Coppa Titano: Tre Fiori v Folgore will be the final!

Tre Fiori and Folgore are back to contest the Coppa Titano three years and two editions on from their previous meeting in the final. The Gialloblù from Fiorentino have reached the showpiece for the third season running, with victory in 2019 and defeat – after a marathon shoot-out of 24 penalties – last term. As is well known, the 2020 edition was not played due to the Covid-19 health emergency. Folgore will contest their third final in less than a year, after beating La Fiorita in the match that brought the league title back to Falciano, and losing the Super Cup to that same Montegiardino side. La Fiorita, who last night faced the daunting task of overturning the 3-0 defeat from the first leg, did not come far from achieving the feat. It started with the goal midway through the first half scored by Serra Sanchez: the towering centre-back, initially paired with Miori to cover for the absences of Brighi and Di Maio, was on hand to meet Errico’s set-piece delivery. A right-footed volley from the heart of the box left Simoncini with no chance. La Fiorita were then left with their heads in their hands when Rinaldi’s position was deemed offside a minute later: a delightful lob, but to no avail. The immediate reply from Tre Fiori, who approached the game with an extremely low block and set up in a 5-4-1 to protect the sizeable advantage from the first leg, quickly restored parity. From their first corner, Cuzzilla picked out a thumping header by Adami Martins, who directed it across goal and beyond the reach of Venturini – deputising for the injured Vivan. The sides went in at the break at 1-1, with La Fiorita needing the same comeback, but with only half the time to do it. ©FSGC After the restart the script did not change, with the holders understandably pouring men forward and Tre Fiori grafting at the back and industrious on the break. The suspension of Gjurchinoski was a significant handicap for Borgagni who – like his players – was on his feet when De Falco’s inch-perfect free-kick on the hour mark was spectacularly clawed out of the top corner by Venturini. Earlier, Gregori had fired a fine effort from the edge of the area which Simoncini could only parry back into danger: Rinaldi pounced on the rebound, but shot wide from an offside position. La Fiorita got themselves back into it through the strength of their substitutions. Amati, who came on for Errico despite not being at full fitness, provided the assist for Zafferani – also introduced from the bench: he ghosted in behind Cuzzilla and applied a clever finish to outfox Simoncini, who was caught out of position. Montegiardino’s plans were then complicated by Amati’s sending off for dissent. Even so, La Fiorita managed to close the gap again: a cross from Pancotti, flicked on by De Lucia, fell perfectly for Grandoni. The National Team full-back struck first time from a tight angle, beating Simoncini and leaving his side just one goal away from extra time. La Fiorita almost forced it in the 88th minute from a Zulli free-kick that caused a scramble in the box, with Tre Fiori somehow surviving by the skin of their teeth. The six minutes of added time, fully justified by the many stoppages and substitutions in the second half, were now all about La Fiorita who – despite being a man down – had the momentum. Lasagni even pushed Sanchez up front to make use of his physicality, but the Tre Fiori stronghold held firm and struck at the death, thirty seconds from time. Lentini doggedly kept in play a ball that seemed destined to go out and went one-on-one with Venturini, who produced a stunning save to block him. But it was Dolcini who reacted first to the rebound: the San Marino midfielder needed two attempts, after Miori’s goal-line clearance, but eventually found the net to book Tre Fiori’s place in the final. There they will, as mentioned, meet Folgore. Omar Lepri’s men made the most of their two-goal advantage from the first leg against Domagnano. The game immediately went their way as the San Marino champions took the lead on 15 minutes from a corner. Fedeli swung it in, where Massari rose at the back post to nod down for Sottile on the edge of the six-yard box. It was child’s play for the Falciano winger to finish, and he repeated the same quirky celebration seen when he scored last season’s title-winning goal. Mancini’s side responded to going behind almost at once, restoring parity on 18 minutes. The move was started and finished by captain Angelini, who spread the play to the right for Mattia Ceccaroli – who drove at Bonini and left him on the turf. His low cross towards Brighi was dangerous: after a double touch off Hirsch and Golinucci, the ball broke to the spot where Angelini’s composure did the rest. At that point Domagnano’s belief could have tipped the balance, but Angelini’s left-footed effort on 23 minutes did not trouble Gueye. Different story moments later when Fedeli surged forward, with Colonna needing all his agility to deny Folgore a second. It remained 1-1 at the break, after a couple more probes from the San Marino champions – especially dangerous when they switched play to the right flank. Early in the second half, Ceccaroli tried his luck from that same area: his right-footed strike was deflected by Nucci and drifted just wide of Gueye’s post. The game was end-to-end, with constant transitions, yet the feeling – later confirmed on the pitch – was that this would be the defences’ night, particularly after the interval. That was also down to the forwards: on 70 minutes Dormi released Fedeli into open space. The competition’s top scorer opted for the spectacular, attempting a delicate chip over the onrushing Colonna, but the ball dropped wide. The tie was still alive and seemed to be swinging away from Folgore a quarter of an hour from time when Pasini – already booked – tugged back Morena’s shirt and was sent off early. The midfielder would in any case have missed the final, having gone into the second leg against Domagnano on a yellow-card warning. It looked a potential turning point, with the Wolves flooring the accelerator in search of the goal that could reopen the tie: Nanni and Angelini, however, were off target. In between, a Fedeli effort was deflected and gathered safely by Colonna. Fancellu also lacked venom with a long-range right-footer, the last real chance of the match in the 90th+2 minute, confirming Folgore’s qualification for the final act. Folgore thus secure a second Coppa Titano final in the last three editions and will chase a trophy that has been missing from the Falciano club’s cabinet since 2015 – the year of their Treble – and to date their only triumph in this competition. Waiting for them will be Tre Fiori, the side that handed them their most recent disappointment (1-0 in the 2019 final). For Gian Luca Borgagni – Tre Fiori head coach – this will be his first final in charge of the club, just two months after taking over. Building on the legacy of Cecchetti first and then Sperindio, who left the Gialloblù dugout for the Under-21 job and personal reasons respectively, he will have the chance to lift his first trophy as a coach. It could also become Tre Fiori’s eighth Coppa Titano. In that case, the Fiorentino club would draw level with Domagnano on eight titles, behind only Libertas (11) and Juvenes-Dogana, whose tally combines the honours of Dogana (2), Juvenes (6) and the club formed from their merger in 2000 (2 titles).

