Coppa Titano: Narrow wins for Tre Fiori and La Fiorita seal their place in the final

The final of the 68th edition of the Coppa Titano will be Tre Fiori v La Fiorita. In the second legs of the semi-finals played this evening, a single goal from the ever-reliable Prandelli is enough for the Gialloblù from Fiorentino to get the better of defending champions Virtus, while for the Montegiardino side it is Djuric and Vivan who prove decisive in overcoming a never-say-die Juvenes Dogana.

We start with Tre Fiori v Virtus, the fourth meeting between the sides in this month of March. The match in Acquaviva is tense and electric right from the off. The teams feel each other out and neither manages to take control in the opening stages. In the 35th minute, however, Tre Fiori hit the front: a free-kick from Sami – almost like a corner – is swung into the box and finds Prandelli, who takes advantage of a Virtus defence all at sea and powers home his first – and hugely important – goal in the competition (his third against Virtus in just a few days after Saturday’s league brace). Virtus try to react and, towards the end of the half, appeal for a penalty after a coming together between Zenoni and Vandi in the box, but Righi lets play continue.

After the restart, Bizzotto’s side come out the sharper and on 55 minutes immediately have a chance to level when Zenoni pulls the ball back from the byline for Buonocunto, who shoots first time from a great position but drags his right-footed effort wide. Shortly afterwards it is Zenoni who has a go with another diagonal effort that again fails to hit the target. The holders keep pushing, with Zenoni once more breaking into the area and going one-on-one with Sami; the winger goes to ground, but Righi once again waves play on. The momentum is with Virtus and Tre Fiori are forced to dig in, repelling yet another attack thanks to Rea and Sirri. Girolomoni’s men sit deep and look to break, as they do in the 82nd minute when Sensoli does well to work a good ball and lay it off to Benedettini, who unleashes a powerful strike, but Passaniti comes to his side’s rescue. Virtus keep pushing right to the end and, in stoppage time, win a promising free-kick on the edge of the area, but Amati crashes into the Gialloblù wall (wearing black and green tonight...) marshalled by Pesaresi. After five added minutes, Righi brings it to a close. The reigning champions are out, after three consecutive final appearances. Tre Fiori thus gain revenge for last season and book their place in the final, where they will face La Fiorita, who also edge through by a single goal against Juvenes Dogana.

At the “Ezio Conti” in Dogana, the game remains finely balanced until the quarter-hour mark, when La Fiorita manage to break the deadlock: Giovagnoli loses out in a challenge with Dormi, who launches the Gialloblù counter, feeding Olcese; he in turn slides the ball in behind for Affonso. The former Murata man burns past Mazzavillani and, once at the byline, drills it across to the back post where Semprini is on hand to finish. Boldrini’s side soon muster a response with a fine cross from Gianmaria Borghini for a Gaiani header that flies not far wide. An even clearer chance arrives on the half-hour when Lisi plays a vertical pass for Amadori; the number nine unleashes a powerful shot on goal and Vivan has to produce his first big save to keep his team in front. A minute later, it is Davide Colonna who almost gifts La Fiorita a second when – out of his area – he miscontrols under pressure from Affonso, who then, with the goal unguarded, shoots directly and goes agonisingly close to doubling the lead. Just before the interval, however, everything happens at once. In the 41st minute Colonna atones for his earlier mistake with a superb save to deny Affonso, and from the rebound Olcese, with the goal gaping, somehow squanders the chance to make it 2-0. The familiar “law” of missed chances comes back to bite, because in the 44th minute Juvenes Dogana equalise: a Giovagnoli free-kick is met by Ghiggini’s precise header for 1-1. A thrilling first half thus ends all square. La Fiorita emerge from the dressing rooms the brighter and, on 51 minutes, immediately carve out an opportunity through Djuric, who pulls the ball back from the byline for Affonso; his finish, however, lacks power and Colonna gathers. Boldrini’s men respond straight away with Amadori bursting into the area before going down under a challenge from Zaccaria, but William Villa deems the contact fair. Another chance falls to La Fiorita in the 73rd minute, when Zaccaria delivers a pinpoint cross into the box for Guidi, whose header fails to make the desired contact. Soon after, though, Ceci’s Gialloblù finally break through with the goal that ultimately proves decisive for qualification: from the corner of the box Affonso lays it off to Djuric, who cuts inside on the edge of the area, shifts the ball onto his left and curls it into the far corner, beyond Colonna’s reach. The other hero of the night for La Fiorita is called Gianluca Vivan, as the experienced goalkeeper is decisive on two occasions late on. First he turns away a thunderous long-range strike from Merli, then, deep into stoppage time – with ten seconds remaining – he flies to his left to keep out another superb left-footed effort from Aprea and preserve the result. Juvenes Dogana bow out with heads held high, but it is La Fiorita who return to the final, repeating their appearance after the 2024 triumph on penalties against Virtus.

Here is the full schedule of the second legs of the 2025-26 Coppa Titano Semi-finals: