Championship: Rampant Murata, Tre Penne peg back Cosmos

The first act of the semi-finals of the BKN301 Campionato Sammarinese play-offs took place this afternoon. Opening the programme was La Fiorita-Murata at the Acquaviva Stadium. The start is promising, with efforts from Guidi and Grassi replying to Murata’s first surge – the latter once again sporting the cyclamen shirt unveiled in this post-season. Sergio Grassi’s men become dangerous after the quarter-hour mark with Giaretta and Affonso, both denied by the opposing backline a moment before they can finish their runs. Same outcome at the other end for Guidi’s burst down the flank. On the half-hour, Mazzotti comes up with a crucial intervention to thwart a counter-attack led by Affonso: the ball is perfectly delivered to the back post, where the defender nips in ahead of Cunha, who was ready to tap home. The match hinges on a decisive moment on 35 minutes, when Grieco – already booked – brings down Giaretta as he is about to launch a counter. The second yellow and resulting dismissal of the full-back is inevitable, with Zampano coming on for Vitaioli to plug the gap. The substitute then becomes an unwitting protagonist of the foul that leads to the penalty sending Murata to the spot on 42 minutes. At the start of the move, La Fiorita protest for a possible handball, only to be caught out by the long ball for Affonso – felled in front of Vivan. From eleven metres, Cicarelli converts his second penalty in four days, breaking the deadlock. Before the interval, Murata double their lead through Cunha: a thunderous left-footed strike from the edge, teed up by Giaretta’s lay-off. As the teams head for the dressing rooms, a word too many costs La Fiorita coach Manfredini a red card for dissent. At the start of the second half, Lunadei and Ambrosini are on the pitch, with the latter flicking on his first ball to send Guidi into the box; his driven cross-shot gives Benedettini a scare after barely 15 seconds. La Fiorita threaten again from a set piece, complaining about a potential handball in the area. After five minutes largely spent defending, Murata resume weaving their web of passes which, at the first attempt of the half, results in 3-0. Ura threads an outside-of-the-boot pass through for Gaiani’s run, but what proves decisive is the mix-up between Fatica and Vivan. The Murata captain gratefully accepts and side-foots into the net from close range. With a commanding lead secured, Grassi looks to protect it, withdrawing Affonso for Gjiorretaj. La Fiorita go close from an Amati free-kick, and then pull one back with help from their opponents. Murata build from the back but lose the ball on the edge of their box under La Fiorita’s very high press: the rest is down to the class of Ambrosini, who sets himself for a left-footed chip that kisses the underside of the bar before dropping in. The Gialloblù attack with renewed belief, but Guidi cannot find the target with either his header or his right-footed volley on the bounce. Late on, numerical parity is restored: the key moment is a lapse in judgement from Giaretta, who commits a late foul just outside the opposition area while already on a yellow card. One chance apiece before the 90-minute mark: Lunadei fails to hit the target with a header from a corner, while Cunha – released in the open field – races through on Vivan but fires wide from a tight angle. After five minutes of stoppage time, Murata run out 3-1 winners: La Fiorita will need a victory by two clear goals next Saturday to reach the play-off final, exploiting their better finish in the regular season. The other semi-final is played in Montecchio between Cosmos and Tre Penne – the protagonists of last year’s title race and whose post-season results will shape the overall verdict on their campaign. The first chance falls to the defending champions, just centimetres away from taking the lead through the Scarponi-Badalassi combination after less than 200 seconds. The Gialloverdi’s reply comes via Ben Kacem, who smashes the ball against the angle of post and bar from a Zulli assist. On 11 minutes Cosmos hit the woodwork for a second time with Pastorelli, who turns well in the box only to see his left-footed effort crash off the crossbar. And after Zulli makes it three efforts against the frame of the goal on 16 minutes, Pastorelli finally breaks the deadlock in favour of Cosmos: a pinpoint pass from Palazzi sets up his team-mate’s diagonal finish, helped on its way by a deflection off Barretta that wrong-foots Dalla Libera. Shortly afterwards, Ben Kacem goes close to doubling the lead. Following ten minutes of disarray, Tre Penne find their way back into the game, piling pressure on the opposing defence. On 45 minutes there is a worrying moment after a clash between Simoncini and Badalassi, the latter accidentally struck on the head by the San Marino goalkeeper as he rushes out: a straight red card is the only possible outcome for the keeper and, above all, Badalassi manages to recover and leave the pitch on his feet, even able to resume his place on the field. Far from an obvious outcome given the nature of the collision. The Gialloverdi wall deflects Righini’s free-kick from the edge over the bar, postponing to the second half the first real intervention from Nicolò Battistini – who comes on for Berardi, himself only introduced a few minutes earlier for the injured Palazzi. It is a problem within a problem for Nicola Berardi, who has already used two of his three substitution windows before the break and will have to manage an entire second half with ten men. Inevitably, Cosmos look to crowd their own half and gamble on the pace of their forwards. But Tre Penne are clever enough not to leave themselves exposed; instead, they patiently construct the first clear chance of the half which, indeed, results in the strike that levels the match. A thunderous ball from Righini from deep finds Barretta’s header, catching Battistini out with a nod that was anything but unstoppable. The contest becomes scrappy and tense, anything but spectacular: so, with a quarter of an hour remaining, a direct ball into the area hands Tre Penne another opportunity, this time to Lombardi. The centre-back, however, fails to hit the target from a promising position. Three minutes later, a corner earned by Badalassi’s pressing on Battistini sparks a scramble in the six-yard box that looks destined to send the reigning champions in front. In the end, the draw holds until the final whistle – thanks also to a superb reflex save from Nicolò Battistini on 88 minutes, which chokes off Scarponi’s almost certain celebration. It finishes 1-1 in Montecchio, a result that gives Tre Penne the chance to reach the play-off final even if the second leg also ends in a draw. Here is the summary of the first-leg semi-finals, with all matches available on demand and free of charge on Titani.tv:

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