Championship: La Fiorita and Tre Penne with one foot in the final

The opening chapter of the 2021-22 Campionato Sammarinese semi-finals confirms the hierarchy seen throughout the regular season. It is indeed La Fiorita and Tre Penne, first and second respectively at the end of the first phase of the league, who record narrow but crucial wins over Pennarossa and Tre Fiori. Two one-goal victories that are worth far more than the scoreline suggests. Under the competition regulations, in the event of an aggregate draw after the second leg, it would be Lasagni’s and Ceci’s teams – by virtue of their better finish in the regular season – who would go through to the final at San Marino Stadium (26 May 2022 – 20:45). This scenario forces Pennarossa and Tre Fiori to chase a win by at least two clear goals in Sunday afternoon’s return legs, or they will be eliminated. Moreover, should Tre Fiori fail to reach the final, the match to determine third place – scheduled for 25 May – would no longer be linked to qualification for the preliminary round of the UEFA Europa Conference League. It was a fairly even contest in Montecchio, where Andy Selva – now Pennarossa head coach – faced the club with which he ended his playing career. La Fiorita started convincingly and broke the deadlock midway through the third minute: Gasperoni’s cross is flicked on by Cola towards the left, where Zulli nips in front of his marker to push the ball past him and beat Semprini at the near post. Pennarossa protest furiously, as it appears the midfielder may have controlled the ball with his right forearm. The Biancorossi’s tempers flare even more when Rastelli embarks on a slaloming run that ends with contact in the area with Gasperoni: in the referee’s view there are no grounds for a penalty, loudly demanded by Pennarossa on 9 minutes. Shortly afterwards, Halilaj lets fly from distance: Brighi’s deflection wrong-foots Vivan, but the ball drifts just centimetres wide of the upright. The runners-up wobble at the back and an error by Di Maio allows Conti to lunge in front of Vivan, who blocks the effort; the loose ball falls to Tiboni who shoots with the goal at his mercy, only for Brighi to save everything as an emergency stand-in for La Fiorita’s goalkeeper. Pennarossa’s best spell is rewarded on 33 minutes when their captain levels: Alessandro Conti finds space to shoot from mid-range and, helped by a deflection, leaves Vivan stranded and restores parity. La Fiorita respond with a wide diagonal effort from Grandoni and – deep into stoppage time – a right-footed strike from Zulli, turned behind for a corner by a flying save from Semprini. The early stages of the second half are anything but thrilling, with the first attempt coming from Pennarossa from a corner situation. Mantovani strikes with his right, but this time the deflection takes the ball kindly into Vivan’s arms. On the hour mark, Gasperoni bursts down the right flank and delivers a cross that Semprini fails to deal with cleanly: fortunately for him, Mantovani is alert behind him and tight in his marking, denying Lunadei an easy tap-in. The Sammarinese midfielder makes amends on 63 minutes, when he times his run perfectly to meet Zulli’s pass and wrong-foot Semprini with a right-footed finish. La Fiorita are back in front and this time for good. The scoreline would not change again, despite several talking points. One involves Amati, who goes down in the box after a coming-together with Raffelli. The referee deems it a dive and shows the midfielder a second yellow card of the evening, resulting in Amati’s dismissal. Pennarossa are unable to capitalise on the numerical advantage, even though Halilaj has a great headed chance for 2-2. Once again, however, Brighi proves decisive on the goal line. From the continuation of the move, Isaraj pulls back Lunadei by the shirt: the Albanian also receives a second booking and the match finishes ten against ten. In the final quarter of an hour, Pennarossa try their luck from distance and in scrambles, with little success, while La Fiorita occasionally threatens on the counter without finding the killer blow. Before the final whistle, Gasperoni goes it alone but misses the target from a tight angle: at Vandi’s full-time whistle it finishes 2-1 to the runners-up. In the other semi-final, played in Acquaviva, Tre Penne are overall the better side against Tre Fiori and claim a deserved victory. After an ambitious but harmless attempt from Pracucci, Ceci’s men respond through the Vandi–Chiurato combination: the striker meets the cross perfectly to turn a right-footed effort towards the near post, where Aldo Simoncini produces a stunning save to tip it over the bar. From the resulting corner comes the opening goal: Simoncini is once again outstanding to keep out Chiurato’s powerful header, but he can do nothing about the close-range tap-in from Vandi. A goal against his former club for the full-back, who was at Tre Fiori last season, and Tre Penne lead as early as the 7th minute. Just before the quarter-hour mark, Righini sends a wide free-kick off target. Tre Fiori then threaten through a cross from Cuzzilla towards Lentini, who is flagged off-side. It is a difficult evening for Badalassi, well contained by De Lucia: the league’s top scorer has a go on 16 minutes, redirecting a scuffed right-footed shot from Gai, but without troubling Simoncini. Midway through the half there are strong yellow-and-blue protests for a possible handball by Vandi, who together with Genestreti is involved in a double duel in the box with Lentini and D’Addario: Avoni waves play on. The Sammarinese full-back then bursts down the flank and delivers a low cross which, deflected, flashes dangerously across the entire six-yard box. At the other end, Tre Penne come within a whisker of a spectacular second. A driven pass from Righini is cushioned by Chiurato’s chest into the path of Gai, who unleashes a first-time right-footed volley: the captain strikes it without letting the ball touch the ground and beats Simoncini, only to be denied by the post. The 2016 Cristal Ball winner is also involved on the edge of his own area, when Tre Fiori appeal for a penalty after a challenge with Dolcini. Avoni, just a couple of metres away and perfectly positioned, lets play continue. Tre Fiori’s best chance to equalise comes on 40 minutes: from Cuzzilla’s corner, De Lucia evades Cesarini’s marking and heads from close range, but sends the ball over. At the start of the second half, Borgagni’s men immediately break through with D’Addario, who complains of a push in the box from Vandi. Again, the referee sees no grounds for a spot-kick. The rest of the match drifts gradually towards the final whistle, with no clear chances for either side – until the closing stages. Simoncini is alert to Righini’s surge, coming off his line to intercept before Badalassi can connect with a header. Tre Fiori are more dangerous on 70 minutes, when Lentini gets away from Lombardi near the by-line: his cross, deflected, falls to Gjurchinoski’s right foot, but the midfielder fails to hit the target from a promising position. Aware of how important an away goal could be, the Gialloblù push higher and higher, but Badalassi cannot take advantage on the counter. The Fiorentino club create two late chances to level: on 85 minutes Battistini loses the ball on the edge of his own area, allowing De Falco to lay it on a plate for Pracucci, who fires over the bar. Righini does no better at the other end, squandering excellent work from Cibelli with a mishit left-footed volley. Moments before the 90th minute, Tre Fiori burst down the flank with Cuzzilla. He drives into the area and crosses for Ciccione, who cannot quite reach the ball with only Migani to beat. It is the last real thrill of the match, which seals Tre Penne’s victory: in the return leg Ceci’s side will even be able to afford a narrow defeat and still reach the final.  

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LA FIORITA Vivan, Gasperoni, Brighi, Di Maio, Grandoni, Errico (from 76' Sanchez), Loiodice, Zafferani (from 57' Lunadei), Amati, Zulli (from 85' Pancotti), Rinaldi (from 85' Guidi) Substitutes: Venturini, Santi, Gregori Coach: Oscar Lasagni   PENNAROSSA Semprini, Mantovani (from 67' Dema), Martin, D. Conti (from 33' Raffelli), Tomassini, Cola, Rastelli, A. Conti, Tiboni, Halilaj (from 81' Zago), Isaraj Substitutes: Landi, Michelotti, Sebastiani, Baldani Coach: Andy Selva   Referee: Alessandro Vandi Assistants: Salvatore Tuttifrutti and Andrea Guidi Fourth official: Davide Borriello Scorers: 3' Zulli, 33' A. Conti, 63' Lunadei Booked: Zafferani, Isaraj, Amati, Errico Sent off: Amati (second yellow card), Isaraj (second yellow card)  

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TRE FIORI A. Simoncini, Pracucci (from 87' Della Valle), D'Addario, Lentini, Gjurchinoski, Dolcini (from 76' Ciccione), Cuzzilla, De Falco, Censoni, De Lucia, Adami Martins Substitutes: Castagnoli, Astolfi, Tamagnini, Corinti, Ramundo Coach: Gian Luca Borgagni   TRE PENNE Migani, Cesarini, Vandi, Battistini, Lombardi, Genestreti, Badalassi (from 81' Sartori), Righini (from 84' Zonzini), Chiurato, Gai, Ceccaroli (from 67' Cibelli) Substitutes: Zambetti, Cauterucci, M. Semprini, P. Semprini Coach: Stefano Ceci   Referee: Marco Avoni Assistants: Alfonso Gallo and Fabrizio Morisco Fourth official: Emiliano Albani Scorers: 7' Vandi Booked: Adami Martins, Cuzzilla, Battistini, Gjurchinoski, D'Addario

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