Championship: Libertas and Domagnano face off on the brink

The fourth-to-last matchday of the regular season in the Campionato Sammarinese offers tomorrow direct clashes between the bottom six sides in the table. With Pennarossa and San Marino Academy now effectively out of the play-off picture, there are vital points at stake in the race for twelfth place, currently occupied by Domagnano – who risk being overtaken by two teams. Faetano enjoy a slightly bigger cushion but will have to deal with Folgore. San Giovanni will try to fend off Murata’s push towards seventh place, which guarantees direct access to the Quarter-finals, while the top sides will all be in action on Sunday.

The key fixture in Saturday’s schedule is certainly Libertas-Domagnano, kicking off at 15:00 tomorrow at the “Ezio Conti” Stadium in Dogana. Rossi’s Wolves – with their coach serving the last match of his lengthy suspension handed down after Matchday 23 – will also have to do without Baffoni. Buda’s team are playing for a great deal, if not everything, in this match. Three points behind their next opponents and also trailing Juvenes-Dogana in the standings, a win is the only option if they are to realistically think about reaching the postseason. After their comeback win over Cailungo last time out, the Biancorossazzurri now want to follow it up in Domagnano against Pennarossa. Filippo Dolci’s side are a tough nut to crack at the moment, though they too will be missing a suspended player in Angelini. Juvenes-Dogana, for their part, are obliged to deliver a near-perfect performance: solid at the back to contain their opponents’ talented forwards signed in January, and clinical up front to secure all three points. At the “Federico Crescentini” in Fiorentino it will be San Marino Academy versus Cailungo: the Rossoverdi sit seven points adrift of Domagnano and, in the best-case scenario, would end tomorrow night four points behind – still with three teams to overhaul in the remaining three games. They will be without captain Iuzzolino (suspended), while the Academy camp are keen to finish the regular season on a high and take as much satisfaction as possible from these final fixtures. The fourth match kicking off at 15:00 tomorrow is Folgore-Faetano, to be played in Montecchio. All predictions point towards the club from Falciano, who between now and the end will try to dislodge Tre Fiori from third place. Ricchiuti’s men, on the other hand, would be more than happy just to add to their tally and extend their cushion over twelfth place, avoiding being dragged into a scrap at the tail end of the regular season.

Of the Saturday fixtures, the only one scheduled for 18:00 is San Giovanni-Murata. It is a delicate clash for both sides, especially for the Bianconeri: currently four points off seventh place – which means avoiding the Preliminary Round – a win over San Giovanni would move them to within just two points of Tognacci’s team, who are currently sixth. Moreover, the Rossoneri will have to cope with enforced absences for Augusto Garcia Rufer and De Nicolò, both suspended by the Sports Judge.

On Sunday’s programme, Virtus-Tre Penne stands out. A match that inevitably brings back sweet memories for Bizzotto’s side, who have celebrated three of their four recent titles with the City club on the opposite side of the pitch: Coppa Titano (2022-23), Super Cup and Campionato Sammarinese (2023-24). This blockbuster clash will be broadcast live on both Titani.tv and FIFA+. This time there will be no trophy presentation in Domagnano, as the five-point lead over La Fiorita with four rounds remaining in the regular season is not enough to make that possible. In fact, Ceci’s team – knocked out on Wednesday in the Coppa Titano semi-finals precisely by Virtus – are aiming to reduce the gap in the league. Lining up opposite them is a Fiorentino side that have not won for over two months, and may well have jeopardised their chances of direct qualification for the Quarter-finals. Tre Fiori-Cosmos is particularly interesting from this perspective: the Gialloverdi want to consolidate their position, ideally putting one or more teams between themselves and eighth place. Girolomoni’s side – who have recently booked their place in the Coppa Titano final – are already sure of finishing among the six teams who will avoid the Preliminary Round in the postseason, and their only apparent concern now is battling with Folgore for third place in the standings.