Coppa Titano BKN301: La Fiorita win on penalties; Olcese’s “Panenka” proves decisive

Penalties deny Virtus a fourth consecutive triumph and salvage La Fiorita’s European summer, while also giving coach Thomas Manfredini, on the night of his announced final match in the yellow and blue dugout, the best possible farewell gift: a trophy. After 120 minutes of battle, there are no goals. The very first chance comes inside 3 minutes. From the right flank, Zampano delivers a perfect cross into the box for Grassi, who times his run well and meets it with an excellent header: Passaniti, with a feline leap, stifles the midfielder’s roar of joy. Virtus respond from a set piece. Buonocunto swings it towards the far post, where Piscaglia rises to nod the ball back across goal for his team-mates, forcing Fatica into a decisive but slightly risky intervention, as the ball drifts just past the upright. It leads to the first of two consecutive corners. From the second, Tortori finds space to cross for Piscaglia, whose header flashes just wide. At the other end, Niang wins a free-kick on the edge of the area, entrusted to Amati’s left foot: inviting territory, but the ball does not dip in time. La Fiorita try again shortly afterwards. This time the danger comes from the left: from there Greco swings in a cross towards Guidi, who gets in front of everyone but cannot keep his header down. Another cross for Guidi arrives on 40 minutes: this time it is Zafferani, from the right, who delivers for his team-mate, charging in to meet it but sending his effort just past the post. The second half begins with no substitutions and with La Fiorita pouring forward. After two minutes, Guidi lays the ball off in the middle of the box for Virgilio, who heads goalwards only to be denied by another timely save from Passaniti. The black and green goalkeeper is involved again soon after: Guidi shoots powerfully at the near post, which is once more protected by the Acquaviva keeper’s feet. The second half mirrors the first: a stop-start affair, with few flashes of excitement punctuating long spells of stalemate. A new surge comes on 73 minutes. Amati clips a free-kick into the area, Virtus fail to clear and Grassi suddenly finds himself with two attempts to steer the ball into the net: the first crashes into the black and green wall, the second trickles tamely into Passaniti’s gloves. The closing minutes pass without further alarms. Here Amati, from a free-kick, picks out Niang, who goes within centimetres of the target but from an offside position. The biggest chance of the entire second half arrives in stoppage time, and it falls to Virtus. Battistini bursts down the right and serves up a gilt-edged opportunity to Pecci, who strikes it cleanly but sees the opening goal denied by Fatica, whose block can quite legitimately be described as being worth a goal. Extra time follows, and it begins with a huge chance for Zafferani from an Olcese knockdown: the La Fiorita No 33 has the goal gaping in front of him, but he misjudges the power on his right-footed effort and sends it over the bar. Virtus respond with a Buonocunto free-kick from the edge of the area, deflected by the wall, and an Angeli header from the ensuing corner: the net ripples, but only from the outside. With virtually the last kick of the first period of extra time, La Fiorita go close through a Jacopo Semprini effort in a crowded box, off target despite being struck from an ideal position. The second period of extra time becomes a slow march towards penalties. The scant energy left on both sides does not allow for any meaningful bursts, from either team. Apart from a goal by Angeli ruled out for offside, nothing stirs the Stadium crowd before the clock hits 120 minutes. But in the single minute of added time, it takes a goal-line clearance from Genestreti to prevent Olcese from stealing the win for La Fiorita. The penalty shoot-out is therefore needed to decide the trophy. The first four spot-kicks are flawless: Vitaioli and Fatica for La Fiorita, Lombardi and Barone for Virtus. Zampano opens the third round, taking a risk (Passaniti guesses correctly) but still scoring. Not so Pirini, who is hypnotised by Vivan. Passaniti then saves from Ambrosini, but Vivan produces a second consecutive stop to deny Sabato, preserving La Fiorita’s advantage. The shoot-out reaches the fifth round. The ball handed to Olcese carries the weight of victory. And the experienced striker opts for a “Panenka”: a choice that pays off, as Passaniti dives to one side while the ball floats gently into the centre of the goal. Virtus’s fifth penalty is therefore not required. La Fiorita can start the celebrations: the Montegiardino side’s trophy haul in the competition rises to seven, as they return to glory three years on from their last triumph in the oldest tournament in San Marino football.

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Coppa Titano BKN301, 2023-24 Final | Virtus – La Fiorita 2-4 pens (0-0) VIRTUS Passaniti; Piscaglia (from 64' Genestreti), Montanari (from 64' Vallocchia), M. Rinaldi, Sabato, Battistini (from 97' Barone), Buonocunto (from 108' Pirini), Tortori (from 85' Lombardi), Golinucci, Pecci, Benincasa (from 85' Angeli) Substitutes: Lasagni, Muggeo, Rosti Head coach: Luigi Bizzotto   LA FIORITA Vivan; Brighi, Fatica, Virgilio, Grassi (from 79' J. Semprini), Guidi (from 91' Olcese), Niang (from 91' Ambrosini), Amati (from 104' Lunadei), Zampano, Zafferani (from 97' Vitaioli), Greco (from 113' Mazzotti) Substitutes: Zavoli, A. Semprini, D. Rinaldi Head coach: Thomas Manfredini   Referee: William Villa Assistant referees: Gianmarco Ercolani, Giuseppe Macaddino Fourth official: Marco Avoni Booked: Montanari, Fatica, Buonocunto, Piscaglia, Tortori, Benincasa, Pecci, Sabato, Golinucci, Zafferani, J. Semprini, Angeli, Virgilio, Vitaioli Penalty shoot-out sequence: Vitaioli (scored), Lombardi (scored), Fatica (scored), Barone (scored), Zampano (scored), Pirini (saved), Ambrosini (saved), Sabato (saved), Olcese (scored).

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