Futsal, narrow win for La Fiorita over Domagnano: late strike from Pellegrini

Exactly 24 hours before the second legs of the Titano Futsal Cup semi-finals, the final match of Matchday 27 of the league was played last night on the court of the Acquaviva sports hall, between two in-form sides, Domagnano and La Fiorita, both looking to extend their positive runs. In the end the team from Montegiardino edged it thanks to a single goal, scored in the closing stages of a very heated contest. Domagnano chose to take on the league’s third-placed side head on, and the Wolves’ storming start yielded three efforts on goal; first Davide Dolcini, who, after collecting the ball won back by his brother Filippo, immediately tested Andreani’s reflexes with a left-footed effort that the La Fiorita keeper dealt with comfortably. Then Filippo Dolcini himself and Menghi both tried their luck from tight angles: in both cases, Andreani was not forced into heroics. La Fiorita went extremely close when Pellegrini tried an instinctive back-heel from close range, missing by a whisker. But Domagnano refused to take a backward step. From a free-kick, Filippo Dolcini aimed for the top corner and Andreani had to pull off a brilliant save to preserve his clean sheet. At the other end, Pellegrini brought down a throw-in and unleashed a right-footed shot that was cleared right off the goal line by Muraccini, after a possible touch by Davide Dolcini that had the whole La Fiorita bench screaming for a penalty. Domagnano breathed a huge sigh of relief and replied with Righi winning back possession and then teeing up Vagnini, clean through on Andreani but denied by the keeper. Vagnini immediately tried to make amends, using his strength down the right flank and firing an unexpected right-footer that Andreani saved comfortably. That action paved the way for two big chances for Pellegrini: the first was a left-footed strike from out wide that rose over the bar, while the second was a right-footed shot from a central position which Muraccini did superbly to keep out, and he was just as sharp on the rebound battled for by Pellegrini. The latter had another inviting opening after an exchange with Simone Chezzi, but once again Muraccini was equal to it. Late in the half Simone Chezzi combined with Morini and then put Meloni in an ideal position to score, but yet again it was Muraccini who came out on top in the one-on-one with the man in yellow and blue. There was still work for the Domagnano keeper when Morini decided to shoot diagonally from mid-range: the ball looked destined for the bottom corner, but Muraccini stretched just enough to tip it behind for a corner, also preventing a possible tap-in from Meloni. And where number 33 could not reach, the post came to his aid to keep the score level, deflecting Morini’s wicked left-footed effort and effectively bringing the first half to a close.

The second half began with La Fiorita immediately on the front foot. Pellegrini won the ball back in midfield and quickly went for goal, with Menghi atoning straight away for his error by blocking. A few minutes later, another turnover from Pellegrini opened the way for Giuccioli’s assist to Matteo Chezzi, who incredibly missed the target from point-blank range with only Muraccini to beat. Then Andreani began to push up into Domagnano’s half. It was the flying keeper himself who then served up a great chance for Giuccioli, but the number 10 failed to find the corner, allowing Muraccini to shine once more. The Domagnano shot-stopper then had to get his hands to a powerful effort from Matteo Chezzi after a piece of Brazilian-style skill from the La Fiorita number 9 on the flank. Shortly afterwards, it was Pellegrini’s slightly wayward finishing that kept Domagnano’s goal intact. A very similar scene unfolded a few minutes later: yet another steal from Pellegrini and a left-footed effort skimming past the post, but wide. Domagnano pushed higher to press aggressively. On one occasion, La Fiorita escaped through a quality one-two between Paesini and Matteo Chezzi, who broke clear towards Muraccini but failed with an attempted dink. Chezzi again looked for – and missed – the target from a free-kick, moments after a brave effort from Vagnini that did not catch Andreani out. Still Matteo Chezzi then ran at Bollini and drove a left-footed shot across goal that shaved the upright; however, the La Fiorita number 9 then played a ball too slowly to his brother Simone, and Filippo Dolcini pounced to shoot on the stretch, but once again Andreani was well positioned. At the other end, Matteo Chezzi forced yet another save from Muraccini, who punched away his fierce right-footed drive. As the match moved into its final phase, La Fiorita finally found the breakthrough, ruthlessly finishing off a counter-attack built at lightning speed along the Morini-Pellegrini-Matteo Chezzi-Pellegrini axis: the final touch of the move was Pellegrini’s close-range finish that sent the Montegiardino side into raptures. Domagnano responded by sending on their own flying keeper. The fifth outfield player in the opposition half produced a tight-angled right-footed effort from Filippo Dolcini – off target – a low drive from Bollini that shaved the base of the post and another right-footed shot on the run from Bollini that flew wide. In between, La Fiorita also had a golden chance to make it 2-0 through Giuccioli, who failed to hit the empty net after winning the ball back in his own half. At the final whistle, La Fiorita extended their unbeaten streak and re-established a gap to the sides around them, while Domagnano – whose position in the table was not under threat – saw their two-game winning run come to an end.