Coppa Titano: Round of 16 second legs kick off tomorrow

The first verdicts of the season are about to arrive, naturally in the Coppa Titano: tomorrow and Wednesday the seven second legs of the Round of 16 are scheduled (holders Virtus have a bye at this stage of the draw). On paper, at least four ties are wide open – as the same number of games played at the end of September finished level.

Among these are two of tomorrow night’s fixtures, when – both at 20:45 – Domagnano-Tre Penne will also be played. This latter match, set for the Acquaviva Stadium, already seems to have all but sealed qualification for the side from Città, who claimed a 3-0 away win in the first leg. Tre Fiori-Pennarossa and Libertas-Cailungo both restart from 1-1. The Borgo Maggiore derby is wide open to any outcome, including extra time or penalties (if the scores are still level after 90 minutes). Buda and Sarti’s sides will meet on the artificial pitch in Acquaviva. The runners-up from last season, Tre Fiori, will instead be in action in Montecchio: so far perfect in the league, they resume from the draw earned in their Coppa Titano debut against Pennarossa. The Chiesanuova club are in good shape, as shown by their recent win over San Giovanni. The same can be said of Girolomoni’s team, who passed their latest league test with flying colours by beating Folgore in the most recent round’s curtain-raiser.

On Wednesday evening, again at 20:45, Murata and Cosmos will have a cushion to protect. Both won the first leg 2-0, against Faetano and San Giovanni respectively. Looking also at their differing form in the league, the Gialloblù appear to have more of a chance of hauling themselves back into contention for a Quarter-final place than can realistically be attributed to San Giovanni. Tognacci’s men will have to overturn a two-goal deficit against Andy Selva’s Cosmos, who seem finally to have clicked into gear: the resounding 3-0 win with which the Gialloverdi recently swept aside Tre Penne looks like far more than just a fleeting sign of recovery. That tie is scheduled in Domagnano. The match involving Murata will instead take place in Montecchio, on the same pitch where only yesterday they recorded a confidence-boosting victory over San Marino Academy. Murata and Faetano know each other very well, this being their third meeting of the season in less than two months.

The remaining Wednesday fixtures are finely balanced: Juvenes-Dogana and Fiorentino resume from a 2-2 draw in the first leg. This is the match that will be shown live and free on FIFA+ as well as on Titani.tv (where full coverage of the Coppa Titano round will be available). The heavy defeat recently suffered by Costantini’s side against Virtus is misleading, as right up until the closing stages the Rossoblù showed that with courage and enterprise they can pose a serious threat even to the most talented and best-equipped teams. The same goes for Juvenes-Dogana, who slipped up in their outsiders’ clash with Domagnano. Boldrini’s young team will be eager to bounce back by sealing a place in the Quarter-finals of the oldest competition in San Marino football.

A target that will be denied to one of La Fiorita and Folgore. Seeding and open draw have combined to produce a heavyweight showdown already in the first round of the competition: both sides, in fact, have what it takes to go all the way and challenge for the title. After a goalless first leg, it is reasonable to expect a reaction from both attacks: league top scorer Daidola will face the Gialloblù’s goalscoring collective – the league’s leading attack in terms of goals scored this season.

Here is the full schedule of Coppa Titano Round of 16 second legs, all available to watch live and free on Titani.tv: