Championship: first legs of the semi-finals kick off tomorrow

The BKN301 Campionato Sammarinese play-off final – which will award the coveted place in the Conference League – is coming ever closer. The two first-leg semi-finals will in fact be played tomorrow, with the return legs scheduled in a week’s time, on Saturday 11 May. As in the quarter-finals, if the teams are level on goals scored over the two legs, the side with the higher placing at the end of the regular season will go through. The first game on the card is La Fiorita v Murata, scheduled for 15:00 on the Acquaviva artificial pitch. The Gialloblu from Montegiardino will have the advantage of their better regular-season placing (second) compared with the Bianconeri. This means that Sergio Grassi’s team – with the coach now at the helm of the Bianconeri following the departure of Beppe Angelini – will necessarily have to win one of the two matches. In the league meetings this season, it was Manfredini’s men who prevailed on both occasions, though always by a narrow margin. Murata, for their part, come into this in excellent form: including the post-season, the Bianconeri have recorded eight wins and one draw in their last ten outings, losing only narrowly to champions Virtus. A similar story for La Fiorita, whose last defeat dates back to 20 February, also against the Neroverdi of Acquaviva. No suspensions for Grassi or Manfredini, but La Fiorita’s Guidi and Murata’s Vasconcellos will need to be careful as they are both one booking away from a ban. Later on, but this time at the Montecchio Stadium, Cosmos and Tre Penne will face off (kick-off at 17:30). Looking at the regular-season table, the Biancoazzurri from Città are slight favourites thanks to their higher finish (third, compared with the Gialloverdi’s fourth). The second legs of the quarter-finals provided thrills and drama for both sides: while Tre Penne suffered in the closing stages against Juvenes-Dogana, Cosmos managed after the break to break the deadlock against San Giovanni and book their place in the semi-finals. There have already been as many as four meetings between the two sides this season. In the league there was a draw and a narrow win for the Biancoazzurri – courtesy of the ever-reliable Imre Badalassi – while in the BKN301 Coppa Titano round of 16, after the first-leg draw it was Paolo Vandi’s extra-time goal in the return match that proved decisive in sending Stefano Ceci’s team through. There are no suspensions for Cosmos or Tre Penne after the quarter-finals, but among the Gialloblu on a booking away from a ban is Filippo Berardi. Here is the schedule for tomorrow’s two semi-final first legs, with both matches broadcast live on Titani.tv with full commentary:

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