Championship: post-season kicks off, with two matches per round live streamed

With the 64th Coppa Titano now consigned to the archives – lifted into the Serravalle sky by Tre Fiori last Saturday – San Marino football now turns fully to the league post-season. A phase that will not involve Cailungo, Juvenes-Dogana and Cosmos, who finished third from bottom at the end of the regular season. The top four sides, on the other hand, will skip the Preliminary Round that starts tomorrow, going straight into the Scudetto quarter‑finals where the real play-offs begin. The curtain‑raiser to the post-season will be contested by the teams that finished the first phase between fifth and twelfth place in the table, with pre‑determined pairings based on the positions achieved over the 30 regular‑season matchdays. These are two‑legged ties and, if the aggregate score is level after 180 minutes, the team that finished higher in the table will advance: specifically, Pennarossa, Faetano, Libertas and Folgore will enjoy this significant advantage in the matches scheduled for tomorrow and Saturday. ©FSGC | the broadcast schedule for the Preliminary Round on Titani.tv The reigning champions come into this after a long and gruelling Coppa Titano week, in which they spent plenty of energy overcoming Domagnano over two semi-final legs, only to reach the bitter finale – won by Tre Fiori with a 3-1 scoreline. Lepri’s men have many absentees and face two matches in four days against Fiorentino. Malandri’s side are one of the revelations of the season and can rely on a front three with a good blend of technical and physical qualities: Ben Kacem, Castellazzi and Abouzziane are a threat to anyone, including a Folgore team that over the years has shown it can organise a solid, convincing defence. The first leg will be played tomorrow at the Ezio Conti in Dogana, with kick‑off at 20:45. That kick‑off time and date will, of course, apply to the other three fixtures on the schedule. Libertas and Domagnano will meet on the artificial pitch in Domagnano, in a match that promises plenty of entertainment. For better or worse, the Granata have been involved in high‑scoring, entertaining games throughout the year, while Massimo Mancini’s Lupi have recently shown against Folgore that they can compete with anyone. By contrast, Pennarossa-Murata (Acquaviva, 20:45) is expected to be more tactical and cagey. Andy Selva’s Biancorossi finished the regular season in fifth place and, should they get past Murata, they are certain to face Virtus next. For Achille Fabbri’s side, meanwhile, beating Pennarossa over 180 minutes would mean a quarter‑final tie with La Fiorita. These are fixed paths, as the competition rules stipulate that the top seed (La Fiorita finished first in the regular season) is paired with the team that qualifies for the play‑offs with the lowest league placing. The same principle is then applied to set the full quarter‑final bracket, which is where Tre Penne (2), Tre Fiori (3) and Virtus (4) enter the fray. There is huge anticipation around Girolomoni’s Faetano, a side completely reshaped by the January transfer window and discovered to be highly competitive as a result. With 46 points in the table, 31 of which earned in 2022, they climbed to a final sixth‑place finish and thus secured a two‑legged tie with San Giovanni. The first act will take place tomorrow evening at the Montecchio ground (20:45). The second legs will be played on Saturday 7 May 2022, with kick‑off at 15:00. The Football Federation will provide live coverage of two matches per round, guaranteeing at least one live broadcast for each of the eight teams involved, all on TITANI.TV. Coverage starts tomorrow evening with Pennarossa-Murata and Faetano-San Giovanni. On Saturday afternoon, meanwhile, the Federation’s streaming platform will show Domagnano-Libertas and Fiorentino-Folgore.

---