BKN301 Championship: Sunday smiles on the City clubs

It was Tre Penne and Murata who took all three points in the only two games scheduled on Sunday in the third matchday of the 2022-23 BKN301 Campionato Sammarinese. Tre Penne keep pace with the leaders, maintaining a perfect record after sitting out the opening round and then stringing together two wins over Cailungo and Domagnano. Both finished 2-0, with the side showing convincing control of tempo and possession. The deadlock was broken by Nicola Gai: the midfielder latched onto a loose ball on the edge of the box and unleashed a left-footed strike that flashed past Colonna into the bottom corner. The San Marino goalkeeper would later be decisive in denying Dormi a second goal, having already been helped by the post on Badalassi’s previous attempt. After the break, the pattern remained the same – as did the scorer and the way the goal came about. Once again, captain Gai found himself in space on the edge of the area and, this time set up by Pieri, swept the ball in with his right foot, picking out the opposite corner to leave Davide Colonna with no chance. The second goal slowed the pace of the contest, but Domagnano carved out a chance to get back into the match on 82 minutes. The referee penalised a foul by Barretta in a crowded box at a corner and pointed to the spot for Fedeli. However, it was Migani who came out on top in the duel, getting his left leg out at just the right moment to keep out the weak, central penalty from the opposing forward. It finished the same scoreline at the Federico Crescentini, where Murata also ran out 2-0 winners. These are the first league points of the season for Roberto Sarti’s men, who leave San Giovanni stuck on zero: like the Rossoneri, Faetano and Fiorentino are also still without a positive result after three games. After an hour of lively, evenly balanced football, the match was unlocked by a moment of brilliance from Comuniello: isolated on the right edge of the area, the former San Giovanni player on the day shook off a double challenge, cut inside onto his left foot and unleashed a thunderbolt that flew into the far top corner. San Giovanni struggled to respond and in the 68th minute their task became even harder: De Biagi, booked just a few minutes earlier, mistimed a challenge on Toccaceli and was shown a second yellow card. Reduced to ten men, Tognacci’s side could not find the inspiration needed to beat Manzaroli and, towards the end, suffered the cruel blow of their goalkeeper being sent off with all substitutions already made. Murata were also awarded a penalty, which Gaiani converted past Angelini, a defender on the teamsheet who had to go in goal for the final minutes with San Giovanni down to nine men. At the break in fixtures, three teams have managed to win all three of their games so far, with Tre Penne just behind thanks to two victories in 180 minutes. This year, with the change of format that will crown the league leaders at the end of the regular season as national champions, such standings must be taken into account right from the early rounds. The title race will resume on the first weekend of October, immediately after the international window in which the San Marino National Team will face Seychelles (International Friendly, 21/09) and Estonia (UEFA Nations League, 26/09), both at the San Marino Stadium and both kicking off at 20:45.

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