Futsal: Tre Penne edge through at the photo finish, post-season kicks off on Thursday

Level in everything, or almost. Tre Penne and San Giovanni went into the final matchday of the regular season tied on points (17), with perfect balance in their head-to-head clashes (4-3 win for the Biancoazzurri in the first game, 4-3 win for the Rossoneri in the return leg) and a slightly better overall goal difference in favour of the Biancoazzurri. On the eve of the games, that was the criterion that would have allowed Contato and team-mates to secure their place in the Preliminary Round of the play-offs. But last night even that advantage disappeared: Tre Penne lost 8-0 to Folgore, San Giovanni 3-0 to Virtus, and so the five-goal margin that up to Monday afternoon had favoured the side from Città was wiped out. Hence, to determine the final qualifier for the post-season it was necessary to resort to the sixth tiebreaker set out in Article 53 of the Regulations, namely the "greater number of goals scored in the entire competition". Here the table reads 57 for Tre Penne and 45 for San Giovanni: for this reason Gianni Galli’s side were able to celebrate yesterday a target that had long seemed out of reach and is certainly of great significance, all the more so if we consider that the team from Città are living through a new year zero, having been re-founded only last summer after an absence from San Marino futsal competitions. Turning to Tre Penne’s match itself, Folgore showed no mercy: eight goals scored by the Giallorossoneri, who were already assured of second place and therefore mainly intent on building momentum for the post-season, which – thanks to the benefits granted to the top four seeds from the regular season – will only begin for Bernardi and his team-mates after the Preliminary Round phase. The Folgore captain was one of the main protagonists of the evening: two goals for him, as many as Allasia and Pelliccioni. Completing – or rather, opening – the scoresheet were the goals from Iuliani and Ercolani for 1-0 and 2-0. In fact, conceding just one more goal would have knocked Tre Penne out of the post-season. Instead, the number stopped at the “right” level, although the Biancoazzurri lived dangerously, given that San Giovanni, by conceding three to Virtus, had – as mentioned – wiped out any gap in terms of overall goal difference. And here too, a single goal would have made all the difference in the world: the one San Giovanni would have needed to score (or the one fewer they would have needed to concede) to "save" themselves. Instead, the Rossoneri ended the game without finding the net, while the three goals that allowed Virtus to defend fifth place came from Zanotti (brace) and Righi. No overtaking for Domagnano, despite getting back to winning ways against Pennarossa. The Wolves opened the scoring at the end of the first half through Lorenzo Bollini, who then repeated the feat from a free-kick in the second half after the second goal signed by Davide Dolcini. The final seal came via an own goal from Cecchetti, deflecting a shot by Santarini. Behind them, a heavy but inconsequential defeat in terms of the standings for Juvenes-Dogana, who finish seventh. Fiorentino, who had long since wrapped up top spot, were mainly playing to update their season statistics. And the stats at the end of the final round of the regular season hand several records to Michelotti’s side, helped also by the new 30-game format: most points won (82), most goals scored (222, beating Folgore 2021-22’s 123), fewest goals conceded (17, better than Murata 2017-18’s 20), best overall goal difference (+205, beating Fiorentino’s own +100 in 2018-19). Danilo Busignani’s personal tally is also a record for a single scorer in a regular season: the all-round Rossoblù player scored twice against Juvenes-Dogana, first from the penalty spot and then from open play, moving on to 63 goals in total. But he did not open the scoring on the night: Cevoli and Ercolani made it 2-0 to Fiorentino inside the first eight minutes. Busignani’s penalty and another from Cevoli opened up a gap that Zonzini tried to close towards the end of the first half. Fiorentino, however, responded with two more goals from Rossini and Busignani, giving themselves an extremely comfortable half-time lead. After the restart, Zafferani and Cevoli (who completed his hat-trick) stretched the margin even further. Quaranta scored a second for Juvenes-Dogana, who in the closing stages were also forced to register a ninth goal against them, courtesy of an unfortunate deflection by Alex Frisoni. No way back for Cailungo, who in recent weeks had tried the impossible to get back into the play-off race. Against Tre Fiori there was no contest for the Rossoverdi, who succumbed to goals from Verri (brace), Gasperoni, Simoncini and Mariotti. In stoppage time, Simoncini went in search of a personal brace from a second penalty from the 10-metre mark, but the post denied him. Tre Fiori end their regular season with a comfortable third place. La Fiorita are equally relaxed in fourth. Ghiotti’s side, already certain of their position, played with freedom against Cosmos, who were swept away 8-2 – a result that cost the Gialloverdi their place in front of Libertas. The undisputed star of the evening was Alessandro Esposito, who scored three against his former club. For La Fiorita there was also joy for Selva (brace), Belloni, Felici and Bernardi. On the other side, Reggini’s brace had briefly fuelled hopes of a comeback (from 0-3 to 2-3), which ultimately never materialised. As mentioned, Libertas had the satisfaction of pulling off an overtake right at the final bend. The Granata’s second straight win came against bottom side Faetano. In the first half, Mazza – a former Faetano player – opened and closed the scoring. In between came the equaliser from Giacomo Bacciocchi, Faetano’s temporary turnaround (an own goal by goalkeeper James) and then Libertas’ counter-turnaround thanks to Francesco Rossi and Burioni. After Mazza’s fourth, the side from Borgo Maggiore pulled clear with Rossi’s second of the night. Giacomo Bacciocchi also completed his brace, but the last word in the match still belonged to the Granata, with Tonini ultimately safeguarding the precious victory for the team from Borgo Maggiore. Here is the full picture from the 30th matchday of the Campionato Sammarinese di futsal (San Marino Futsal Championship): Click here for the final regular season table The final standings also provide by default the pairings for the Preliminary Round, the gateway to the play-offs proper, which will get underway on 8 May with the first legs of the quarter-finals. The top four from the regular season – Fiorentino, Folgore, Tre Fiori and La Fiorita – are already directly qualified. The teams that finished between fifth and twelfth place will have to go through the “ordeal” of the play-offs, to be played over two legs with “cross-over” pairings (the higher-ranked sides against the lower-ranked ones). The first leg of the two-legged ties will be played very soon, on Thursday 27 April. Compared to the fixture lists released some time ago, the Acquaviva venue disappears and is replaced by the halls in Dogana and Domagnano, with a consequent adjustment to kick-off times. The Fiorentino venue remains unchanged and on Thursday will host at 20:15 the clash between Virtus (fifth) and Tre Penne (twelfth). Afterwards, Domagnano (sixth) will face Murata (eleventh). In Domagnano, Pennarossa (eighth), who for a long time were expecting to face Cosmos, will instead cross paths with Libertas (ninth), with kick-off set for 21:30. At the same time, in Dogana, Juvenes-Dogana (seventh) will meet Cosmos (tenth). Exactly one week later, on Thursday 4 April, the return legs will be played. Juvenes-Dogana will be without Federico Costantini, suspended for two matches following the red card for dissent he received last night. In the event of an aggregate draw over the two legs, there will be no extra time or penalties: the team progressing will be the one with the higher position in the regular season, an advantage that may benefit Virtus, Domagnano, Juvenes-Dogana and Pennarossa. Here is the schedule for the Preliminary Round:

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