Conference League: Ruthless Valmiera, Tre Penne knocked out

The UEFA Europa Conference League campaign ends with a heavy defeat for Tre Penne. After a good performance a week ago at the San Marino Stadium, Stefano Ceci’s side travelled to Latvia for the return leg against Valmiera in the second qualifying round. On that occasion the Latvians had run out 3-0 winners, already putting a strong stamp on their passage to the next round, but the reigning champions of San Marino had held their own for much of the match. It was a different story yesterday afternoon at the Jana Dalina Stadium in Valmiera (around 100 km from the capital Riga), where the home side showed no mercy and wrapped up the contest with a resounding 7-0 scoreline. The task for the Biancazzurri – already an uphill one – became even tougher as head coach Ceci had only 14 players available. The hosts – coached by Jurgis Kalns – flew out of the blocks and broke the deadlock after just three minutes through Tonisevs. Only 180 seconds later came the second, via an unfortunate own goal by Giacomo Nigretti. The Latvians did not let up and struck twice more in the space of a few minutes through Veips (9’) and Kairmani (12’). The storm eventually passed and half-time came with the home side 4-0 up. After the break, Valmiera added further gloss to their score on 68 minutes again through Tonisevs and on 73 minutes with Ndoye netting the sixth. In stoppage time came the seventh goal, Januzems beating Marco Temeroli (who had come on just minutes earlier in place of Migani). Valmiera now advance to the third qualifying round of the Conference League, where they will face Albanian side Partizani Tirana – victors in Q2 over Andorran outfit Atletic Escaldes. Tre Penne’s next appointment is scheduled for 1 September with the Super Cup clash against Virtus, which will also raise the curtain on the 2023-24 San Marino domestic season.  

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UEFA Europa Conference League, Second Qualifying Round | Valmiera-Tre Penne 7-0 VALMIERA Olses; Tonisevs, Balodis, Veips, Fall (from 71' Birka); Januzems, Ghanem (from 46' Cudars), Kairmani; Diop (from 61' Gaucho), Ndoye (from 82' Penaloza), Silva (from 71' Puilis) Substitutes: Lauva, Sliede Head coach: Jurgis Kalns   TRE PENNE Migani (from 85' Temeroli); Nigretti, Lombardi, Vandi, Scoccimarro; Righini; Pieri, Giovagnoli (from 76' Passeri), Ricciotti, Cecchetti (from 57' Belkaid); Badalassi Substitutes: Scarponi Head coach: Stefano Ceci   Referee: Tomas Klima (CZE) Assistants: Jakub Hrabovsky (CZE) and Jaroslav Kubr (CZE) Fourth official: Ladislav Szikzay (CZE) Scorers: 3', 68' Tonisevs, 6' og Nigretti, 9' Veips, 12' Kairmani, 73' Ndoye, 90'+3 Januzems Booked: Cudars, Pulis, Ricciotti, Giovagnoli, Lombardi, Nigretti Note: 978 spectators.  

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