15:00). All matches will be streamed live – and completely free of charge – on Titani.tv. Here is the full schedule for matchday 22 of the BKN301 San Marino Championship:

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