Futsal: Pennarossa reach final after another 2-2 draw

Those who enjoyed the latest Titano Futsal Cup final will be pleased: Murata and Pennarossa will face each other again, this time with the league title on the line. Murata’s place was already secured on Monday evening. The second ticket was still up for grabs and ultimately went to the Chiesanuova side thanks to their higher league position, an advantage they exploited for the second time in a row after Cosmos had gone close to a sensational comeback against Novembrini’s men in the quarter-finals. The first leg of the semi-final had ended 2-2, with La Fiorita coming back from two goals down against the Biancorossi. Last night finished with the same scoreline, although the pattern of the game was different. In the regular season Pennarossa had finished 2nd, La Fiorita 3rd: therefore, Chiesanuova go through.

Aware they had to win – and certainly keen not to find themselves needing another fightback as they did last Thursday – La Fiorita started at full throttle. And on their first really incisive attack, they struck: Matteo Chezzi sprinted down the flank and fired a ball into the middle of the area, where Pellegrini, getting there a split-second before Maiani and Bizzocchi, swept it into the net. A miraculous recovery by Maiani on the rampant Matteo Chezzi prevented Pennarossa from conceding a second time, and they were also spared on the double chance for Simone Chezzi, first denied one-on-one by Bizzocchi and then unfortunate to see his follow-up effort come back off the base of the post and onto the foot of Verri, who had temporarily taken the goalkeeper’s place. That same ball was then recycled by Gasperoni, who produced a triple dribble before shifting it onto his left foot and rifling past Andreani. La Fiorita refused to bow. Matteo Chezzi almost made it 2-1 with a rare header from Morini’s ball cut back from the by-line. Then Pellegrini squared up to Maiani and whipped in a tempting ball, but neither Morini nor Andreani could make the right timing on the run. Pennarossa responded by turning the game around: Verri launched a counter-attack that Ceccoli tried to finish off for Gasperoni. Tracking back, Giuccioli stuck out a foot to the number 11’s shot but only succeeded in diverting it fatally beyond Andreani. Even so, La Fiorita did not waste time licking their wounds: inside a minute Morini spun away from Carlini and found the far corner, putting his side back to within one goal of the final. Bizzocchi’s rush out to close down Matteo Chezzi prevented the Gialloblù from making even more of this spell. Novembrini’s goalkeeper was decisive again, putting off Giuccioli on a close-range – though from a tight angle – effort that went wide.

Verri opened the second half with a toe-poke that warmed Andreani’s hands. Then Pellegrini broke away on a solo counter-attack, finishing with a powerful strike at the near post that did not catch Bizzocchi out. Pellegrini was a huge threat again when he spun sharply away from Verri and drove across goal with his right, sending the ball whistling just a few centimetres past the far post. Bizzocchi made a routine save from Matteo Chezzi and then watched Morini’s shot drift wide. The Pennarossa keeper had to work much harder on a non-trivial stop to deny Simone Chezzi, sent clear by his brother Matteo. Pennarossa showed again in attack with a flying, taekwondo-style diversion from Ceccoli on a long ball by Maiani: Andreani recovered his position at the last moment to deny what would have been a goal for the highlight reel. Shortly after, the Chezzi brothers combined again: Matteo delivered a perfect ball to Simone at the back post, only for Bizzocchi to appear from nowhere and, with a sensational save, prevent La Fiorita’s 3-2. Soon after, Pellegrini hit a stunning inside of the post, then forced Bizzocchi into another difficult save with a right-foot rocket heading for the top corner. A move down the wing between Pellegrini and Morini allowed the number 7 to burst through and then serve a delicious ball to the far post: Giuccioli should have been there, but was culpably late. Just as late was Matteo Chezzi on a sudden, perfectly executed turn and shot by Pellegrini, who shortly afterwards went solo again, going round Maiani and shooting just centimetres wide of the post. One of the standout players on the pitch, La Fiorita’s number 21 ultimately paid the price for fatigue at the end, when he literally rugby-tackled Maiani and was shown his second yellow card of the evening. But Pennarossa were running on fumes too. Proof came when, despite their numerical superiority, the Biancorossi lost a terrible ball on the flank, allowing Matteo Chezzi a clear run at goal: Maiani saved the day by blocking the Gialloblù number 9 just as he pulled the trigger, while Morini – completely free at the back post – was left to rue the pass that never came. Those were the very last flashes of a fiercely contested tie that Pennarossa managed to tilt in their favour, thus celebrating their second appearance in a final this season. For La Fiorita, instead, there will only be the third-place play-off, against Virtus next Tuesday on the court of the Palestra di Acquaviva.

Here is the schedule for the league semi-finals and finals: