Futsal: more twists and turns in Group B, Folgore already in the play-offs

Twelve wins from twelve could only lead to a remarkable milestone: helped by San Giovanni’s bye week, Folgore have secured their place in the play-offs with a whole round of fixtures to spare. Faetano were powerless in the face of the firepower of Spada’s side. In Dogana, the 12-3 scoreline had Omar El Attar as by far the standout player for Faetano: the young Sammarinese of Egyptian origin scored all three goals for the Gialloblù, but they were nowhere near enough to stem the Giallorossoneri’s onslaught. The rout began inside 2 minutes, with Bernardi opening his account for what would become a four-goal haul; his second arrived after another 2 minutes, before the scoresheet, on the Falciano side, was further enriched by goals from Chezzi, Zafferani, Bernardi again and Menghini. Could Busignani really be missing from the list? The answer is no, just as it has been in all eleven previous league outings. The Futsal National Team’s universal – who has scored in every game this season except the Titano Futsal Cup tie against Cailungo – struck to make it 5-1, before repeating the feat in the second half on 34 and 48 minutes. A hat-trick for him and, as mentioned, four goals for Bernardi, while Chezzi rounded off his night with a brace. It was not he, though, but Rossi who applied the final seal on the double-figure win for the Group A leaders. The only sour note for Max Spada was Pelliccioni’s sending-off. It was also a winning night for Fiorentino and Domagnano: the gaps in the play-off spots therefore remain unchanged, while the whole lower half of the group table sees the play-off train move even further away – and perhaps beyond reach. Fiorentino made the big match of the evening their own, handing La Fiorita a second league defeat, their first after a five-game unbeaten run. Former La Fiorita player Toccaceli opened the scoring, and he would also be the one to close it out at the end of the contest. In between came the Rossoblù’s second from Moretti and the goal that halved the deficit from Beinat, immediately cancelled out by Pasqualini’s strike. In the second half, Giuccioli tried to reopen a contest which, as mentioned, would be settled by Toccaceli’s brace to make it 4-2 Fiorentino, a sixth win on the bounce and once again enough to preserve their lead over Domagnano. The Wolves, although depleted, also came out on top in their clash with Pennarossa and continue their pursuit of second place. In Dogana the deadlock was broken shortly before the quarter-hour mark, when Franciosi produced a left-footed strike to put the Giallorossi ahead. Menghi doubled the lead at the end of the first half after Selva had missed a 10-metre penalty, then Santarini and Cecchini definitively wrapped up a second straight win and a fourth game unbeaten for Mussoni’s side, who extend to eleven points their advantage over the nearest play-off challengers, namely San Giovanni, who had the night off. In Group B, Pennarossa meanwhile slipped from third place, overtaken by Virtus, who bounced back after two defeats on the spin with a 6-3 win over Juvenes-Dogana. The latter went ahead through Muccioli, but their lead was immediately overturned by a quick-fire double from Bucci. The brace from the No.9 in black and green paved the way for Casadei’s third, although Juvenes responded very well to claw back all the deficit before half-time: once again goalkeeper Cecchetti and then Zonzini found the net. After the restart Virtus produced another surge, this time turning into a decisive breakaway: Zamboni made it 4-3, before the last two, insurance goals came from Selva and Pazzaglia. Virtus back up to third, but in fact there were two overtakes in the hot zone of Group B: Tre Fiori took advantage of La Fiorita’s defeat to promptly reclaim top spot in the group. Bugli’s side cruised to victory against Libertas: after 5 minutes Verri gave the Gialloblù the lead, which was then made more emphatic in the second half, all the way to the final 6-0. Completing the scoresheet were a double apiece from Gasperoni and Zafferani, plus Pelliccioni. Also noteworthy were two missed 10-metre penalties by Angelo Casadei and Crescentini, while Libertas’ Ercolani saw red late on and will have to sit out the next round. Finally, the 3-0 win over Cailungo allowed Cosmos not only to rediscover the taste of victory – their second of the league campaign – but also to keep alive their hopes of re-entering the play-off race. The match was unlocked on the stroke of half-time, when Reggini put Canducci’s side in front, shortly before Moroni failed with a 10-metre penalty. Cosmos protected their slender lead until the closing minutes; there they managed to double-lock the three points thanks to a Marchetti own goal and a strike from Cervellini. The league now pauses until 11 April to make way for National Team duty. It will resume with the first matchday of the return round. Here is the picture from Matchday 14 of the 2021-22 Campionato Sammarinese di futsal:

