Faetano ignite race for fourth as Folgore and Libertas lose ground

In the early fixtures of the first return matchday – spread over this weekend after January’s health-related shutdown – there are clear signals in the battle for the top four and important indications regarding the group of teams that will enter the Preliminary Round of the post-season. As for the fight for twelfth place, the key match was Fiorentino v Cailungo. Protti’s men, who face Domagnano on Tuesday, could have thrown everything wide open with back-to-back wins. That possibility was swept away by the Rossoblù, who produced a display full of character and quality, underlined by the emphatic 4-0 scoreline at the Ezio Conti in Dogana. Melandri’s side win it inside the first half-hour, striking through Filippi, Michelotti and Abouzziane. The opener comes on 4 minutes from a short corner to Abouzziane, who drives into the box and crosses to the far post. La Monaca performs a miracle to deny Castellazzi, but Filippi only has to tap in from close range. Castellazzi is also involved in the second, this time providing the assist for Michelotti: cutting inside onto his right, the San Marino international fires a fine shot past the stand-in keeper deputising for the suspended Gallinetta. Before the half-hour, Ben Kacem produces a moment of real quality. Released in behind by Bottoni, he skips past his man and drives to the edge of the six-yard box before cutting the ball back for Abouzziane: a perfect first touch and right-foot finish from the other Moroccan to make it three. Before the break La Monaca pulls off two more superb saves to deny Ben Kacem, while the striker also goes close with a free-kick just wide. For Cailungo the big chance falls to Santucci on 42 minutes, but he squanders it. In the second half there is also room for the fourth goal, finished off by Ben Kacem. D’addario drives infield on the ball and feeds his team-mate, who glides past two opponents before being brought down on the edge of the box. Perlaza keeps the move alive and lays it back for the same Ben Kacem, who is quickly back on his feet and this time gives La Monaca no chance. The Moroccan talent also rattles the crossbar with an outside-of-the-foot effort on 85 minutes. Fiorentino move ten points clear of third-bottom Cailungo and hold the head-to-head advantage: with four games to go, their place in the Preliminary Round is virtually sealed, pending only official confirmation. The same objective draws significantly closer for Domagnano. In Acquaviva, the Wolves face Folgore. And just as in the reverse fixture, Mancini’s men come away with all three points thanks to a narrow win. Back then it was Ceccaroli; this time it is Bara who tips the balance. After an early effort from Pasini, Domagnano threaten on the counter. However, the Giallorossi lack clarity in the final pass and in managing their breaks in open field: Angelini battles hard all afternoon but cannot find the finish, even when the situation calls more for a through ball than a shot from distance. Folgore do no better, unable to turn their possession dominance into chances: essentially, a Nucci header and a shot from Docente – both off target – are the meagre return from a goalless first half in which the keepers are rarely tested. The second period is livelier, with Dormi calling Colonna into action inside the first minute. Folgore’s best opportunity arrives on 53 minutes, when substitute Fedeli controls on the move to get away from Olivieri and, after another dribble past Nanni, shoots from five metres out. Colonna produces a stunning reflex save, turning the ball onto the bar with his knee. Shortly afterwards Folgore threaten again through the Nucci–Dormi axis: the roles are reversed as a cross from deep finds the former Rimini man, whose header drifts just wide. Domagnano reply with a harmless left-foot effort from Gaiani and then a curling attempt from Angelini that shaves the top corner. On 65 minutes Docente has a golden chance to break the deadlock, but blazes his right-foot shot over from inside the area. As the minutes pass and results elsewhere become clear, a draw would suffice for Domagnano while Folgore have to chase the win. That situation prompts Lepri to throw caution to the wind, sending on Garcia and Giardi to play at the same time as Docente, Hirsch, Fedeli and Dormi. The latter even ends the game operating as a central midfielder. Yet after one off-target attempt at either end, it is Domagnano who score: Gueye comes out and misses a Gaiani corner, sparking a pinball sequence that ends with the ball at Bara’s feet, and from just a few metres out with the goal gaping he cannot fail to convert the winner. Domagnano have to endure a nervous finale, squandering the chance to kill it off when Gaiani is denied one-on-one by Gueye and then relying on another sharp stop from Colonna to keep out Fedeli and secure a precious victory. Folgore remain five points off fourth place, currently also occupied by Virtus, who play tomorrow. It’s the same story for Libertas, who stay level with the defending champions on 35 points. The schedule was hardly kind to the Granata this weekend, with Cardini – back on the bench – taking his side up against La Fiorita. After a goalless first half, the incident that could have turned the match on its head arrives on 56 minutes: from a Libertas corner, the ball is cleared to the edge of the final third where Ruiz collects. After a heavy first touch, the full-back comes into contact with Gasperoni, who goes in with a high leg, first making contact with the ball and then planting his studs into his opponent’s thigh. From an excellent viewing angle, Cenci has no doubts: red card, leaving the reigning runners-up a man down for more than half an hour. The Gialloblù protests are lengthy and heated, costing Vivan a booking, along with assistant coach Angelo Lasagni on the bench. The only goal of the game comes just over five minutes later and, despite the circumstances, it is La Fiorita who score it. Zulli and Rinaldi combine well from a throw-in and the captain’s cross strikes the arm of his opposite number Fraternali: once again Cenci is superbly positioned and points straight to the spot. Errico makes no mistake from the penalty, firing into the top corner to his right. It proves the winning goal, sending La Fiorita top of the table, one point clear of Tre Penne – who face Virtus tomorrow. The day’s programme is completed by the six-pointer in Montecchio between Pennarossa and Faetano. Four points behind in the table going into the game, Girolomoni’s side were hunting a win that would bring them to within one of the pair of Virtus and Pennarossa. That victory starts to take shape after just six minutes, when Tamburini makes the run in behind to attack Chiesanuova’s high line and delivers a drilled cross that finds Pini arriving right on cue. On the far side, the No 11 gives Semprini no chance with a perfect left-footed diagonal to break the deadlock. The second is the product of a devastating solo run from Kalemi, who bursts down the left flank and drives into the box. His cross to the near post is too inviting for Tamburini not to turn it into the net. That seals a second straight win for Faetano, who gain three points on both Folgore and Libertas and now have fourth place firmly in their sights. Should Tre Penne defeat Virtus tomorrow, the once-unthinkable target from the start of the season would be just a single point away. Here is the schedule of early fixtures from the 16th league matchday:

