Futsal: semi-final places on the line tomorrow night

Given the first-leg fireworks, the return meeting between Virtus and Tre Penne also promises to be highly spectacular. Penserini’s Biancoazzurri, who had gone in front in the closing minutes of a match in which they had at one stage been three goals down, then had to contend with Acquaviva’s comeback and now must chase a win by at least two clear goals. It is therefore inevitable to expect a second leg played largely on the front foot, with little concern for the risks involved; and this is even more true for Cosmos and Domagnano, both beaten 3-0 by sides that had finished above them in the table – Pennarossa and La Fiorita respectively – and therefore required tomorrow to score at least four more goals than their opponents: a task that is not impossible, but certainly a tough one. Tough, yes, but not as tough as the mission facing Fiorentino. The 10-2 defeat suffered in the first leg against Murata leaves them with only the narrowest of openings, especially in light of the numbers posted this season by the Bianconeri juggernaut: best defence with 27 goals conceded and best attack with 224 scored, for a monstre goal difference of +197, the best ever recorded in a Campionato Sammarinese regular season. In any case, all pre-match theories will be forgotten once the whistle blows to start the second legs of the quarter-finals, all scheduled for tomorrow evening, with venues and kick-off times switched compared to the first legs. It is worth recalling that, according to the bracket, the winners of Murata-Fiorentino will meet the winners of Virtus-Tre Penne in the semi-finals, while the winners of La Fiorita-Domagnano will face the winners of Pennarossa-Cosmos.

Here is the schedule for the quarter-finals: