Futsal Championship: the only draw comes in the big match

Plenty of goals on the opening night of the 2022-23 San Marino Futsal Championship. In most cases the wins were clear-cut, with only one draw – in the Fiorentino showpiece between La Fiorita and Tre Fiori, the two sides who, across the three finals played this calendar year, tried in vain to stop Folgore completing the Treble. Returning to last night’s all-yellow-and-blue clash, it was Niccolò Mariotti who brought Tre Fiori back level after Davide Ghiotti’s men had taken the lead at the start of the second half through Franciosi. On the same court, in the following fixture, Fiorentino ran out resounding 8-1 winners over Cailungo. The latter did well to equalise through Gamba after Ercolani had given the Rossoblù an early lead, but they were then unable to stem the powerful response from Michelotti’s side, who first went back in front through Busignani before pulling away thanks to braces from Ceccoli and Gasperoni and further goals by Moretti and Rossini. Another emphatic scoreline came in Dogana, where two of the local clubs, Cosmos and Folgore, produced a derby with only one team in it. The all-conquering champions effectively settled the contest before half-time, going into the break 7-1 up thanks to doubles from Pellegrini, Giardi and Chezzi and a goal from Bernardi, while for Cosmos it was Iuliani who found the net to slightly soften the deficit. The script did not change after the restart, even if Folgore were less relentless in front of goal. Bernardi capped his evening with two more goals to complete his hat-trick, while Cosmos had the final say on the scoresheet with a consolation from former Folgore player Giacomo Guerra. Also noted in the match report is the yellow-and-green Guidi, not as a scorer but as a player sent off: he received a straight red in the 45th minute. Positive start for the rebuilt Murata, who swept aside San Giovanni in Dogana’s second fixture with a commanding 5-1 victory. Palermino’s side took their first lead just after the quarter-hour mark through Capicchioni. The same former San Giovanni player then made it 2-1 after his team-mate Casadei had inadvertently gifted the equaliser to San Giovanni. Then it was the turn of another ex, Camilloni, to score the third, before Albani struck twice to round off the Bianconeri’s five-goal haul. In the closing stages San Giovanni also lost their goalkeeper and captain, Davide Agostini, who was shown a straight red card. The other reformed team, Tre Penne, began their new adventure with a very different outcome. Domagnano defeated the Biancazzurri 3-0, a scoreline built entirely in the first half, when Lorenzo Bollini scored from a free-kick, Santarini added another, and the second Giallorosso goal came via an unfortunate deflection off Raschi. The Wolves had the chance to increase their tally after the break, but neither Cavalli’s penalty nor Manuel Bollini’s 10-metre free-kick found the target. While Domagnano were unable to make it a four-goal haul, Virtus did reach that mark. The Neroverdi beat Libertas 4-0, scoring twice in each half. Sensoli opened the scoring and Michelotti closed it, with Paolo Casadei netting a brace in between. The clash between Pennarossa and Faetano, meanwhile, finished with a thrilling 4-3 win for the Gialloblù, who edged it after initially falling behind to a Bacciocchi own goal. The number 6 would also get on the scoresheet at the right end, but only at the very end. Before that, Mangano and then Massimo Moroni, from the penalty spot, led the Faetano comeback, which was completed by a strike from Tomassoni, another player facing his former club. Ciacci tried to inspire a Pennarossa fightback, immediately snuffed out by Bacciocchi’s goal. In the closing stages, Pennarossa gave themselves one last chance with Rosa’s goal, but it wasn’t enough to complete the turnaround. What’s more, on top of the defeat, the Chiesanuova side also had to contend with the dismissals of Ciacci (second yellow) and head coach Casadei, both sent off at the final whistle. Here is the full set of results from Matchday 1 of the championship:

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