Futsal: Cosmos test for Tre Penne, La Fiorita targeting immediate response

For Matchday 7 the San Marino Futsal Championship once again features three indoor fixtures. The first, scheduled for Monday at the Multieventi, is arguably the most intriguing clash of the entire round: Tre Penne, buoyed by their rise to third place (thanks to getting back to winning ways against Cailungo), face a Cosmos side that capitalised on two prestigious draws (against Murata and Pennarossa) by beating Fiorentino. Kick-off is at the now customary 22:00, the same time at which, on Tuesday at the Acquaviva sports hall, the ball will start rolling in the meeting between Virtus and Faetano. The league leaders in black and green remain fully focused on preserving their perfect record (so far six wins from six for Michelotti’s men), while Selva’s Gialloblù need to haul themselves away from the lower reaches of the table. It is a need shared, moreover, by other sides. For example, by Tre Fiori, who take on La Fiorita in an all-yellow-and-blue affair which, on paper and looking at the standings, clearly favours the Montegiardino outfit. They are hungry to bounce back after losing their unbeaten record – and with it third place – in the wake of the 0-7 reverse against Murata. As for Tre Fiori, their most recent outing, against Virtus (which saw Bugli make his return debut on the Gialloblù bench), offered some signs of recovery; nonetheless, the situation is still dire: they will need something far more substantial to wipe out their zero points and kick-start a climb up the table.

Tre Fiori-La Fiorita will open the evening at the Fiorentino venue, which is once again hosting official league futsal fixtures. Afterwards, on the same court, there will be a close showdown between Fiorentino and Juvenes-Dogana, currently separated by just two points. Cellarosi’s side have the edge in the standings and recently celebrated their first league win (not the first of the season, as they had already won the first leg of the cup Round of 16). If success breeds appetite, it is certain the biancorossoazzurri will do everything they can to back it up, not least because Cailungo’s rest round – they currently trail Juvenes by a point – only whets the appetite further. The same holds true for Fiorentino, who find themselves on the other side of the virtual dividing line represented by Cailungo. With a win, Screti’s men would leapfrog in one go both the Rossoverdi and their opponents on the night, giving their league position a very different complexion. All of this is more than enough reason to expect a lot from this fixture.

The Domagnano and Acquaviva pitches (outdoor) do not feature in the Matchday 7 programme. Dogana does, however, and at 20:15 tomorrow it will host the clash between Murata and Libertas: the former aiming to keep the pressure on leaders Virtus, the latter looking to rediscover the run of results that was interrupted by back-to-back defeats against Faetano and Domagnano. The latter will be in action in the second match of the evening at the Ezio Conti: facing the Wolves, fresh from their second league victory and back in mid-table, will be a San Giovanni side coming off a long sequence of negative results, though always potentially capable of pulling themselves out of the quagmire in the standings – provided, of course, they can rekindle the feelings from that solitary win with which Palermino’s boys (he is among the former players involved in this fixture) introduced themselves to the current campaign.

As mentioned, there are three indoor matches on Matchday 7 – and three separate matchdays as well. The programme will in fact conclude on Wednesday with the game between Pennarossa and Folgore, played on the Multieventi court. At present the two sides are separated by three points, but they share a notable similarity: a sequence of two wins and two draws, perfectly alternating, in their last four league outings. In other words, the two contenders appear to be in comparable form. And speaking of exertion, Folgore are coming off a rest round and can be expected to have a little extra energy to expend. Also worth noting are the Giallorossoneri’s motivations, fuelled by the possibility of drawing level. Naturally, there are also enticing prospects in the table for the Biancorossi: as things stand, Pennarossa could move into both fourth and third place with a win, currently sitting just one and two points away respectively.

Here is the full schedule for Matchday 7 of the league: