Futsal: back underway with the second round fixture. Spotlight on La Fiorita-Pennarossa

After a double postponement due to snow, the San Marino Futsal Championship resumes exactly one month after its pre-Christmas break. It restarts directly with the second half of the season, specifically from the 2nd matchday. In the reverse fixtures, at this stage of the campaign, Cailungo gave Murata a real run for their money, although the latter still managed a narrow win. Today Max Spada’s side sit top of the table, but not with an unassailable lead: the gap separating the reigning champions not only from the chasing pair in second (La Fiorita and Tre Penne), but also from fourth-placed Virtus, is very small – the latter are currently just three points off the summit. It will be Murata who, tomorrow evening, kick off the programme on the Dogana pitch. They will face a Cailungo side without a win in four, a run in which they have collected just one draw and three defeats, and who remain uncomfortably close to the part of the table everyone wants to avoid – currently three points behind the Rossoverdi and with Tre Fiori marking the safety line. Tre Fiori will be involved in the evening’s only indoor fixture, played on the court at the Acquaviva Gym. The team, once again entrusted to Alex Bugli, are aiming to halt a three-game losing streak, but must deal with a Cosmos side keen to start the new year the same way they ended the old one: by winning. Franchino’s men are chasing a fifth straight victory, a key platform for fending off any assaults from Pennarossa and Folgore and for keeping Virtus – currently seven points ahead of the Gialloverdi – within reach.

Having ended 2025 with two consecutive defeats and in a league position far from the expectations set in the summer, especially in light of last season’s exploits, Pennarossa approach the second half of the campaign repeating to themselves the old saying: “new year, new life”. To turn intentions into reality, however, they will need to rediscover the spirit that in 2025 carried the Chiesanuova side to three straight finals, because standing in the way of the Biancorossi will be a La Fiorita side in excellent form, coming off five consecutive wins and more generally unbeaten since 3 November – and that loss, incidentally, came against Murata, whose trail Pietrangeli’s team are determined at the very least to keep following. The reverse fixture ended 4-2 to Montegiardino. This will be the match that closes the evening in Dogana, which, as mentioned, will be opened by Murata. In Fiorentino, meanwhile, Juvenes Dogana take on Libertas aiming to continue their climb up the table. It pits two sides against each other who arrive with diametrically opposed form. The Biancorossoazzurri have won three of their last four, while the Granata lost their way three games ago, all of them defeats, and they cannot yet be considered out of the battle to avoid missing out on the play-offs – even if Levani’s men, with the coach a major former figure of this fixture, still hold a decent cushion over Tre Fiori. After Juvenes and Libertas, Tre Penne and Faetano will take to the artificial turf in Fiorentino. For the side from Città, the same applies as for La Fiorita, with whom they share 31 points: they must keep winning to stay on Murata’s heels. As for Faetano, recent results show just one point from four outings, a run that for now offers little comfort to the first of the sides currently in the play-off spots, sitting only one point above the danger line.

Finally, the two fixtures in Domagnano. It starts with San Giovanni v Folgore, a meeting between sides far apart in the table and therefore, in theory, with a straightforward prediction. But beware the desire for redemption in the Borgo Maggiore camp, who are desperate to launch themselves back towards the play-off positions, which are, all in all, not that far from where they stand now. A significant change of pace will certainly be needed from the Rossoneri, while Folgore, by contrast, will just be hoping that the winter break has not cooled the form they showed at the end of 2025, when they recorded back-to-back wins and climbed to seventh place, within striking distance of Cosmos and Pennarossa. To conclude, Virtus and Fiorentino meet with different targets: the Neroverdi seeking to reaffirm their title credentials, having shaken off a difficult spell thanks to two wins before Christmas; the Rossoblù desperately trying to claw their way up from the foot of the table, where they sit level on 4 points with San Giovanni. Domagnano will have to wait a few more days to make their 2026 debut, as they are inactive due to their scheduled rest round.

Here is the full schedule for Matchday 17, the 2nd round of the second half of the season:

Click here to view the table