Coppa Titano: De Lucia sends Virtus wild in the 109th minute, 1-0 not enough for Tre Penne

Virtus and Tre Fiori will battle it out for the 2024-25 Coppa Titano. After the 90 minutes of normal time, the second legs of the two semi-finals end with exactly the same scores as on 5 March: 0-0 between Virtus and La Fiorita, 1-0 for Tre Penne over Tre Fiori. However, that slender lead is not enough for the City side to overturn the verdict from the first leg – not the one on the pitch, at least, but the 3-0 awarded to Tre Fiori by the Sports Judge (ed.). So, despite suffering in the first half, Girolomoni’s team fly through to the final, to be played at San Marino Stadium on 24 May. Between Virtus and La Fiorita, extra time is required. And midway through the second period, De Lucia’s header from a superbly delivered Buonocunto free-kick proves to be the decisive moment. It is Bizzotto’s men who reach – and indeed return to – the final, where they will try to reclaim a trophy they saw slip away at the very last hurdle last year, and against La Fiorita of all teams.

It is La Fiorita who approach the second leg with greater intensity. Affonso unleashes a powerful right-footed effort – but over – from inside the area, while on 17 minutes Gasperoni lets fly from distance and De Angelis turns it onto the bar. Shortly after, the Virtus bench leap to their feet for what they see as a “sandwich” challenge by Gasperoni and Brighi on Lombardi in the box, but the referee waves play on. At the other end, Affonso again tries his luck after a loose clearance by the black-and-greens’ defence, his shot flashing dangerously past De Angelis’ left-hand post. The first half catches fire again in the closing stages, with La Fiorita once more in the role of the side laying siege. The clearest chance before the interval falls to Gasperoni who, after a pinpoint diagonal ball from Brighi, drills a powerful, wicked ball across the face of goal, but neither Olcese nor Affonso manage to turn it into gold. The opening stages of the second half follow the same pattern. La Fiorita come out with more purpose and carve out a fine chance through the Zaccaria–Zafferani link-up: the former whips in a perfect cross to the back post for his team-mate’s run, but the header is lacking. That scare seems to jolt Virtus, who need just 60 seconds to create their best chance of the match so far. Piscaglia sends Pecci in behind with a long ball; the forward’s first touch in the box is excellent and his vision even better as he picks out Piovaccari. The former San Marino Calcio striker, completely unmarked, hesitates at the crucial moment, then opts for a lob that is both late and far too high. Vivan just beats Rizzo to the ball after he had been played in by Piovaccari, while at the other end Affonso reappears with a thunderous drive that ripples the net, but only from the outside. After the hour mark, the former Murata forward finally finds the net after Zafferani’s effort is blocked, but the assistant’s raised flag chokes the celebration of Ceci’s men. Shortly afterwards they live dangerously again when Lunadei’s backpass is too short. Pecci pounces and heads straight for goal, with Brighi the last man between the No.24 in black and green and a one-on-one with Vivan; his touch on Pecci’s left-footed diagonal is as good as a goal – and he celebrates it as such. De Lucia does something similar in the dying embers of normal time when Riccardi drills a low cross in for Affonso and the former Murata striker seems certain to score, only for the No.34 in black and green to throw himself in the way. That alone would have earned him a high mark, but his impact on the match becomes even more decisive in the 109th minute, after a first period of extra time with almost nothing to report, when his head emerges from a tangle of white and black-and-green shirts and he glances the ball with real quality inside the post to Vivan’s left, the goalkeeper at full stretch and blameless. With more than half of extra time still to play, the Montegiardino side put on their hard hats and mount a furious assault that ultimately bears no fruit. In the first minute of added time Semprini is sent off, and just seconds later the referee brings an end to a marathon contest that ultimately rewards Bizzotto’s men, who remain firmly in the hunt for a seasonal treble.

There is only one goal in Montecchio as well, but here the second leg is shorter, less on a knife edge and far richer in red cards: three in total, including a member of the Tre Penne bench. That last incident comes directly from the referee’s decision not to award what would have been Tre Penne’s second goal. Guidi attacked Scarponi’s cross and crashed a header against the underside of the bar; the ball bounced on the goal line but not over it, as some in the white-and-blue camp were claiming. A goal rightly not awarded, then, and a huge sigh of relief for a Tre Fiori side charged with defending the 3-0 awarded off the pitch but already a goal down inside 10 minutes to Ricciardo’s cool finish in a one-on-one with Nardi. Tre Fiori had earlier had the chance to make it 1-0 themselves – Bernardi, clean through on Migani, got his attempted “dink” all wrong – and they are almost punished again in the move immediately after the so-called ghost goal: Lombardi crosses from the left for Guidi, who adjusts his body superbly and, with a header, hits the woodwork for the second time in a matter of seconds. Guidi is back in the danger zone on 34 minutes, but this time he is denied by both Nardi and the assistant’s flag. The second half becomes a festival of shots off target, the pick of which is Dormi’s effort from the edge of the box on 86 minutes. Soon after, D’Addario troubles Nardi with a deflection that sends the ball into the side-netting. The white-and-blue No.2 – a former Tre Fiori player – then lets his tongue run away with him and is sent off. The same fate befalls Dormi on 90 minutes for a foul on Bernardi – his second bookable offence. That proves to be the final act of a tie that returns Tre Fiori to the Coppa Titano final, three years after their last appearance.