Championship: quarter-finals get under way

Murata and Juvenes-Dogana were the last sides to bow out. The eight remaining teams will start facing each other between tomorrow and Sunday in the first legs of the Championship quarter-finals. Then, after a brief break, they will meet again in midweek for the return legs, when the verdicts will be delivered. In the meantime, tomorrow the action begins with teams that were not involved in the recent Preliminary Round. So not Fiorentino and Faetano, who will play on Sunday, but instead Tre Penne, Cosmos, Folgore and San Giovanni. The first two will in fact open the quarter-final schedule. The fixtures are spread across different kick-off times and the 15:00 slot is reserved for the Biancazzurri and Gialloverdi, who have met twice this season with an overall advantage for Cosmos, winners in the reverse fixture after a 1-1 draw in the first meeting and able to finish the regular season ahead of their opponents tomorrow – but by just a single point. A point which, however, could make all the difference in the world should neither side prevail over the two legs of the quarter-finals: even at this stage of the competition, in fact, there is no provision for extra time or penalties; the team that progresses is the one that did better over the thirty regular-season matchdays. At 17:30 it will be the turn of San Giovanni and Folgore, with the latter able, if necessary, to make their league position count. Here, the head-to-head record this season shows an even narrower gap than the one separating Tre Penne and Cosmos: Folgore won the first meeting (2-1), with San Giovanni replying in the return match (3-1). In the table, the Giallorossoneri finished four points clear of the Rossoneri. This match will be played in Montecchio, while the 15:00 game is scheduled in Dogana.

Sunday will also feature two different kick-off times. The 15:00 slot remains unchanged, while the later one lends itself more to pre-dinner habits: 18:15. Here, as mentioned above, the protagonists of the Preliminary Round will (re)enter the stage. Faetano will be on the pitch first, contesting the so-called “Marano derby” against La Fiorita, who now – and also with a view to any subsequent rounds – will enjoy every possible advantage from the league table, having been the best side of the regular season behind only the title-winning team, Virtus. La Fiorita who, in the two meetings this season, left nothing but crumbs for their “cousins” from across the river: 7-1 in the first game and 4-0 in the second. Montecchio Stadium will provide the backdrop both for this derby and for the “pre-dinner clash”, which also involves two neighbouring clubs in Tre Fiori and Fiorentino. The latter will have to do without – and for some time – El Ardoudi, sent off in the Preliminary Round and now facing a three-match suspension. This season, Fiorentino won the first meeting and drew the second, but the final table is clearly dominated by Tre Fiori, third with an eleven-point lead over their “cousins”.

All weekend matches will be broadcast live and free of charge on Titani.tv; Folgore – San Giovanni will also be available on FIFA+.

Here is the play-off schedule:

Click here for the updated table.