Championship: La Fiorita rest, opportunity for the chasing pack

The Campionato Sammarinese BKN301 is becoming an increasingly enthralling competition, with the fifteenth round scheduled for tomorrow. La Fiorita, current league leaders, will have a rest day, offering a golden opportunity for the chasing pack to close the gap. The undisputed headline fixture is Cosmos-Tre Fiori, scheduled for Sunday at 15:00 at the Montecchio ground. A potential win for Andy Selva’s yellow-and-blues would move them level on points at the top with the Montegiardino side, while a victory for Nicola Berardi’s team would see the yellow-and-greens leapfrog into first place, one point clear of La Fiorita. It is therefore a must-watch clash between two sides in excellent form: in the last round Tre Fiori saw their winning streak halted by the draw with La Fiorita, while Cosmos – who statistically boast both the best defence and the best attack – recorded a comprehensive derby win in Serravalle over Folgore. Virtus can also break into the battle for top spot. They are another side in great form, sitting just four points off the leaders. Luigi Bizzotto’s black-and-greens come into the game on the back of two straight victories, and on Saturday they face a Pennarossa side that has been without a win for almost four months (their last league success dates back to 17 September, a 4-0 against Folgore). Also looking for precious points to climb the table are Tre Penne, currently fifth and five points behind La Fiorita. Ceci’s team returned to winning ways in the last round, wiping out the memory of December’s back-to-back defeats. For the light-blue-and-whites from Città, playing on Sunday at 15:00 in Domagnano, the opponents are Faetano, who come into the match on the back of two defeats that have cost them ground and left them in seventh place on 16 points. Saturday’s programme also features Libertas, currently sixth on 18 points, who will take on San Giovanni. Floriano Sperindio’s maroon side are unbeaten in four (two wins and two draws, including a spectacular 3-3 last time out against Murata, with a goal in the 90th minute and down to ten men), while Tognacci’s red-and-blacks have gone exactly four games without a win. Saturday’s early kick-offs also include the meeting between Fiorentino and Folgore: Malandri’s red-and-blues may be second-bottom in the group, but they are coming off three positive results in a row; it is a good spell for Folgore too who, despite the 4-0 defeat to Cosmos in the last round, have taken seven points from their last four matches. Rounding off Saturday’s schedule is the clash between Juvenes-Dogana and Cailungo: Manuel Amati’s team take to the pitch for the first time in 2023, having rested last weekend, and are keen to bounce back after two defeats in their final two games of last year, which left them in twelfth place; Protti’s red-and-greens, meanwhile, have drawn their last two matches and sit just a single point behind Juvenes-Dogana. Among Sunday’s late fixtures, Domagnano and Murata also take to the field. The yellow-and-red Wolves are coming off three positive results in a row, including an impressive 4-1 victory over Faetano last time out; it is crisis time instead for the black-and-whites, who are rooted to the bottom and have lost nine on the spin. All matches will be available to watch live and free of charge via online streaming on the Titani.tv platform. Here is the full schedule for the fifteenth matchday of Campionato Sammarinese BKN301:

---