Championship: play-off semi-finals heading for the finish line

There are four teams left on the threshold of the UEFA Conference League and on Saturday we will find out the final two contenders for qualification to the continental competition, via the post-season route of the Campionato Sammarinese BKN301. Tre Penne and Cosmos will face off at the Acquaviva Stadium from 15:00. The tie is perfectly balanced after the 1-1 draw in the first leg, a result which – if repeated in a couple of days’ time – would see the club from Città advance. Ceci’s men, in fact, can count on two results out of three thanks to their better placing in the regular season. Cosmos, on the other hand, have no alternative but victory: the Gialloverdi already showed last Saturday that they have what it takes to aim for the final. After all, it was an entire second half played a man down that allowed Tre Penne back into the tie, after Pastorelli had deservedly put Nicola Berardi’s side in front. The goalkeeping situation will also be decisive: with Simoncini suspended and Migani injured in the warm-up against Juvenes-Dogana ten days ago, Battistini and Dalla Libera will be the men between the posts for the two teams. In defence, Cosmos will also have to assess the condition of Palazzi – forced off through injury at the end of the first half in the first leg and a major doubt for Saturday. Murata will need to build on the superb performance produced last week. Grassi’s side head into the most important fixture of their season with a 3-1 first-leg victory over La Fiorita in the bag. Given the attacking mindset of the Bianconeri – still wearing cyclamen shirts in this post-season – we can expect an entertaining match, with little or no focus on the previous scoreline. Also because a single goal for La Fiorita would throw everything back into the balance: the Gialloblù would reach the play-off final even with an aggregate draw, having finished the regular season ahead of their opponents. To put it simply, La Fiorita would qualify by winning Saturday’s match by two or more goals. The game will be played at the Montecchio Stadium, with kick-off scheduled for 17:30. Greco (La Fiorita) and Giaretta (Murata) are definite absentees after being sent off in the first leg. The same goes for Thomas Manfredini: the Gialloblù coach will, however, be forced to follow the rest of the post-season from the stands after receiving a three-match ban. He will be regularly back on the bench for the cup final. If the team from Montegiardino were to qualify for the play-off final, the season’s penultimate fixture would effectively lose its meaning. As they are also involved in the BKN301 Coppa Titano final on 25 May, La Fiorita would in fact be certain of a place in the next Conference League – together with the winner of the tie between Tre Penne and Cosmos. Indeed, regardless of who lifts the cup, third place in the league guarantees a berth in the youngest of UEFA’s club competitions. Conversely, a Murata appearance in the final would make the outcome of the play-offs (Saturday 18 May, 20:45 – San Marino Stadium) far more dramatic, as only the winners would have immediate assurance of playing in the Conference League. The losers would then have to pin their hopes on a Virtus victory in the season’s final act, the BKN301 Coppa Titano showpiece. Here is the line-up of the two second-leg semi-finals, which will be broadcast live and free to stream on TITANI.TV:

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