BKN301 Championship: big wins for Tre Fiori and Murata, Academy’s latest comeback not enough to avoid defeat against Fiorentino

On a Sunday afternoon marked by strong winds – which also caused the postponement of the clash between Tre Fiori and Juvenes-Dogana – there were sixteen goals scored across the three late fixtures that wrapped up matchday eight of the BKN301 Campionato Sammarinese. Valuable victories for Murata, Tre Fiori and Fiorentino, who all climb the table at the expense of Pennarossa, Juvenes-Dogana and San Marino Academy respectively. In Fiorentino, Angelini’s Bianconeri returned to winning ways against Nobile’s Biancorossi, doing so with goals and entertainment at a Brazilian tempo. Early on, Rodrigues picked out Matheus brilliantly and, one-on-one with Lazzarini, he kept his cool for 1-0. Rodrigues was then involved again a few minutes later with a powerful burst down the left: the Brazilian-born player skipped past a couple of defenders before De Biagi brought him down in the area. The referee produced a yellow card and pointed to the spot, and Ura calmly converted the penalty to double the lead. Things went from bad to worse for Pennarossa, who were reduced to ten men on 27 minutes when Othmane received a second yellow. Murata did not let up and added a third before the break: Ura fed Cunha, who drove into the box and beat Lazzarini at his near post with a precise finish. After the interval, the Bianconeri extended their advantage on the hour mark. First, Mateus completed his personal brace, capitalising on a poor defensive clearance from Pennarossa with a delightful lob into the unguarded net. Just a few minutes later came Murata’s fifth, once again through Cunha, who broke free down the left, cut into the area and lifted another deft finish past a helpless Lazzarini. Thanks to this win, Murata climb the table and consolidate fifth place, remaining in touch with the leading pack (+7 on Cosmos and Juvenes-Dogana). It was a second emphatic victory in a row for Tre Fiori, one of the form sides of the moment. Having put five past Cosmos in the previous round, the Gialloblu repeated that same scoreline against the other Serravalle-based team, Juvenes-Dogana. Notably, as mentioned at the start, the strong wind forced the match to be moved from Domagnano to Dogana, with kick-off delayed to 15:45 following the traditional inspection by the teams and referee. At the Ezio Conti in Dogana, De Falco’s Gialloblu were in front almost immediately thanks to Tommaso Bernardi (5’). The second goal arrived just after the half-hour mark and bore the signature of Eric Fedeli, who did well to nip in ahead of his marker and beat Gentilini at the near post with a swivelled finish. After the restart, Tre Fiori maintained their intensity and Cirrottola added a third (64’). Four minutes into the second half, the contest could have been reopened when Juvenes-Dogana were awarded a penalty, but Stella was denied by Nardi and the score remained 3-0. Shortly afterwards, the game was effectively sealed thanks to the ever-reliable Giacomo Cecconi, who made it 4-0 and moved clear at the top of the scoring charts with 9 goals. There was still time for two more goals late on, one for each side: first, Riccardo Colonna netted a consolation for Manuel Amati’s men, then in stoppage time Bernardi struck again to complete his brace and round off the 5-1 scoreline. Tre Fiori continue their rise up the standings: the Fiorentino-based club are now third, just one point behind Tre Penne and four off leaders Virtus. This was the first setback for Juvenes-Dogana after a run of three positive results. There was also a priceless win at the bottom end of the table for Fiorentino, although the Rossoblu were made to work hard by the San Marino Academy Under-22 side. The first half was very much Rossoblu dominated, with Niang hitting the post on 19 minutes. Camillini’s player was in fine form and the biggest threat for his side, but it was Mattia Stefanelli who broke the deadlock from the spot on 39 minutes (penalty won by Bottoni following contact with Nicko Sensoli). Just moments later came Fiorentino’s second: Calzolari recovered possession and released Niang, who surged past the halfway line with the ball at his feet and, once in front of Battistini, slotted home for a rapid-fire 2-0. At the start of the second half, Niang was on target again to make it 3-0 for his team: the Rossoblu forward remained a constant thorn in the Academy’s side, bursting forward once more from the halfway line and, on reaching the box, curling a precise right-footed effort into the top corner. It seemed all over for Fiorentino – who also hit the crossbar on 56 minutes – but Academy refused to give in. Just as they did a week ago, when they came back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Juvenes-Dogana, the youngsters coached by Giovanni Bonini (on the bench in place of the suspended Matteo Cecchetti) rolled up their sleeves and threw themselves forward towards Benedettini’s goal. On 67 minutes, the first warning came from captain D’Addario – recently named BKN301 MVP for October – who whipped the ball across, where the other captain and former team-mate, Molinari, turned it into his own net for an own goal that made it 3-1. Four minutes later, it was Gatti – just on the pitch – who gave his side even more belief: Sensoli crossed from the right towards Gatti, who brought it under control and turned in the area before firing a precise left-footed strike past Simone Benedettini to reopen the match. The finale had it all: first, Stefanelli somehow failed to find the clinching goal from point-blank range, then in stoppage time Solito did get the ball in the net, only for the assistant to rule it out for a marginal offside. Academy’s pride and spirit were therefore not enough to avoid defeat; Fiorentino, on the other hand, celebrated their first victory since the opening matchday. Here is the complete picture from matchday eight of the 2023-24 BKN301 Campionato Sammarinese:

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