Coppa Titano BKN301, first legs of the quarter-finals: Tre Fiori and Juvenes-Dogana win

The script is completely torn up at the Ezio Conti in Dogana: Tre Penne fall to Juvenes-Dogana, and by a two-goal margin. The tie is not yet decided, but Ceci’s men – unbeaten all season before last night – are now facing a very tricky second leg, with virtually no room for error. And zero is the only number on the scoreboard after the opening 45 minutes, also because the refereeing team disallow a goal apiece: first for Nigretti, then for Benedetti. At the very first attack of the second half, however, Tre Penne do break through: Gai picks out Nigretti in the box, and he steers a perfect angled finish into the net. Juvenes-Dogana don’t wobble; on the contrary, they grow into the game and level on the hour mark: Merli jinks along the byline and pulls it back into the middle for Colonna, who climbs above Vandi and Lombardi and heads in off the post. Riding the wave of enthusiasm, Amati’s side then complete the turnaround. It happens on 71 minutes: Gianmaria Borghini shows great determination to take on two opponents down the flank and whip in a cross towards Benedetti; the number 14 in red, white and light blue, left unmarked in the heart of the area, only needs a cushioned volley to guide the ball past Migani. Tre Penne throw men forward in search of an equaliser, but without success. Juvenes-Dogana remain fully focused and in the 76th minute even add a goal to go +2 up. This time Benedetti turns provider for Pasquinelli (recently introduced from the bench), who takes advantage of a poorly set Tre Penne backline to slot a low finish into the bottom left corner beyond Migani. Despite Tre Penne’s late siege, the scoreline stays unchanged to the final whistle. On 14 December Juvenes-Dogana will defend a valuable cushion as they chase a place in the semi-finals. Waiting there will be one of La Fiorita or Libertas, who drew 1-1 yesterday, leaving the tie completely open for the return leg. Lasagni’s men take the lead inside 5 minutes: Marco Gasperoni bursts away down the right and delivers a perfectly measured low cross for Bartolini, who only has to apply a simple finish to make it 1-0. That lead lasts until the 86th minute, when Costa takes centre stage: with a wonderful curling right-footer he denies La Fiorita the advantage of having two results out of three in their favour for the second 90 (or 120) minutes of the tie. It finishes 1-1 as well between Murata and Folgore. The exchange of blows between the Bianconeri and Giallorossoneri comes within three minutes: Serafini’s strike on 24 minutes puts Murata ahead, and Gjorretaj’s swivel finish from a Valentini assist on 27 minutes cancels it out. Virtus, instead, cannot find a way to cancel out Tre Fiori’s lead, which takes shape on the stroke of half-time thanks to Traini’s opportunism, as he pounces on a short clearance from the Acquaviva defence and instantly fires the ball past Passaniti. As with Juvenes-Dogana, two results out of three will be enough for Andy Selva’s men in the 14 December showdown. Here is the picture after the first legs of the Coppa Titano BKN301 quarter-finals:

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