Conference: stunning La Fiorita book second round spot, brave Tre Penne bow out

La Fiorita join Tre Fiori in the small group of Titano clubs who have ever made it through a round in European competition. The Gialloblù from Fiorentino achieved the feat in 2018 and repeated it in 2022; the Gialloblù from Montegiardino, meanwhile, did it last night on Hungarian soil. Now, in the second qualifying round of the Conference League, they will face Turkish side İstanbul Başakşehir. Looking back over this two-legged tie with Belarusian side Isloch, just one goal had made the difference seven days earlier at the San Marino Stadium. It was scored by Butsko, capitalising above all on a lapse by the hosts. Overall, though, Isloch had not looked like an insurmountable opponent; indeed, in the closing stages La Fiorita had come very close to levelling. The task remained well within reach. On neutral ground in Mezokövesd, Manfredini’s side immediately made their intentions clear. Their constant presence in the opposition half, at least in the early stages, produced some promising situations, including a superb long-range effort from Cicarelli that was blocked by Veretilo, who on that occasion had to stand in for his goalkeeper. Then Isloch pushed up and tried to trouble Vivan three times in quick succession, always through Butsko: first his acrobatic volley flashed just wide, then twice the Gialloblù goalkeeper’s gloves prevented any danger. La Fiorita then went back on the attack with Cicarelli, who sought glory from the edge of the box but was blocked by the home defence. After the interval Semprini came on immediately, and that change would prove decisive. First La Fiorita had a rehearsal for the opening goal through Casolla, who was smothered in the heart of the box, then through Greco, who latched onto a loose ball and fired wide. At the other end, Butsko had one last, timid attempt before leaving the pitch: Vivan gathered comfortably. The La Fiorita goalkeeper was far more seriously tested by Kovel’s header from a corner, which came shortly after Yudchyts had fired wide from distance. The game moved into the closing minutes. La Fiorita broke through down the right with youngster Toccaceli, who delivered the ball into the middle where three team-mates had charged into the six-yard box: the decisive touch came from Jacopo Semprini, gifting his side at least another 30 minutes to go for the upset. In extra-time La Fiorita threatened mainly through Casolla, who first scored from an offside position and then went down on the edge of the area, appealing for a penalty that was not awarded. At the other end, the only real danger was a free-kick from just outside the box taken by Alii, who however blazed it well over. The verdict was left to the penalty shoot-out. Casolla, Cicarelli and Olcese were flawless, while Guerra hit the post. For Isloch, the night darkened thanks to Vivan’s saves from Kovel and Sibilev. The fifth and decisive penalty fell to Pezzi, who sent Svirski the wrong way and fired La Fiorita straight into the second qualifying round of the Conference League: an immense joy, long pursued and more than once narrowly missed over thirteen years of European appearances. And now, Krzysztof Piątek’s Başakşehir await. Tre Penne’s journey, by contrast, comes to an end. They needed a two-goal win to take the tie beyond 90 minutes after the 3-1 defeat in Malta against Floriana. The match at the San Marino Stadium produced its first flash on 8 minutes, when Grech’s free-kick picked out Reid’s head perfectly, but Migani was equal to it. After a couple of Grech forays into the box (a weak shot and an equally weak penalty appeal), Reid tried again with a header, this time from a pinpoint Kouro cross: far too much freedom for the no. 9, but the ball drifted wide. Floriana kept pushing and on one occasion it took a vital intervention from Scarponi’s boot to block a promising effort from Thiago Santos. But Tre Penne were very much in the game on the Stadium’s green. In fact, Berardi’s side came within centimetres of taking the lead on 33 minutes: after a delightful one-two on the flank with Guidi, Nigretti’s cross turned into a shot that wrong-footed Mafoumbi, but fortunately for the visiting goalkeeper Garzia was there to clear off the line. The move continued to develop: from the right Dormi crossed for Pieri, whose glancing header towards Mafoumbi struck the keeper full on. Late in the half, the irrepressible Nigretti again left two opponents in his wake before crossing for Scarponi, who could not get enough power on his header. Floriana went back to testing Migani through Thiago Santos, who skipped past Boccioletti, cut inside and shot with his right, but without angle or venom. The second half also began under the sign of Thiago Santos: he slipped away down the right and crossed for Grech, whose control looked dubious before he unleashed a powerful right-footed drive at the near post, where Migani stood firm and alert. Malta’s best chance up to that point arrived two minutes later, again via the Thiago Santos-Grech axis but with roles reversed: the no. 8 released the no. 11, who, completely unmarked, tried to beat Migani at the near post, only to find the shutters down. Tre Penne responded by scoring. It all started from an attacking throw-in: Nigretti powered his way through and cut the ball back for Guidi, whose curling effort was blocked on the line by Garzia; Boccioletti pounced on the loose ball and smashed it in with a decisive left-footer. The 1-0 changed the complexion of the match, because Tre Penne were now just one goal away from extra-time. Floriana’s instinctive reaction produced a high header from Nwoko and a dangerous run by Grech that ended in a wayward shot. On 81 minutes, Thiago Santos, picked out by Grech, rounded Migani and tapped into the net, but play had long since been stopped for offside, and the forward was even shown a yellow card. These were the minutes when Tre Penne threw everything forward in search of 2-0, but there was a major risk of counter-attacks, like the 4 v 2 break launched in the 82nd minute after a corner in favour of the Biancoazzurri: Scarponi’s reading of the situation to snuff it out was straight from the textbook. Soon after, Thiago Santos had another go at scoring a “valid” goal, cutting in from the right and curling a left-footer that shaved the far top corner. On 87 minutes came another Maltese break: Zammit Lonardelli picked out Grech in the middle of the area, but he hit the side-netting. Nicola Berardi pushed a defender, Vecchio, up front to exploit his physical attributes. Just one goal was missing to extend the tie, but so too were the energy levels, as the many cramps beginning to show clearly indicated. Floriana did not wobble in the five minutes of added time; on the contrary, they wrapped up the contest through Grech, who was picked out in the middle of the box by Reid and, completely unmarked, could hardly miss.

