Coppa Titano: Tre Fiori celebrate after a perfect performance

Tre Fiori and Folgore meet again in the Coppa Titano final three years on from their last showdown, when the Gialloblù prevailed 1-0. Back then the decider was played in Montecchio, while this time it is the San Marino Stadium that hosts the final act of the oldest football competition in the Republic of San Marino. Unlike many other recent finals, the game sparks into life almost immediately. Folgore are a whisker away from taking the lead after just over 100 seconds, with Fedeli picking up the ball on the byline of the six‑yard box: Borgagni’s backline are slow to close him down and it takes a superb save from Aldo Simoncini to keep it out. Two of the four Sammarinese players in Tre Fiori’s starting XI make their mark in style. Adami Martins’ pressing forces a turnover against Nucci high up the pitch, De Falco shows his class above the level and D'Addario makes the key off‑the‑ball run. The wide man times his run perfectly, gets in behind Bonini and beats Gueye with a low diagonal finish from close range. The former Rimini full‑back then also provides the pass for a possible second, but a completely unmarked Gjurchinoski fails to take advantage with his header – enjoying total freedom in Folgore’s box. The Croatian would make amends on 14 minutes, bursting past Golinucci and driving into the area from the byline before cutting the ball back: Dolcini arrives and sweeps home his second goal in three days. It is a lightning start from Tre Fiori, ruthless in the opposition box and solid in their own. On 16 minutes D'Addario has to produce heroics to block goalbound efforts from both Docente and Fedeli, then Aldo Simoncini is immense in keeping out the former Murata striker from the second of three consecutive corners. An acrobatic reaction save, with the help of the crossbar and the alertness of his team‑mates on the rebound, keeps Tre Fiori’s goal intact. This is Folgore’s best spell and on 27 minutes they come within a whisker of halving the deficit: Censoni’s mistake opens the door of the box for Docente, but his left‑footed effort finds Simoncini equal to it. The rebound falls to Fedeli, who blazes his right‑footed side‑foot over the bar. Tre Fiori’s goal seems bewitched, especially on 32 minutes when Grani nips in ahead of Fedeli at the back post and then, from Dormi’s second cross, Massari beats the offside trap but not Simoncini, heading straight into the Tre Fiori keeper’s arms from point‑blank range. Borgagni’s side are far more ruthless when sights of goal open up at the other end: good hold‑up play from Lentini opens up a clear lane for Gjurchinoski, who leaves Massari trailing and gets to the ball before Gueye as the keeper comes out. Referee Avoni points to the penalty spot, to protests from the already‑booked Folgore goalkeeper, who can only stand and watch a textbook conversion from Andrea De Falco: a powerful, precise right‑footer into the top corner for Tre Fiori’s third. The Gialloblù captain offers another glimpse of his quality at the end of the half, sending Dolcini on the overlap and then curling in a delightful ball to pick out Lentini’s run on the shoulder of the last defender. The striker does well to work room in a crowded box and unleashes a powerful right‑footer that ends in a corner after a double deflection. The sides go in at the break with Tre Fiori 3-0 up, having withstood Folgore’s attempts to get back into the game before effectively putting the trophy on ice with De Falco’s penalty. ©FSGC/Pruccoli | with 5 goals in 7 matches, Fedeli (Folgore) finishes as the tournament’s top scorer When the teams re‑emerge, it is Borgagni who makes the first change: off goes Grani, who had struggled repeatedly with physical problems in the double header against La Fiorita; on comes Cuzzilla. Folgore try to signal a turning point through a driving run from Nucci, who shoots from 20 metres after winning the ball high up. The captain’s right‑footer is well struck but ends up crashing into the head of De Lucia, who happens to be in the way. Lepri moves Dormi into the middle of the park, effectively setting up a midfield diamond in possession and entrusting the left flank to Nucci’s energy. Tre Fiori defend with discipline and without coming under serious pressure, while Tamagnini comes off the bench to replace his compatriot Dolcini. On the break, Gjurchinoski’s qualities become impossible to contain – all the more so on the wide expanses of the Stadium. On 63 minutes the Croatian leads a three‑on‑three transition and opts to pull the trigger from distance with his right: far from a speculative attempt, as only the woodwork comes to Gueye’s rescue. On the rebound, Lentini struggles to bring the ball under control and has to readjust onto his left, allowing the Senegalese keeper to save. Shortly afterwards Lepri makes his first substitution, sending on Piscaglia for Spighi. Folgore’s best opportunity of the second half arrives on 70 minutes, when Dormi slips a lovely outside‑of‑the‑boot pass through for Docente’s run – the forward stretching to touch the ball past the onrushing Simoncini. The former Rimini and Forlì striker, however, cannot direct his effort on target. A similar chance follows soon after, with Fedeli exploiting Docente’s knock‑down to get in behind Censoni. His first touch is perfect and he rounds Simoncini before finishing with his right to pull one back, despite Censoni’s last‑ditch attempt to divert the ball onto the post – not enough to keep it out. Folgore now believe and push their line even higher, inevitably leaving themselves exposed to Tre Fiori’s counter‑attacks, invariably led by Gjurchinoski’s surges. The Croatian forward produces a stunning coast-to-coast run on 75 minutes that sees him burst into the box, where Gueye reads his cut‑back and intercepts before the ball can reach Lentini. At the other end, Docente has the chance to really put Tre Fiori under pressure when he finds himself on the end of Fedeli’s scuffed left‑footer. His close‑range left‑footed touch on 83 minutes, however, lacks the power and direction to beat Simoncini, who saves diving low. Folgore refuse to give up on their comeback hopes and on 86 minutes it takes the very best of Aldo Simoncini to claw away Dormi’s volley from the edge of the box. From the resulting corner, Piscaglia brings a goalmouth scramble to an end with a shot from the heart of the area that sails over the bar. A minute later, Dormi is again in the thick of it, driving irresistibly to the edge of the box; Tre Fiori show him onto his right and the effort with his weaker foot does not trouble Simoncini. Those final attempts effectively roll the end credits on the 64th Coppa Titano, which records an eighth triumph for Tre Fiori – their second in the last three years of finals‑only editions. Borgagni’s men, crowned champions just two months after his appointment as head coach, also clinch qualification for European competition. Should they miss out on the domestic double, the Fiorentino club will enter the 2022/23 UEFA Europa Conference League at the preliminary round stage.  

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Coppa Titano, 64th final | Tre Fiori – Folgore 3-1   TRE FIORI A. Simoncini; D'Addario, Censoni, De Lucia, Grani (from 46' Cuzzilla); Pracucci (from 78' Della Valle), Adami Martins, De Falco; Dolcini (from 60' Tamagnini), Lentini (from 90' Ramundo), Gjurchinoski Substitutes: Castagnoli, Astolfi, Ciccione Coach: Gian Luca Borgagni   FOLGORE Gueye; Hirsch, Massari, Sottile (from 90'+1' Francioni), Bonini; Spighi (from 66' Piscaglia), Nucci, Golinucci, Dormi; Fedeli, Docente Substitutes: Mignani, Sabbadini, Giardi, Aluigi, Cerquetti Coach: Omar Lepri   Referee: Marco Avoni Assistants: Gianmarco Ercolani and Ernesto Cristiano Fourth official: Giacomo Cenci Scorers: 5' D'Addario, 14' Dolcini, 37' pen. De Falco, 72' Fedeli Booked: De Lucia, Gueye, Francioni Note: 312 spectators

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