BKN301 Championship: Tre Fiori and Murata held scoreless as Libertas bounce back

After the first defeat suffered yesterday by league leaders Virtus, Murata and Tre Fiori in Montecchio were looking for precious points to close the gap at the top. In the end, it finished in a goalless draw, which nonetheless keeps both sides firmly in the upper reaches of the table. In the 15:00 kick-off of the 12th matchday of the BKN301 Championship, the first chance of the game arrived on 15 minutes for De Falco’s Gialloblu: on a long ball into the Murata box, keeper Gueye gathered the ball right on the edge of the area, with Tre Fiori protesting for a possible red card for the Murata goalkeeper, whom they claimed had handled outside the area. Referee Avoni saw it differently, booking Gueye and awarding only a free-kick on the edge of the box, where Cecconi had a go but his effort was far too weak. The Fiorentino side were livelier in the first half, but neither Cecconi nor Fedeli managed to find the decisive touch to break the deadlock. At the end of the half it was Ura who tried to catch the Gialloblu defence out with a wicked cross into the area, but Bernardi, just a couple of steps from the goal-line, succeeded in clearing the danger. At the restart Tre Fiori came out strongly (56’) and attacked down the left with Ruocco, who then delivered into the middle; Gueye’s intervention was not the best but Gaiani stayed cool and cleared the threat. The match flowed at a good pace and moved into the final minutes. On 79 minutes a good chance fell to Murata through Ura, who pounced on an error by Mazzotti and, once in a good position, fired towards the near post, but Nardi was alert and saved his side. From the continuation of the move came Tre Fiori’s reply, with a fine cross from the right picking out the unmarked Cecconi, who however failed to hit the target with his side-foot from an excellent position. De Falco’s men pushed to the very last and on 84 minutes Gueye first produced a key save from an attempt following a corner, then they also appealed for a penalty for a coming together in the area involving Cirrottola, but Avoni waved play on. It finished 0-0 in Montecchio, a point apiece for Murata and Tre Fiori. The only goal in the 15:00 fixtures came at the “Federico Crescentini” in Fiorentino and proved decisive as Libertas got back to winning ways against Juvenes-Dogana. However, Serravalle’s side were better in the first half and, on 15 minutes, went close to taking the lead with Riccardo Colonna’s swivel shot that flashed just past Elia Benedettini’s post. Juvenes-Dogana kept pressing and on 35 minutes created another great opportunity through Benedetti, who struck powerfully from the edge of the box, but Benedettini produced an excellent save. Libertas made themselves seen at the end of the half with a free-kick from the edge of the area by Barone, which sailed over the crossbar. Amati’s team continued to push after the break but could not find the decisive play. Sperindio’s Granata then started to believe and on 73 minutes went extremely close to taking the lead when captain Barone crashed a terrific right-foot effort off the crossbar from distance. Juvenes-Dogana were having none of it and, in the very next move, created their best chance up to that point: a cross from the right by Baldazzi picked out Stella, whose header seemed destined for goal but Elia Benedettini was outstanding, saving with his foot this time as well. The classic "law" of missed chances punished them again, because just seconds later Greco won the ball and set off at great speed with it at his feet; once he reached the edge of the area, he laid it off to Sapori, who with a precise touch at the near post beat Gentilini for a priceless 1-0. It was a crucial goal from the Granata playmaker and, despite Juvenes-Dogana’s late siege, it allowed his side to finally celebrate a win for the first time since way back on 4 November. For the Serravalle team, by contrast, this marked a fifth consecutive defeat. An important victory too for Faetano, who in the 18:15 kick-off in Montecchio beat Pennarossa and made a significant leap up the table. Pellegrino’s side scored twice after the break to hand yet another defeat to Nobile’s men – who remain bottom of the group – and climb to eighth place. After a first half that ended goalless, the Gialloblu went ahead at the start of the second half through Brisigotti, who met Capriotti’s pass and beat Lazzarini with a crisp right-foot finish. Pennarossa tried to react and poured forward towards Manzaroli’s goal. But ten minutes from time came the goal that definitively settled the contest: Lisi worked the ball well down the left and delivered into the middle, where it reached the far post and Terenzi made no mistake with the close-range finish. Below is the updated schedule for matchday 12 of the San Marino BKN301 Championship:

---