Futsal: Virtus-Cosmos kicks off the sprint for third place in Group B

Five matchdays remain in the regular season of the Campionato Sammarinese di futsal, one fewer in Group B, which returns to action after a sixteenth round entirely dedicated to the other pool. In that group, Folgore recently recorded the biggest win of the year, sweeping aside Cailungo, who will try to bounce back tomorrow night in Acquaviva against San Giovanni. Gualtieri’s men had their rest day last Friday and will try to keep the race for third place alive for as long as possible. In truth, that position is just waiting for the mathematical seal of approval for Domagnano. Mussoni’s Wolves sit out this round and, in the worst-case scenario, will still have four fixtures to defend a minimum nine-point cushion over their closest pursuer. Especially considering that both Libertas and San Giovanni will have to face Folgore and still have the head-to-head clash with Domagnano to come. Both sides currently trail 0-6 in the historical head-to-head for this season. In short, things are almost settled in Group A, where leaders Folgore meet Libertas. Having recently broken into triple figures for goals scored in the league (102), Massimiliano Spada’s side are targeting a perfect en-plein in the regular season, while also confirming the best defence in the competition (16 goals conceded). At the moment, this particular statistic is shared with Tre Fiori, who have, however, played one game fewer. The clash between the club from Falciano and the one from Borgo Maggiore is scheduled for tomorrow evening in Fiorentino, with kick-off at 20:15. Immediately afterwards, on the same pitch, it will be the turn of Juvenes-Dogana and Fiorentino. Claudio Zonzini’s men, although long since out of the title race, showed against Domagnano that they are fully worthy of the play-off spot achieved in the Titano Futsal Cup. Against the reigning champions, the Serravalle club see this as another opportunity for confirmation. Michelotti’s Rossoblù, on the other hand, are six points behind leaders Folgore, with the head-to-head still to come on 25 April. The reverse fixture ended 4-1 in favour of Busignani and his team-mates. The second match in Fiorentino (21:45) therefore represents an important junction for the title holders if they are to put any kind of pressure on a Folgore side that have been flawless so far. Moving over to Group B, it remains to be decided who – among Pennarossa, Virtus and Cosmos – will join Tre Fiori and La Fiorita in the Scudetto play-offs. Strictly speaking, Montegiardino’s side are still missing the very last piece of the puzzle: their twelve-point lead over Virtus might not be enough in the highly unlikely scenario where Palermino’s men lose all of their remaining four games and Virtus win all four, including a victory by at least three goals in the direct clash with La Fiorita. Taking all these elements into account, we can now regard the San Marino runners-up as virtually certain to reach the final stages. Tomorrow they will face Pennarossa in the second fixture scheduled in Dogana (21:45). Tre Fiori will play first, on the same artificial surface, against bottom side Faetano. It does not appear to be the night when Alex Bugli’s players will be in any real danger of seeing their five-point lead over La Fiorita reduced. The head-to-head record, in any case, also favours the Fiorentino club, who need only a few more points to clinch first place in their group. The match in Acquaviva between Virtus and Cosmos could prove decisive. Separated by two points in the standings, and trailing Pennarossa in third by two and four points respectively, both sides are fully aware of just how crucial a win could be for their campaigns. This is especially true for Cosmos, who still have to play Pennarossa in a direct showdown. All three contenders will also have to face the top two sides, but Virtus and Pennarossa will alternate their meetings with Cosmos with matches against Faetano. Here is the full programme for Matchday 17 of the 2021-22 Campionato Sammarinese di futsal:

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