Coppa Titano: Fiorentino eye the quarter-finals, other ties to be decided in second leg

The five first legs of the Coppa Titano BKN301 Round of 16 delivered a verdict of great balance, with the exception of the match at the "Federico Crescentini" Stadium in Fiorentino. There, the Rossoblù completed a comeback after falling behind early to a penalty converted by D'angeli. Fiorentino needed just twenty minutes to overturn the momentum: first levelling through a tap-in by Diop, then taking the lead thanks to Niang, who found himself clear after a fortunate rebound. Camillini’s men looked the better side and, towards the end of the first half, struck twice more in quick succession. On 40 minutes Niang does it all himself, setting off from his own half and beating De Angelis with a left‑footed rocket under the bar. Two minutes later it’s Dolcini’s turn to celebrate, scoring from the edge of the area. After the break Fiorentino managed their lead, going close to a fifth around the hour mark with another sensational solo run from Niang – denied at the last moment by Robba. San Giovanni pushed for a goal that would give them hope ahead of the return leg, but on 73 minutes Augusto Garcia failed to direct his header into the corner from a promising position. On the ensuing counter, the irrepressible Niang missed his hat‑trick by centimetres. Before the final whistle Hirsch also had two attempts, but the scoreline remained unchanged. While Fiorentino have taken a firm step towards qualification, the other ties remain finely poised. There were three draws and a single narrow victory, claimed by La Fiorita against Cailungo. It was Marco Gasperoni who ensured his side will go into the return leg with two results out of three in their favour, as on 40 minutes he was quickest to react to Masini’s save – the keeper having just produced heroics to tip the Gialloblù captain’s previous effort onto the crossbar. Manfredini’s men finally broke the deadlock after having gone close on several occasions through Ambrosini. The pattern of play did not change after the interval and only an inspired Masini allowed Cailungo to head into the second leg with the chance to turn the tie around with a single‑goal win. Juvenes-Dogana, Libertas, Cosmos and Tre Penne all scored once. Last season’s two title contenders met again in Acquaviva, serving up a balanced encounter that D'Addario nearly swung in Cosmos’ favour on 11 minutes. Battistini fared no better at the other end, so it took the touch of a true striker to break the stalemate. Step forward Prandelli, who dived in on 19 minutes to meet Zulli’s cross and beat Migani. At the opposite end, Ceccaroli missed the target after a fine individual move, meaning Tre Penne’s equaliser would have to wait until the second half. That goal did eventually arrive: after off‑target attempts from Righini and Dormi, Badalassi found the decisive close‑range touch. It came at the end of a neat exchange with Pieri, helped by some loose marking from the yellow‑green back line. Ceci’s side grew in confidence and on 53 minutes were denied only by the junction of post and bar from Ceccaroli’s curling right‑footer, which was almost perfect. That proved to be the last clear‑cut chance in a very even contest, one that could well be decided by a single moment in the return leg, with extra time a very realistic prospect. As mentioned, Juvenes-Dogana v Libertas also finished 1-1. It is the first positive result of the season for the Granata and the third in a row for the Serravalle club. It should be noted that Amati’s men had to play almost an hour with ten men following the straight red card shown to Stella on 35 minutes. To make matters worse for Juvenes-Dogana, deep into stoppage time came Torsani’s goal. The former Fiorentino striker chose the Coppa Titano BKN301 Round of 16 to score his first goal for his new club. Curiously, it is also Libertas’ first goal from open play this season: in the defeats to La Fiorita and Murata it had been two own goals that got Sperindio’s side on the scoresheet. They will, however, have to wait a little longer for their first win. Midway through the second half, Salvemini struck to restore parity and seal the 1-1 final scoreline. There was a spectacular draw between Faetano and Tre Fiori, who produced an open, high‑scoring match in Montecchio. Tre Fiori, wearing an unusual green kit, started better and deservedly went in front on 17 minutes with a Censoni header – the forward doing well to shake off his marker from a corner. Faetano’s defending in the air was again questionable on 27 minutes, and they needed a monumental save from Pelliccioni to delay the second goal on Tomassoni’s header. Unfortunately for them, only by one minute; once more from a corner, Tomassoni nodded the ball on for Islamaj, who helped it towards goal. The final touch came from Varrella: the son of San Marino’s former national team coach scored his first goal of the season, striking against Faetano, the club he represented in the first half of the 2017-18 campaign. After the break Pellegrino’s side woke up, although they ran a huge risk on Cirrottola’s counter‑attack on 53 minutes. Their new attitude, however, was rewarded, as the repeated link‑up between Brisigotti and Capirotti eventually led to a goal for the latter midway through the half. That moment lifted Faetano, who found the 2-2 equaliser on 86 minutes. Once again, Tre Fiori’s backline was slow to react, allowing Brisigotti to control and shoot from the heart of the penalty area – giving Michele Nardi no chance. The picture of the Coppa Titano BKN301 2023-24 Round of 16 will be completed this evening with two late kick-offs, in Montecchio and Acquaviva. Both will be available live and free to stream on TITANI.TV: *the match at the Ezio Conti Stadium in Dogana will not be streamed live due to ongoing refurbishment works on the stand and dressing rooms at the venue.

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