Championship: Tre Penne and Virtus run riot, Juvenes-Dogana comeback at the death

Virtus and Tre Penne swept aside Fiorentino and San Giovanni respectively in the early fixtures of the fifth matchday of the BKN301 Campionato Sammarinese. The round kicked off last night with the nero-verdi putting on a show in Acquaviva, producing an almost perfect first half which effectively decided the contest – a full 45 minutes early. Bizzotto’s side thus remain unbeaten and top of the table on their own – pending tomorrow’s showdown between La Fiorita and Murata – thanks to a comprehensive 4-0 win over the rossoblu. Virtus’ opener is a gem: a long ball from Buonocunto, a back-heel from Benincasa and the finish from Tortori for 1-0 on the half hour. The second is another fine team move from the nero-verdi, with Benincasa again back-heeling into the path of Alessandro Pecci, who doubles the lead a few minutes later. As half-time approaches, the Acquaviva side add two more: the third bears the signature of Benincasa who, after his two delightful assists, gets on the scoresheet himself with a right-foot strike from the edge of the box that leaves Simone Benedettini no chance; the fourth arrives in stoppage time, again through Tortori, who latches on to yet another Benincasa pass (the latter had just hit the post in the previous move) and finishes first time superbly for 4-0. Fiorentino cannot react to the nero-verdi’s blows; Virtus manage proceedings and bank another three points. It’s a fourth straight win for Tre Penne, who put San Giovanni to the sword with a flurry of goals. Ceci’s team hit a “manita” and further swell their goal tally – fifteen in the last week alone – moving to 19 in the league (best attack). The scoring for the reigning champions opens just after the half-hour mark, when Ceccaroli drives into the box and skips past Angelini; the rossonero player, sliding in, handles the ball and the referee points to the spot, which Righini converts for 1-0. The second arrives shortly before the 45th minute from a lethal counter-attack led by Ceccaroli, who wins the ball and releases Pieri; he, in turn, squares for an unmarked Scarponi, who beats De Angelis. The third follows less than a minute later, when Dormi plays a superb ball in behind for Pieri, who drives at goal and slots past De Angelis as he comes out. Tre Penne’s fourth comes shortly after the hour, when Pieri produces another assist, this time for Ceccaroli, who elegantly rounds De Angelis and taps in from close range. Imre Badalassi also joins the goal fest, taking his tally to five and moving top of the scoring charts: Righini’s free-kick is deflected by the wall and, like a hawk, the biancazzurri marksman pounces on the loose ball and beats De Angelis for 5-0. The only sour note for Ceci’s side is the sending-off of Antonio Barretta, who on 88 minutes halts a San Giovanni break led by Angeli and receives a second yellow from the referee. Otherwise, Tre Penne win convincingly and climb to second place on their own ahead of tomorrow’s games (currently the biancazzurri are +1 on Murata and La Fiorita). Just one point behind Tre Penne are Tre Fiori, who defeat Folgore 3-1 thanks to their own fourth win in a row. In Montecchio it is De Falco’s gialloblu who draw first blood: a brilliant move orchestrated by Tommaso Leon Bernardi, who plays a one-two with Islamaj and, once through on Venturini, beats him for 1-0. Folgore, coached by Oscar Lasagni, respond immediately and are level again within two minutes: a cross from the right by Sartori, and Canini gets the faintest of touches to send it past Nardi. On the half-hour Tre Fiori have another chance to go in front, again through Bernardi, who beats Sylla and shoots, but Lazzarini saves excellently with his foot. Folgore threaten in added time when Sylla breaks well down the left, reaches the by-line and cuts it back for Simeoni, whose first-time effort is brilliantly kept out by Nardi. The goal that restores the gialloblu lead arrives after the restart: a free-kick from the right by Rizzo, Censoni flicks it on with his heel and finds Fedeli, who stretches to turn it in for 2-1. The goal that effectively settles the contest comes a quarter of an hour into the second half from Cirrottola – just on the pitch a few minutes – who wins the ball on the halfway line, surges at pace towards goal and beats Venturini with a powerful diagonal strike. Seconds later Tre Fiori almost add a fourth when Fedeli tries an audacious back-heel, but Venturini produces a stunning reflex save to deny the gialloblu forward his brace. The 18:15 kick-off between Juvenes-Dogana and Pennarossa serves up a crazy match. The first half is finely balanced, with the best chance arriving midway through the period on a counter-attack for the Serravalle side: Sottile cushions an excellent ball from Bendetti coming in from the right and lays it off on the edge to the unmarked Colonna, who, however, miscontrols and misses the decisive moment to shoot. Immediately after the restart there is a big chance for Amati’s team, as Valentini unleashes a fierce right-foot effort that crashes against the bar. The goal that breaks the deadlock comes on 66 minutes, with Pennarossa taking the lead and scoring their first goal of the season: Othmane collects the ball from the corner and sends it back in; it falls in the box and Pesce is quickest to react and turn it in, putting the biancorossi ahead. In stoppage time the goal that reopens the match arrives: a perfect free-kick from Giacomo Borghini is met by a towering header from Michele Cevoli to make it 1-1. Just a few minutes later comes the turnaround for Amati’s side: Gentilini’s long kick, Stella helps it on to Benedetti, who brings it down on his chest and unleashes a powerful strike towards Lazzarini, who gets a touch but cannot keep it out. It’s 2-1 to Juvenes-Dogana, who complete the comeback in two minutes and clinch a dramatic victory. Tomorrow the matchday concludes with four more fixtures, headlined by the big 18:15 clash in Montecchio between La Fiorita and Murata, both still with maximum points. Here is the full programme for the fifth round of the 2023-24 BKN301 Campionato Sammarinese, live streaming on TITANI.TV:

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