Championship: fireworks and drama between La Fiorita and Fiorentino

The most intriguing and eagerly awaited match did not disappoint. La Fiorita and Fiorentino serve up a true battle, creating numerous chances, right up to a Goal Line Technology-style incident deep into stoppage time. It was not one for the faint-hearted, and the Gialloblù swung it their way thanks to a chaotic own goal by Diagne from a Cicarelli corner on 15 minutes. The second goal arrived just three minutes later and again started from the midfielder’s boot, as he lifted a ball over the opposing back line to send Affonso through on Benedettini. The rest was a piece of magic from the former Murata man, who brought it down perfectly, sat the goalkeeper down and rolled into the empty net. Fiorentino, though, were far from out of it, threatening through the runs of Abouzziane and El Ardoudi. The latter struck the post, while Dolcini blasted over with the goal at his mercy. In the second half the Rossoblù pressed La Fiorita back, camping in the opposition final third and protesting a series of incidents in the box – none deemed worthy of a penalty by Albani. From the continuation of one of those situations, Belward picked out Salemme in the area and he beat Vivan for 2-1. Tarini’s men kept pushing and unquestionably would have deserved an equaliser, but had to bow to what the pitch decreed. That verdict came after a long period of stoppage time, at the end of which Zazas Sanchez stepped in for Vivan to hack the ball away from the goal line – with Fiorentino adamant the ball had fully crossed it. A heart-stopping clash that offers plenty of positives for both sides, but the three points go only to Montegiardino, who also lose Affonso to a red card for dissent – ruling him out of next Sunday’s game against Folgore. After a low-tempo first half, in which Jabi produced the first scare for Gentilini, Juvenes-Dogana followed up with an almost perfect second period. That brought a second win of the season for the Serravalle club, who took the lead through Paszynski on 53 minutes. The Polish forward was quickest to react to Barbieri’s save, after the keeper had pulled off a miracle to deny Valentini’s header. The second goal came from a controversial move: Pennarossa protested over a collision between Omgba and Sehail, clearly impeded on the edge of the box – according to the Chiesanuova side – thus allowing Traglia to score against his former club with a perfectly judged lob. Things go from bad to worse for the Academy, as they suffer a heavy defeat to Cailungo. Damaging not only in terms of the scoreline but also the substance: on top of major absences – including Mattia Sancisi and Giacopetti among others – the Under-22s struggled badly in their defensive phase. Costa opened the scoring on 3 minutes with a superb first-time right-footed volley, cancelled out by an equally spectacular goal from Alberto Riccardi. Receiving the ball on the left flank, he drove inside, skipped past three men and blasted past Gallinetta. It proved a false dawn, as Cailungo went back in front through Gori, in the right place to tuck home a loose ball following a corner. Before the interval, Alessandro Casadei stretched to keep out a cross-shot, but the ball fell kindly for Alessandro Conti, who simply had to slot in the third. The youngsters in light blue showed plenty of desire after the break, but Cailungo defended with discipline and composure, then struck on the counter. On 90 minutes another break in numerical superiority ended with a shot saved by Casadei, but Labas pounced quickest on the rebound to make it 4-1 and seal the result. It is Cailungo’s first win of the season, lifting them level with San Marino Academy – with whom they now share the foot of the table. The final ninety minutes of Matchday 12 were played in Montecchio, where Domagnano and Libertas brought the round of fixtures to a close. Everything happened after the break, when Paolo Rossi’s men – the coach back on the touchline after suspension – cut loose. They took the lead through Gozzi, quickest to turn in from close range after a save by Del Prete. The second was scored by Gregori, who finished off a rehearsed set-piece move, taking full advantage of Babboni’s excellent work to make it 2-0. Late on, from a right-sided corner, Gozzi rose above everyone to head in Libertas’ third concession of the evening, and his own second of the night. The Wolves beat and leapfrog their opponents in the standings, as well as Faetano, to move firmly into the play-off places. This is how Matchday 12 of the 2024-25 Campionato Sammarinese looks, with all matches available live via streaming and on-demand on the Titani.TV platform.

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