Coppa Titano: Virtus, Juvenes-Dogana, Folgore and San Giovanni into the Quarter-finals

Three draws and one win on Coppa Titano Wednesday, as the second legs of the Round of 16 come to an end. There are no comebacks compared to the first legs, although some ties remained on a knife edge right up to the end of the 90 minutes. There was no shortage of goals and entertainment in Dogana between Virtus and Cosmos. Virtus started with a one-goal cushion, which proved crucial over the two legs. After ten minutes, the match swung the way of Omar Lepri’s Gialloverdi: a cross from the right by Pierri and a powerful header from Imre Badalassi put Cosmos in front. Fatica then struck the post on 18 minutes, taking the Serravalle side close to a second, but Tortori stepped up to level the tie: as so often, Buonocunto provided the assist for his team-mate, who struck from the edge of the area with his right – slightly deflected by Maggioli – and the ball nestled behind Semprini. Cosmos were not done and had to score again if they wanted to qualify. That happened right on the stroke of half-time, when a long ball from the halfway line by Pastorelli picked out Ben Kacem; De Angelis’ misjudged coming off his line opened the door for the Gialloverdi forward, who couldn’t miss from two yards for 2-1. After the restart, on the hour mark Virtus found another precious goal: their free-kick routine only half worked, the box turned into a pinball machine before the ball fell to Benincasa, who from inside the area beat Semprini with his left. Cosmos poured forward again, Virtus could not put the tie to bed, but in the end it was the Neroverdi who celebrated qualification, going through to the Quarter-finals where they will face Faetano. The tie between San Giovanni and Domagnano also ended level, a result which sends the Rossoneri through thanks to their 1-0 win in the first leg. Domagnano started brightly, hitting the post through Gregori after just five minutes. On the half-hour mark, though, came the goal that broke the deadlock and paved the way for Tognacci’s Rossoneri: the Giallorossi defence cleared an attacking move involving Augusto Garcia Rufer, Robba recovered the ball on the halfway line and unleashed a thunderous right-footer that sensationally flew past Colonna. In the second half Domagnano reacted and got back into it with a penalty converted by Mazzavillani on 66 minutes. Things then took a turn for the worse for Paolo Rossi’s Giallorossi when, shortly afterwards (70'), Parma was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Augusto Garcia Rufer. San Giovanni went in search of the knockout blow and came very close on 83 minutes through the ever-dangerous Augusto Garcia Rufer, but Colonna did brilliantly to close down the angle and avert the danger. Domagnano had nothing left in the tank, while San Giovanni finished on the front foot without being able to restore their lead. In Fiorentino it ended 1-1, with the Rossoneri now set to meet Tre Fiori in the Quarter-finals. The third draw of the evening came between Murata and Folgore: in Montecchio it finished 0-0, a scoreline that sends the Giallorossoneri from Falciano through thanks to Bitti’s first-leg goal. It was not a spectacular match and the best chance of the first half fell to Echel, who from long range let fly with a powerful left-footer that went just wide of Guddo’s post. After the interval came a fine long-range free-kick from Brolli that whistled past Cervellini’s right-hand post. Murata could not find the decisive touch to force extra time, and it was then Folgore who almost made sure of it in stoppage time: Bitti broke away on the counter-attack for the Giallorossoneri but, just as he was about to apply the finish, Cervellini came out superbly to block. It mattered little in the end, as Lasagni’s side progressed to the next round: their Quarter-final opponents will be Tre Penne. Having won the first leg, there was another victory this evening for Juvenes-Dogana, who put their poor league form behind them and qualified for the Quarter-finals with a 2-0 win over Fiorentino. The opening goal in Domagnano came on 15 minutes: Merli played a vertical pass to Ferrulli, who returned the ball to him on the edge of the box; the midfielder did not hesitate and struck first time with a low drive that gave Berardi no chance. Achille Fabbri’s side doubled their lead with a superb move on 38 minutes: Merli started the move, feeding Simeoni who played a first-time pass in behind for Pedini; the winger had time to pick out the far post where Paszynski met it with an excellent volley to make it 2-0. Fiorentino were on the ropes and tried to respond with a free-kick from El Ardoudi (66'), but Gentilini was equal to it. Tarini’s side enjoyed more space in the second half, but on several occasions failed to get themselves back into the game. In the end it was Juvenes-Dogana who celebrated and, as mentioned, moved on to the next round: Fabbri’s men will now face La Fiorita, the holders of the trophy. Here is the full picture from the second legs of the Round of 16:

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