Titano Futsal Cup kicks off: first legs of the Round of 16 tomorrow

Barely time to recover from the exertions of the second league matchday and it is already the eve of the Titano Futsal Cup. The cup campaign will get underway between tomorrow and Friday evening for all teams except Folgore which, as defending champion, enjoys the privilege of going straight into the quarter-finals. The Giallorossoneri’s opponents will be either Tre Penne or Cailungo, the only fixture postponed within the schedule for the first legs of the Round of 16. Both sides are still pointless in the league and, in the Domagnano clash, are looking for a result to banish their early-season crisis, fully aware that it may not be enough if they fail to back it up with an equally solid performance in the return leg. It is worth remembering that, at every stage of the competition – with the exception of the final – the aggregate score over the two legs determines who goes through, with the possibility, in the event of a perfect balance between goals scored and conceded, of extra time and, if needed, a penalty shoot-out. Remaining in the top half of the draw, Juvenes-Dogana and Domagnano have been tasked with opening the evening programme in Dogana. The sides coached by Mussoni and Zonzini will tomorrow contest the first round of a tie that will lead to a quarter-final also in the sights of Virtus and Faetano, who meet in the first of two games scheduled in Acquaviva. In the second, Pennarossa will be looking for an immediate – and difficult – reaction after Monday’s heavy defeat, when they face La Fiorita, fresh from their first win of the season and certainly eager to get off to the best possible start in a competition which last year – despite a different format – saw them miss out on the play-offs, partly due to the halving of the group stage following the pandemic-enforced stoppage. Whether Ghiotti’s men succeed in their aim will be known late tomorrow evening, when the first verdict will also come from San Giovanni – Fiorentino, the second match scheduled in Fiorentino, between one team, the rossoblù, riding the momentum of two league victories, and the other, the rossoneri, needing instead to erase the memory of two defeats suffered in the first eight days of the season. Also in Fiorentino, Murata will face Tre Fiori in a meeting between two sides who currently share the same tally of four points in the league. Three days ago Tre Fiori broke their duck in terms of wins and it will be interesting to see whether this provides extra motivation for Bugli’s team in their clash with Palermino’s side, who have approached this “rebirth” season in positive fashion and now seek confirmation in what is certainly one of the sternest tests. Lastly, the tie between Libertas and Cosmos, with the Granata arriving at the appointment fresher but probably also a little less battle-hardened – having sat out Monday’s round – and the Gialloverdi potentially able to surf the wave of Monday’s heroics against Virtus, whom they came back to beat after finding themselves two goals down. Here is the schedule for the Round of 16:

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