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UEFA Europa Conference League, First Qualifying Round | FC Isloch – La Fiorita 0-1 (2-5 pens)   FC ISLOCH Svirski; Veretilo, Kovel, Hornanau; Yudchyts (from 104' Zhurauliou), Haliata (from 91' Aliii), Bulmaga, Ibrahim; Senko (from 55' Sibilev), Butsko (from 64' Rovdo), Shestyuk (from 46' Kobayev) Substitutes: Denisenko, Tsikhamirau, Rodinov, Khavalka, Krauchanka Coach: Sergei Borovski   LA FIORITA Vivan; M. Mazzotti, Scipioni, Pezzi; Guerri, Cicarelli, N. Mazzotti (from 80' Toccaceli), Greco (from 69' Arradi); Portaccio (from 46' Semprini), Casolla, Affonso (from 69' Olcese) Substitutes: Zavoli, Semeraro, Lago, Capozzi Coach: Thomas Manfredini   Referee: Jovan Kachevski (MKD) Assistant referees: Goce Petreski (MKD), Branko Putilin (MKD) Ivana Projkovska (MKD) Booked: Senko, Scipioni, Guerri, M. Mazzotti, Toccaceli Scorer: 87' Semprini Penalty shoot-out: Casolla scored, Rovdo scored, Cicarelli scored, Kovel saved, Guerri missed, Sibilev saved, Olcese scored, Zhurauliou scored, Pezzi scored  

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UEFA Europa Conference League, First Qualifying Round | Tre Penne – Floriana 1-1   TRE PENNE Migani; Vecchio (from 90+4' Giovagnoli), Lombardi, Palazzi; Nigretti (from 90+4' Cecchetti), Dormi, Amati (from 86' Magrotti), Scarponi, Boccioletti (from 86' Grieco); Pieri (from 73' Ceccaroli), Guidi Substitutes: Manzaroli, Colonna, Zeka, Zafferani Coach: Nicola Berardi   FLORIANA Mafoumbi; Garzia (from 76' Zammit Lonardelli), Spiteri, El Hasni, Kouro; Vella, Garcia, Grech; Thiago Santos, Nwoko (from 76' Fernandinho), Reid Substitutes: Cutajar, Andrijanic, Veselji, Arias, Micallef, Buttigieg, Yameogo, Obonogwu Coach: Darren Abdilla   Referee: Omarov Rustam (KAZ) Assistant referees: Alexey Dolgikh (KAZ), Dmitriy Belogradov (KAZ) Fourth official: Sayat Karabayev (KAZ) Booked: Guidi, Garzia, Nigretti, Scarponi, Thiago Santos, Spiteri, Amati, Reid Scorers: 59' Boccioletti, 90+5' Grech Attendance: 364

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