BKN301 Championship: postponed fixtures finely balanced on matchday six

There were no winners or losers in the Sunday clashes on matchday six of the Campionato Sammarinese BKN301. The headline fixture was played at the Federico Crescentini in Fiorentino, where Libertas took the lead at the first time of asking through Bucci, sharpest to pounce on a loose ball played across by one of the standouts, Mingucci, and beat Simoncini from close range. Cosmos created two chances for Prandelli, off target with his headers, as was Olcese, who failed to hit the target following a wide free-kick. Zulli and Loiodice were less than flawless and could not restore parity before the interval. Early in the second half Bucci fired wide from a tight angle, while a touch of misfortune for Guglielmi – under pressure from a sustained Cosmos attack – resulted in the 1-1 on 65 minutes. From then until full time, neither side managed to find a winner: Olcese was denied by Simoncini, and at the other end Guidi saw his effort blocked by Costa. Cosmos looked the more likely, but Guidi could not hit the target from the edge of the box after an acrobatic assist from Roberto Di Maio, with the hard work seemingly already done. Before the final whistle, Bucci led a counter-attack but was again thwarted by former team-mate Aldo Simoncini, well positioned. It finished all square in Montecchio too, where Cailungo and Domagnano served up a game of two halves. The first period passed without real chances, with goalkeepers virtually untroubled, while the second half was livelier, as the woodwork and poor finishing combined to produce a 0-0 final scoreline. On 50 minutes Ceccaroli timed his run to perfection and his close-range effort crashed against the crossbar. Two attempts from tight angles by Zonzini and Lago took us to the hour mark, when Angelini – introduced at half-time – set up Fedeli, who had also come off the bench. It all came to nothing, however, as the forward signed from Murata was caught offside. Domagnano were enjoying their best spell and cursed their luck again on 66 minutes when Lago’s thunderbolt struck the post. Angelini failed to capitalise on the rebound, scuffing his shot and allowing Benedettini to gather. The San Marino keeper also came out on top in a subsequent one-on-one with his compatriot leading the Domagnano attack. Cailungo relied almost exclusively on counter-attacks driven by Morri and Bara, but the main scare for Colonna came from a Senja free-kick on 80 minutes, which he turned away with a fine save. The Rossoverdi even had a late chance to snatch it, but Morri arrived off-balance onto Bara’s inch-perfect cross in stoppage time, sparing Colonna – taken out of the game by the low delivery. Tre Penne’s perfect start came to an end in Acquaviva, and they were already under threat in the 8th minute from the D'Angeli-Merli combination. Merli would go on to be a major protagonist in a match that the City club tried to tilt in their favour with a cross-shot from Righini. Midway through the half, Badalassi fired a wayward right-footed effort from the heart of the area, while Pieri appealed for a penalty a minute later after a challenge by Gianmaria Borghini. Juvenes-Dogana responded with a 20-metre strike from Colonna, which flew just wide. The same fate befell Vandi’s diagonal effort, after he had reacted sharply to a deflected shot from Battistini, going close to an opener with his right foot. A goal seemed certain on 41 minutes when Badalassi’s header looped over Gentilini and struck the crossbar before bouncing down near the goal line. The referee team judged that the whole of the ball had not crossed the line, so the sides went into the break goalless, despite further promising raids by D'Angeli and Nigretti, whose final balls were inches away from finding team-mates. The goals arrived after the restart, helped by the introduction of Ceccaroli: Ceci’s winger fed Gai’s left foot, his curling effort towards the far corner drawing a superb reflex stop from Gentilini. At the other end, Merli dispossessed Vandi high up the pitch and released D'Angeli in space. His cross found Pasquinelli in the middle, who produced a superb glancing header to give Juvenes-Dogana the lead on 64 minutes. Tre Penne hit back immediately, as Ceccaroli’s solo run earned a penalty following Santi’s challenge. From the spot Righini remained flawless, converting his fourth penalty in five games. It was back to square one, with Juvenes-Dogana continuing to play on the front foot: Migani had to punch away D'Angeli’s powerful drive on 71 minutes and was then relieved to see Cevoli’s tap-in fail to find the net. Juvenes-Dogana’s counter on 79 minutes, however, proved decisive, Baldazzi releasing Eric D'Angeli, who left Barretta for dead in open field and beat Migani at his near post. Yet again, though, Manuel Amati’s men could not hold on for long: Cibelli swung in a cross that Dormi turned into gold, skipping past Colonna and Gentilini in a tight space before firing home the goal that sealed a 2-2 draw. These are the results from matchday six of the 2022-23 Campionato Sammarinese BKN301:

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