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LIBERTAS Zavoli, Pesaresi (from 71' Flores), Fraternali, Barretta, Nigretti, L. Gasperoni (from 90'+6' Dolente), Berretti (from 71' Giovagnoli), Cuomo, Olcese, Morelli, Ruiz Substitutes: Gentilini, Ndao, A. Gasperoni, Moretti Coach: Gabriele Cardini   LA FIORITA Vivan, M. Gasperoni, Brighi, Miori, Grandoni, Errico, Lunadei, Zafferani, Rinaldi (from 85' Gregori), Zulli (from 90'+1' Votino), Guidi (from 72' Pancotti) Substitutes: Venturini, Bonifazi, Sorbara, Hoxha Coach: Oscar Lasagni   Referee: Giacomo Cenci Assistants: Francesco Mineo and Alfonso Gallo Fourth official: Outail Kaddoudi Scorer: 62' pen. Errico Booked: Cuomo, Ruiz, Vivan, Fraternali, Nigretti Sent off: M. Gasperoni  

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FIORENTINO Binchi, D'addario, Bottoni, Filippi (from 89' Camillini), Arrigoni, Colagiovanni, Mastrota (from 73' Becchimanzi), Michelotti (from 61' Borgagni), Castellazzi (from 89' Zouhri), Abouzziane (from 73' Perlaza), Ben Kacem Substitutes: Berardi, Terenzi Coach: Enrico Malandri   CAILUNGO La Monaca, Ricci, Iuzzolino, Censoni (from 37' Ferrari), Quaranta (from 83' T. Conti), M. Muccioli, Santucci, Senja (from 37' Benedetti), Diallo (from 37' Grieco), Morri (from 59' Marinaro), L. Cecchetti Substitute: F. Vagnini Coach: Cristian Protti   Referee: Luca Zani Assistants: Laurentiu Ilie and Carmine Nuzzo Fourth official: Andrea Mei Scorers: 4' Filippi, 19' Michelotti, 26' Abouzziane, 85' Ben Kacem Booked: Iuzzolino, Ricci  

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DOMAGNANO Colonna, Nanni, Mazzavillani, Bacchiocchi, Olivieri, Grieco, Ceccaroli (from 66' Bara), Gaiani, Angelini (from 79' Faetanini), Morena (from 51' Fancellu), Brighi Substitutes: Ermeti, Semproli, Francioni, Ricchi Coach: Massimo Mancini   FOLGORE Gueye, Hirsch, Rosini, Piscaglia, Bonini (from 84' Giardi), Golinucci (from 66' Aluigi), Pasini (from 66' Garcia), Nucci, Dormi, Docente, Sottile (from 46' Fedeli) Substitutes: Mignani, Cerquetti Coach: Omar Lepri   Referee: Mattia Andruccioli Assistants: Salvatore Tuttifrutti and Alfonso Giannotti Fourth official: Raffaele Delvecchio Scorer: 84' Bara  

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PENNAROSSA Semprini, Mantovani, Martin, D. Conti, Raffelli (from 54' A. Conti), Cola, Michelotti (from 54' Tomassini), Isaraj, Tiboni (from 63' Ottaviani), Stefanelli, Zago (from 84' Rastelli) Substitutes: Landi, Sebastiani, Dema Coach: Andy Selva   FAETANO Marino, Soumah, Fatica, Romagna, Tomassoni, Fall, Palazzi, Giardi, Pini (from 88' De Buono), Tamburini (from 58' Magno), Kalemi (from 80' Russo) Substitutes: Broccoli, Igbin, Dominella, Vandi Coach: Danilo Girolomoni   Referee: Marco Avoni Assistants: Gianmarco Ercolani and Alessandro Salvatori Fourth official: Emiliano Albani Scorers: 6' Pini, 29' Tamburini Booked: Zago, Mantovani, Isaraj, Fatica

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