Futsal: spectacular draw between Murata and La Fiorita, San Giovanni smiles again

The clash between Murata and La Fiorita lived up to expectations. On the night of Matchday 21 of the Campionato Sammarinese futsal season, the Bianconeri and Gialloblu produced a spectacular 4-4 that keeps both sides firmly in the upper reaches of the table. In Domagnano it is Galli’s team who break the deadlock, with an early goal from Jacopo Giuccioli. Murata react and turn it around before the break thanks to a brace from the ever-reliable Matteo Moretti. The former Fiorentino man is in inspired form and takes his side 3-1 up, but La Fiorita hit back in style. Andrea Franciosi pulls one back, then Danny Gasperoni scores twice to put the Montegiardino club back in front. But in stoppage time Moretti – the undisputed star of the evening – scores for the fourth time to make it 4-4. The table now shows La Fiorita still in third place, two points behind Folgore – who will play tomorrow night in the late fixture at Multieventi against Juvenes-Dogana – while Cellarosi’s men sit fifth on 41 points. Squeezed between them is Tre Fiori, who climb to fourth thanks to a comprehensive 8-2 win over Virtus. Bugli’s side start strongly and go in at the break 4-0 up thanks to goals from Paolo Verri and Lorenzo Burioni. Early in the second half Alex Pascucci pulls one back, but three goals in quick succession – another brace from Burioni and a strike by Samuel Toccaceli – stretch the gap even further. Thomas Crescentini also gets in on the act before Pascucci scores again late on for Pollini’s side. The Neroverdi see a four-game unbeaten run come to an end, but they remain solidly in sixth place. Nothing changes at the top: after drawing with Folgore, Fiorentino return to winning ways and extend their lead even further. In Domagnano it is Cosmos – now on a run of three straight defeats – who pay the price. Despite being without Luca Zafferani, it is the ever-dangerous Danilo Busignani who breaks the deadlock, but Marco Ceccaroli soon restores parity. Before half-time the Rossoblu edge back in front thanks to a brace from Lorenzo Cevoli. The Gialloverdi refuse to give in and in the second half try to put a scare into the reigning champions: first Giacomo Guerra reduces the deficit, then an own goal from Andrea Ceccoli brings the contest back to 3-3. But Fiorentino roar and, with their most inspired attacking players, secure all three points: with a further two goals from Busignani – taking his league tally to 50 – and one from Cevoli (also hitting a "round" figure with 30 goals), Michelotti’s side win 6-3 and stretch their lead over Folgore to +13. While for Fiorentino winning (almost) every round appears a habit, San Giovanni had to wait a full 14 matchdays to taste victory again. Last night the Rossoneri finally had reason to smile, securing three points that had been missing since 13 November (3-1 against Faetano). The win over Pennarossa bears the signature of Marco Ugolini: the Rossonero opens the scoring on 5 minutes, then doubles the lead five minutes later, making amends for a missed penalty by scoring on the rebound past Biancorosso goalkeeper Lorenzo Cecchetti. Pennarossa have the chance to pull one back at the end of the first half, but Tiziano Selva fails to convert a 10-metre free-kick. In the second half the Chiesanuova club do manage to score through Alessandro Podeschi, but it is not enough to avoid a fourth consecutive defeat. San Giovanni, meanwhile, get back on their feet and can start to look at the table with renewed interest: twelfth place – currently occupied by Pennarossa and worth a berth in the post-season – is now just five points away. Despite their good run of form, Cailungo fail to capitalise on the slip-ups by Pennarossa and Cosmos and fall to Tre Penne. In Dogana there is an early exchange of blows between Sabatino and Gamba before Nicola Moroni puts the Rossoverdi in front. The side from Città respond and make it 2-2 through Alessandro Ercolani. In the second half Ghiotti’s men push on and deliver the decisive surge with goals from Salles and Benedettini, before Gamba scores twice more to round off the scoring at 6-2. Late on, Sabatino misses a 10-metre free-kick and the match duly ends. As things stand, Cailungo would miss out on the play-off spots, but the gap to Pennarossa is only two points and hope remains alive. It is a second win on the bounce for Tre Penne, who stay ninth but close in on Domagnano – idle on this 21st matchday. Libertas, on the other hand, make the most of their good moment: Penserini’s side record a resounding 6-0 victory over Faetano to seal a third straight win. A hat-trick from Nicholas Cola either side of half-time puts the match firmly in the Granata’s control, before they run riot through Davide Rossi, Alex Stefanelli and Giuseppe Covi. Libertas can celebrate and look at the table with a very healthy cushion over the chasers (currently 13 points clear of thirteenth place). It is yet another defeat for Faetano, still bottom of the table with just 4 points. While we await tomorrow night’s late fixture on the Multieventi court between Folgore and Juvenes-Dogana (kick-off at 21:45), below is the updated schedule for Matchday 21 of the Campionato Sammarinese futsal season: Click here for the updated standings

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