Futsal: direct clashes in the chasing pack behind Folgore

The second half of the 2023-24 Campionato Sammarinese futsal season kicks off again tomorrow. It has been a simply perfect first half of the campaign for Fiorentino: the reigning champions boast both the best attack and the best defence in the league and, above all, have won every single match played so far. Tomorrow evening, outdoors in Acquaviva, it will be up to Tre Penne to try to put a spoke in the wheels of Michelotti’s powerhouse side. The match is scheduled for 20:15 and will precede the outing of the main pursuer of the Rossoblù. Folgore, in fact, will take on Libertas at 21:45. The Granata will have to make up for the absence of Ruben Casadei, sent off in Borgo Maggiore’s last outing against La Fiorita. On the synthetic surface in Fiorentino, Pennarossa and Faetano will face off in a match that – for the Gialloblù – could mean falling perhaps irretrievably away from twelfth place, the last position granting access to the post-season. Currently occupied by their upcoming opponents, it is five points away at present. Pier Giuseppe Della Valle is a confirmed absentee from a contest that directly concerns both San Giovanni and Cailungo as well. The latter are involved in an equally delicate match against Cosmos: beating the Gialloverdi would amount to a serious relaunch of their bid to reach the Preliminary Round. On the other hand, the Serravalle side have every interest in chasing a win that could send them ten points clear of tomorrow’s rivals. In Dogana, Domagnano and San Giovanni will open the evening. For the Wolves, it is a chance to reverse the trend after the pokerissimo handed to them by Juvenes-Dogana in the final act of the first half of the season. A match the lads coached by Fabio Gasperoni are eager to put behind them quickly, so they can get back on track and play their chances of finishing as high as possible in the regular season. Currently eighth, they are just four points off fifth place. And in terms of post-season pairings, that position could make all the difference for the rest of their run in the competition. In the second match scheduled on the pitch next to the Ezio Conti, one of the most intriguing fixtures of the round will take place. Murata vs Virtus is the clash between the fifth and sixth-placed sides in the league, both serious candidates to push for even more ambitious positions than those they already occupy. It is a pity that a sure protagonist, as Matteo Moretti would certainly have been, will have to support his team-mates from the stands – having been sent off in last week’s win over Tre Penne. There is an equally enticing match at the Multieventi, where indoor action will see La Fiorita and Tre Fiori go head to head. In a single evening, the sides immediately behind Folgore – second on their own – will cross paths. The reverse fixture ended with a Tre Fiori victory (4-2), again indoors, albeit at the Acquaviva gym. La Fiorita will be out for sporting revenge; as if that were not enough, a win would also guarantee them sole occupancy of third place and allow them to keep the gap to Folgore at three points. Here is the schedule for the 16th matchday of the 2023-24 Campionato Sammarinese futsal season:

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