Coppa Titano, Cosmos and Tre Penne already eyeing the Quarter-finals

The Coppa Titano has got off to a flying start for Cosmos and Tre Penne who, in last night’s first round of first-leg Last 16 ties, recorded clear wins over San Giovanni and Domagnano respectively. Cailungo and Libertas, on the other hand, drew, leaving everything to play for in the return leg.

Starting with Cosmos, whose 2-0 win over San Giovanni also brought them their first victory of the season. The match-winner for the Gialloverdi was former Tre Fiori player Katriel Islamaj, who struck in each half to sink the Rossoneri. The match in Dogana opened up shortly after the half-hour mark when Mazzoni played a vertical ball for Islamaj who, once inside the box, shot across goal with his left foot, finding a slight deflection that proved fatal for Rossoneri goalkeeper Casadei. The second arrived after the break (56’) when Fermi won the ball back on the edge of the final third and released Islamaj, who this time beat Casadei again with a powerful right-foot finish. The only sour note for Cosmos was the sending-off of Robba – facing his former club – who, already on a booking, mistimed a tackle on Bianchi. Referee Beltrano produced a second yellow, leaving the defender to head for an early bath. Selva’s side managed their two-goal advantage comfortably through to the final whistle, taking a valuable lead into the second leg. San Giovanni will need to win by at least two clear goals just to force extra time.

The Quarter-finals look even closer for Tre Penne, who claimed a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Domagnano last night in Montecchio. The side from Città went in front shortly before the interval: Peluso caused chaos in the box and unleashed a fine right-foot strike that was parried by Papi, but the ball wasn’t cleared and Filippo Fabbri pounced to score his first goal in the biancazzurri shirt. The game drifted on until the 80th minute, when Tre Penne doubled their lead: Errico played a ball in behind for Palazzi, who flicked it first time to Casadio on the left; the winger drove it across goal, finding a crucial deflection off Gozzi for an own goal by the Giallorossi defender. On 90 minutes, Mazzei put the exclamation mark on the evening, reacting smartly in the box to turn in Pastorelli’s inswinging corner. Tre Penne ran out 3-0 winners, putting one foot in the next round. It was the first defeat of the season for Domagnano and coach Manuel Amati.

Plenty of balance and everything to be decided in the return leg in the tie between Cailungo and Libertas, the only game to end in a draw last night.

The deadlock was broken on the quarter-hour when Nigro tried a long ball into the area; Cailungo’s two centre-backs got in a muddle, allowing Osayande to nip in and beat Francioni for his fourth goal of the season. The Rossoverdi, however, refused to give up and restored parity after the restart. In the 82nd minute Colagiovanni unleashed a right-foot shot from distance, the ball struck Severi’s arm and referee Andruccioli pointed straight to the spot. Antonio Bua stepped up and made no mistake (his third goal of the season between league and cup), converting for the final 1-1 scoreline.

Ahead of tonight’s four fixtures, this is the partial picture from the Coppa Titano Round of 16 first legs. All matches are being streamed in full, live and completely free of charge, on Titani.tv.