Futsal: Virtus and Murata go head to head for top spot

Having seized first place, Murata’s mission is now to keep hold of it. And on Monday evening, Spada’s men will find themselves up against the very side whose place at the summit they snatched on Thursday: Virtus. Virtus are coming off their first defeat of the season (after a run of nothing but wins) and need a reaction to avoid slipping further away from the top of the table. That scenario only adds fuel to the Bianconeri’s fire: they come into the game riding the momentum of five consecutive victories, the latest against their former table neighbours Domagnano. The standout fixture of the round – which Virtus coach Matteo Michelotti will miss through suspension – will be played on the Multieventi court, as will Fiorentino-Faetano, the only postponed match of Matchday 8, scheduled for Wednesday evening. The reigning champions, back to winning ways and having therefore improved their league position after a rough patch, are seeking continuity against one of three sides still without a win and stuck on the solitary draw earned against Cailungo, also at the Multieventi. The only match to be played in Domagnano pits together two teams united by a very recent return to winning ways at the expense of Tre Fiori. Traviglia’s Gialloblù bounced back immediately from their defeat to Murata and have closed the gap on sides such as Domagnano and Virtus, both of whom have a game more under their belts and are seriously exposed to attacks from Montegiardino – particularly the Lupi, who this time are on their bye week. Juvenes-Dogana themselves are coming off their rest round, and need to put together a positive run of results to give substance to a league position that currently sees Levani’s boys stuck in mid-table, level on points with Fiorentino and only one point clear of Cosmos, certainly buoyed by two wins on the spin and chasing a third against a Cailungo side that, at the moment, have just two points more than the Gialloverdi. The highly intriguing clash between Cailungo and Cosmos will open the evening’s programme in Dogana, which will then be completed by the meeting between San Giovanni and Tre Penne. The Rossoneri are still hunting their first win, while the Biancoazzurri immediately made amends for their slip-up against Folgore and are after more points to stay in the upper reaches of the table, as well as to make the most of Domagnano’s rest round. Andrea Contato is suspended and will miss out. Finally, the two fixtures in Fiorentino, with Folgore taking on one of the in-form sides of the moment, Pennarossa. The Falciano outfit are driven by the desire to build on back-to-back wins over Tre Penne and Faetano; but the ambitions of the Chiesanuova side are even greater. Having dethroned Virtus, they have moved to within touching distance of top spot and are keeping a particularly close – not to say hungry – eye on the clash between Virtus and Murata, which could deliver benefits to Novembrini’s group in any event – provided, of course, that they win their own game. The other fixture in Fiorentino will see two sides meet who are certainly not going through a particularly sparkling period. Tre Fiori remain stuck on the single victory obtained on the opening day and have since strung together nothing but defeats. Libertas, for their part, cannot even boast that lone win and currently sit bottom of the table in decidedly uninspiring fashion. The good news for Leonardo Palermino is that Tre Fiori do not hold an advantage over the Granata that cannot be wiped out with a first win of the season, which gives their evening’s outing a significant motivational boost. Tre Fiori’s Michele Casadei will be absent as he serves the first of the two-match suspension incurred last Thursday. Here is the fixture list for Matchday 8 of the futsal league: Click here for the updated table

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