Futsal: spectacular draw between Virtus and Folgore in the first leg of the quarter-finals

Yesterday saw the first legs of the quarter-finals of the Campionato Sammarinese di futsal, yielding three wins for the higher-ranked sides at this stage of the competition and one thrilling draw. It is highly likely that the first semi-final will be a derby, specifically the one from the Castello di Fiorentino. If for the Rossoblù – the reigning champions – the duel with Libertas looked almost decided from the outset, it is worth highlighting the victory of Tre Fiori over Juvenes-Dogana. The win took shape only at the death, considering that the score was still 0-0 in the 55th minute: in the final 300 seconds plus added time the balance clearly swung towards the Gialloblù, who all but sealed qualification thanks to a brace from Burioni and a third goal scored by Simoncini. A bitter ending for Juvenes-Dogana, who had also survived two minutes with a man down following the sending off of Elia Cecchetti in the 40th minute. In the return leg, Levani’s men will need a sporting miracle, as they must win by at least four goals: otherwise, Tre Fiori – who finished above them in the table in the regular season – will progress. Fiorentino have one hand on the semi-final after beating Libertas 5-1. The defending champions effectively wrapped up the contest in the first half, which Michelotti’s men ended four goals to the good. Maiani broke the deadlock, while a Busignani hat-trick put the game to bed. Early in the second half, Casadei made the Rossoblù’s four-goal haul even more emphatic, while Covi salvaged some pride for Libertas. An important win for Murata in their clash with La Fiorita. The Bianconeri, who finished third in the regular season, produced the decisive surge after the break. The first half had ended 1-1, with Danny Gasperoni cancelling out Moretti’s opener. The San Marino international struck again in the 37th minute, a couple of minutes before Belloni’s goal that made it 3-1. The team is being led in this end-of-season run-in by Spada, called in to replace Cellarosi – to him and his partner the FSGC sends its best wishes for a speedy recovery after the serious car accident in which they were involved. La Fiorita now find themselves with their backs to the wall: to reach the semi-finals they will have to beat Murata by three or more goals in the second leg. That match will be officiated by Maltese international referee Andrea Naudi, together with Delvecchio. The initiative, part of the Referee Exchange project between smaller European federations, will also involve Danilo Francalanza. He too is arriving from Malta and will referee Virtus-Folgore alongside Piccoli. On Thursday it will be the Falciano club who start with a slight advantage, thanks to their better placing in the regular season. Otherwise, the Neroverdi have shown they can go toe to toe with Zonzini’s team, who recently got their hands on the Titano Futsal Cup. A gripping end-to-end battle from the very first moments: Morri’s opener was immediately cancelled out by Aruci, while Paolini’s turnaround goal was neutralised by Morri’s second strike just two minutes later. At half-time the score was 3-3, thanks to further goals from Carlini and captain Bernardi. In the second half, Folgore went in front for the second time, but once again Aruci – seven minutes from time – allowed Virtus to draw level. Pollini’s side will need a win to produce the biggest upset of this season’s title play-offs in the return leg on Thursday 26 May. Even a simple draw, in fact, would be enough to see Folgore through. Here is the full schedule for the quarter-final ties in the Campionato Sammarinese di futsal play-offs, with the return legs set for Thursday 23 May:

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