League: Virtus stumble as Tre Fiori and Tre Penne shine in advance

Tre Fiori simply could not afford a misstep – and they duly avoided one, as they swept aside Cailungo 3-0 in Friday’s early kick-off in Acquaviva. The entire Gialloblù front line impressed, starters and substitutes alike, with new signings Goh and Tall both netting their first goals in Sammarinese competitions. Before the opener, Andy Selva’s men protested for a penalty they felt should have been given for a foul on Dolcini. Cailungo replied through the Aruci–Canini combination, ending with a cross-shot from the latter that Semprini dealt with well. After unsuccessful attempts from Tall and Dolcini, Goh skipped past Ferrari, who brought him down in the box. Albani, perfectly positioned, pointed straight to the spot. Goh’s first goal in the Campionato Sammarinese BKN301 arrived from twelve yards, side-footing home with his right. Cailungo felt the blow and were vulnerable to Gjurchinoski’s breaks: first he fired over, then drew a fine save from Benedettini. From the continuation of that second move, the Croatian forward headed against the post and Tall pounced on the rebound to double the lead for Tre Fiori. It was also the first goal in Sammarinese competitions for the young forward, a product of Roma’s youth academy. Before half-time, two outstanding saves from Benedettini denied Dolcini and Tall, stifling their celebrations. At the start of the second half Tre Fiori squandered two gilt‑edged chances, before Bara – picked out by Aruci – dragged wide from a tight angle. That proved an isolated episode in a match dominated by Tre Fiori, who also went close to a third through Gjurchinoski, twice thwarted by the excellent Benedettini. The Sammarinese keeper kept his side alive and they almost halved the deficit with Canini’s piledriver from 25 metres. Before Cailungo could grow in confidence, Goh brought the curtain down with a goal that earned applause from both sets of fans: Rizzo won the ball high up the pitch and crossed for the striker, signed from Clivense in January, who set himself up for a bicycle kick that squeezed in off the post, into a spot where not even the very best version of Elia Benedettini could reach. The Sammarinese keeper was again decisive late on in preventing Tre Fiori from adding a fourth. Tre Fiori join Cosmos at the top of the table; Cosmos, like La Fiorita, are in action tomorrow at 15:00. Virtus, by contrast, lose ground after being held 1-1 by Fiorentino. Coach Bizzotto made sweeping rotations, clearly determined to avoid any nasty surprises ahead of Wednesday’s second leg of the Coppa Titano semi-final (8th, against Folgore, whom they beat 3-0 in the first leg). It was evident early on that this would not be Virtus’ day when an early injury forced the substitution of Giacomoni, replaced by Golinucci. The Neroverdi’s build‑up was measured, getting men around the area but lacking the finishing touch, while Fiorentino’s counter-attacks gave Passaniti something to think about by the midway point of the half. Pedrini, for Virtus, created the most dangerous opening, but Bianchi was equal to it. At the other end, Fiorentino rehearsed the breakthrough with Mastrota, whose effort was blocked by Passaniti on 38 minutes. The latter could do nothing, a minute later, about Filippi’s tap-in – the forward was deemed onside in a chaotic goalmouth scramble in which Passaniti’s stunning reflex save only denied Torsani the joy of scoring, delaying by a few seconds the Rossoblù’s opener. Right at the end of the half, Filippi’s header and Ciacci’s industry promised more but failed to deliver. After the restart Virtus noticeably cranked up the pressure, going close to an equaliser on 63 minutes when Sorrentino rounded the goalkeeper but had to bow to De Rosa’s goal‑line clearance. The goal was coming, and it duly arrived shortly after, when Buonocunto skipped away from Tall and D’Addario before squaring to Tortori, who could not miss, scoring his first goal in Sammarinese football just weeks after joining. The finale was breathless, featuring a woodwork hit at each end and two red cards – both for Virtus. Fiorentino were the first to be denied by the frame of the goal, via an attempted clearance from Pedrini that almost flew in. The script was similar, with different protagonists, in the opposite area where Calzolari was rescued by the crossbar. Before the final whistle, Golinucci was sent off for a second yellow card, followed by Gori as last man, leaving Bizzotto with a severely complicated tactical picture ahead of the next, delicate fixtures. Folgore, Virtus’ upcoming opponents in the Coppa Titano BKN301, beat Pennarossa with a stoppage‑time winner. Gori’s side once again suffered in the closing stages and, after their defeat to Murata, they surrendered another late lead – again in Acquaviva – this time to the club from Falciano. Pennarossa broke the deadlock after just eight minutes through the Mantovani–Stefanelli axis: the Sammarinese striker made it eleven league goals for the season, ghosting in behind his marker. In a game that was anything but thrilling, Folgore found an unlikely equaliser: Daniele Conti’s back‑pass to Benedettini was miscontrolled by the Sammarinese goalkeeper, who at 26 minutes found his name on the scoresheet at the wrong end. Lepri’s men tried to make the most of their opponents’ inevitable spell of confusion and appealed for a penalty on 38 minutes, when Mami brought the ball down in the heart of the box and went to ground under a challenge from Mezzadri – deemed legal by referee De Girolamo. Little else of note happened in the second half until the only shot on target proved decisive. That said, on 76 minutes, after a driving run from Zago, Michelotti fired just wide from the edge of the area. Then, deep into stoppage time, Pennarossa suffered a painful turnaround courtesy of Di Marzio’s header from a Golinucci cross. The ball crossed the line despite Benedettini’s save, leaving the goalkeeper heavily in credit with Lady Luck after today’s match. At the same time in Dogana, Tre Penne got the better of Domagnano. It was far from straightforward, especially in a first half where the clearest chance fell to the Giallorossi: Cangini’s free-kick from the edge of the area on 26 minutes crashed against the crossbar with Migani well beaten. The City club were often dangerous, both from set pieces and in open play – particularly when they managed to release Luca Ceccaroli. The Sammarinese winger then had the merit of breaking the deadlock, after a goalless first half and an enterprising start to the second period from Domagnano. On the restart, Babboni and Mattia Ceccaroli both came close to scoring but were denied in turn by a superb Migani. Tre Penne were wasteful through Righini and Gai, but ruthless with Luca Ceccaroli, who finished off a vertical move by cutting inside onto his right to thunder past Colonna, aided by a deflection off Ferraro. The goal lifted Tre Penne, who threatened again through Badalassi and somehow failed to score with Pieri, who blazed over from point‑blank range after a superb assist from his strike partner on 82 minutes. Bacchiocchi’s goal‑line clearance, denying Vandi what looked a certain goal six minutes from time, and Badalassi’s shot against the post shortly after, seemed to be setting up a nightmare finale for Tre Penne. Ceci’s men instead secured victory through Badalassi himself, who finished off a counter‑attack in which Gai and Battistini both opted for unselfish passes in front of Colonna, allowing the forward to tap into an empty net. Proof that killing games off is crucial came when Domagnano halved the deficit in the first minute of added time, as Angelini recycled a ball on the edge of the box for Mattia Ceccaroli, who joined his brother Luca on the scoresheet, providing a thrilling finale at the Ezio Conti in Dogana. Tre Penne finished the match on the front foot and even missed the chance to make it 3-1 with Pieri, without however jeopardising the City club’s victory, which moves them to within one point of the leading pair Cosmos and Tre Fiori and, at least temporarily, above La Fiorita into third place. Here is the partial picture from the 18th matchday of the Campionato Sammarinese BKN301, available free of charge on TITANI.TV – live streaming from every ground, with Italian commentary:

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