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TRE FIORI A. Simoncini, D'Addario, Pracucci, De Lucia, Cuzzilla, De Falco (from 76' Tamagnini), Censoni, Dolcini, Adami Martins, Grani (from 88' Della Valle), Lentini Substitutes: Castagnoli, Savastano, Ramundo, Ciccione, Astolfi Coach: Gian Luca Borgagni   LA FIORITA Venturini, Gasperoni (from 67' Zafferani), Miori, Sanchez, Grandoni, Errico (from 50' Amati), Loiodice, Lunadei (from 67' Pancotti), Zulli, Rinaldi, Guidi (from 55' Gregori) Substitutes: Vivan, Santi, Bonifazi Coach: Oscar Lasagni   Referee: Andrea Mei Assistants: Laura Cordani and Francesco Mineo Fourth official: Emiliano Albani Scorers: 19' Sanchez, 33' Adami Martins, 74' Zafferani, 85' Grandoni, 90+6' Dolcini Booked: Gasperoni, De Falco, Grani, Cuzzilla, Amati, D'Addario, Zafferani, Tamagnini, Miori Sent off: Amati, Miori  

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DOMAGNANO Colonna (from 84' Ermeti), Nanni (from 84' Averhoff), Mazzavillani (from 84' Rossi), Morena, Olivieri, Grieco, Brighi (from 78' Faetanini), Gaiani, Angelini, Ceccaroli (from 65' Fancellu), Bara Substitutes: Richi, Semproli Coach: Massimo Mancini   FOLGORE Gueye, Hirsch, Massari, Sottile (from 67' Spighi), Nucci (from 85' G. Francioni), Golinucci, Pasini, Dormi, Fedeli, Giardi (from 57' Docente) Substitutes: Mignani, Sabbadini, Aluigi, Cerquetti Coach: Omar Lepri   Referee: Mattia Andruccioli Assistants: Alessandro Salvatori and Alfonso Gallo Fourth official: Raffaele Delvecchio Scorers: 14' Sottile, 18' Angelini Booked: Morena, Pasini, Olivieri, Nucci Sent off: Pasini (second yellow card)

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