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VIRTUS Amati, Pazzaglia, Toccaceli, Zamboni, Bucci, Morganti, Casadei, Bizzocchi, Pascucci, Tamagnini, Selva Coach: Luca Pollini   JUVENES-DOGANA Cecchetti, Mazza, Santi Ugolini, Borasco, Giardi, Guidi, Zonzini, Bagnasco, Muccioli, Giulianelli, Bacciocchi, Al. Frisoni Coach: Claudio Zonzini   Referee 1: Nicolò Lerza Referee 2: Daniele D'Adamo Booked: Bacciocchi, Bucci Scorers: 8' and 9' Bucci, 6' Muccioli, 20' Casadei, 23' Cecchetti, 26' Zonzini, 38' Zamboni, 50' Selva, 60+2' Pazzaglia

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CAILUNGO Casadei, Alvarez, Alex. Bur,gagni, Conti, Esposito, Giovagnoli, Graziani, Lopez Pasaron, Manzaroli, Moroni, Sammaritani, Tura, Venerucci, Marchetti Coach: Matteo Venerucci   COSMOS Muccioli, Ales. Burgagni, Zanotti, Reggini, Mazza, Mauri, Vicini, Cervellini, Zafferani, Bologna, Arrigoni Coach: Dante Canducci   Referee 1: Daniele D'Adamo Referee 2: Nicolò Lerza Scorers: 30+1' Reggini, 56' o.g. Marchetti, 60+2' Cervellini

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PENNAROSSA Rinaldi, Brighi, Naouar, Giovanardi, Selva, Giacobbi, Ciarmatori, Podeschi, Zafferani, Ciacci, Guidi Coach: Mattia Casadei   DOMAGNANO Muraccini, Santarini, Franciosi, Baldelli, Menghi, Belloni, Dolcini, Bollini, Cecchini Coach: Manuel Mussoni   Referee 1: Sirio Lanuti Referee 2: Luca Tura Booked: Menghi Scorers: 14' Franciosi, 28' Menghi, 45' Santarini, 48' Cecchini

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FAETANO Savoretti, Serra, Bacciocchi, Mi. Moroni, El Attar, Mar. Moroni, Macchia Coach: Elmiro Corbelli   FOLGORE Protti, Guerra, A. Stefanelli, Pelliccioni, Zafferani, Tassitano, Busignani, Bernardi, Chezzi, Menghini, Casadei, Rossi, S. Stefanelli Coach: Massimiliano Spada   Referee 1: Luca Tura Referee 2: Sirio Lanuti Booked: Mi. Moroni, Serra, El Attar Sent off: Pelliccioni (straight red)

Scorers: 2', 4', 21' and 38' Bernardi, 10' and 39' Chezzi, 11' Zafferani, 16', 20' (pen.) and 23' El Attar, 17', 34' and 48' Busignani, 28' Menghini, 49' Rossi

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FIORENTINO Geri, Gasperoni, Esposito, Gabrieli, Righi, Moretti, De Angelis, Pasqualini, Bollini, Contato, Toccaceli Coach: Matteo Michelotti   LA FIORITA Zanfino, Gennari, Stolfi, Chezzi, Bernardi, Bollini, Beinat, Giuccioli, Fabbri, Marchetti, Mattioli Coach: Leonardo Palermino   Referee 1: Andrea Piccoli Referee 2: Luca Zani Booked: Toccaceli Scorers: 3' and 59' Toccaceli, 8' Moretti, 21' Beinat, 22' Pasqualini, 51' Giuccioli

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LIBERTAS F. Casadei, Taddei, Covi, F. Rossi, Gabrielli, Giardi, Bacciocchi, Ercolani, James, D. Rossi, Tamagnini, Gennari Coach: Roberto Penserini   TRE FIORI Lonfernini, Sabatino, Gasperoni, Crescentini, Verri, Zafferani, D. Casadei, Pelliccioni, Morini, A. Casadei Coach: Alex Bugli   Referee 1: Luca Zani Referee 2: Andrea Piccoli Booked: Taddei Sent off: Ercolani (straight red) Scorers: 5' Verri, 35' and 36' Gasperoni, 45' and 54' Zafferani, 53' Pelliccioni

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