League: Domagnano halt Virtus, Giacopetti fires up the Academy

After more than one hundred minutes on the pitch under the orders of the Gibraltarian Warwick, Virtus are forced into their first, bitter draw of the season. Against Domagnano, a side they had always beaten in the previous three meetings in league and cup, the Neroverdi – without Buonocunto and Battistini – fail to break through. In fact, in the first half it is the Giallorossi who look the better side, but they lack cutting edge in front of goal. Their best chance comes on 25 minutes, when Babboni shoots across goal and a deflection denies him the lead by a matter of centimetres. Virtus’ first real thrust arrives around the half‑hour mark on the Vallocchia-Pecci axis, with the latter blazing over from an excellent position. At the restart the Acquaviva club emerge without Golinucci, who came off worse in an aerial clash that also forced Ceccaroli to finish the game with a conspicuous bandage on his head. At the start of the second half it is again Domagnano who go close, with a fine left‑footer from Angelini turned behind by Passaniti. Midway through the second period comes the potentially decisive incident: Tortori skips past Parma with ease and goes to ground under a challenge from Baffoni. Warwick points to the spot and Tortori himself steps up. His low right‑footed effort across goal is read early by Colonna, who saves the penalty. The episode deflates Virtus and galvanises Domagnano, who in the 84th minute are centimetres away from a 1-0 lead: Ceccaroli fires diagonally, putting a strange spin on the ball which crashes against the inside of the upright. Passaniti is rooted to the spot, but then finds the ball dropping kindly into his hands. In the meantime, the injured Colonna has handed goalkeeping duties to Batori – who does brilliantly to keep out Rinaldi’s overhead kick at the death. With this result, La Fiorita will have the chance tomorrow to join Virtus at the top, and Tre Penne can definitively haul themselves back into the title race – provided they beat Cosmos. A victory of huge importance as well for San Marino Academy, who endure a difficult first half before landing the decisive blows after the break through the ever‑reliable Giacopetti. Shortly after the quarter‑hour mark Simoncini threatens from a corner, while on 19 minutes Battistini and Luvisi are outstanding in denying Salemme and Hirsch. A hopeful strike from Bortolotto precedes Bottoni’s miss from point‑blank range. In the 26th minute Battistini is simply sensational, clawing Abouzziane’s thunderous right‑footer out of the top corner. The keeper has another scare soon after when Hirsch – with a piece of magic – comes within a whisker of another wonder goal, having already scored some this season. After the interval the sun comes out, and so do the Academy, who are close to taking the lead with Bortolotto and D’Addario after just 30 seconds. Cecchetti’s men threaten again through Famiglietti, who forces Benedettini into action. His opposite number Battistini shows sharp reflexes to deny Abouzziane on 68 minutes, a few moments before Salemme has a goal ruled out. The Fiorentino striker controls Chiaruzzi’s cross with his hand before beating Battistini. It is an entertaining match, with constant end‑to‑end play which – on 75 minutes – leads to Giacopetti meeting Casadei’s cross with a header that is, however, too central. The solo move that breaks the deadlock two minutes later is, by contrast, simply perfect. Giacopetti gets a lucky bounce off Simoncini, then bursts past Gueye and beats Benedettini at his near post. An anthology‑worthy goal from Giacopetti, his third of the season. He improves his tally further on 89 minutes, when he makes the most of D’Addario’s fine work to tap into an empty net for the second. Shortly before that, Battistini had again shown great reflexes to keep out Salemme’s close‑range header. The win temporarily moves the Academy closer to 12th place, currently occupied by Faetano and – at least until 20:00 – also by Libertas. The Granata have in fact won the Borgo Maggiore derby against Cailungo, keeping their two‑point cushion over Cecchetti’s light‑blue‑and‑whites. The difference, on the Montecchio afternoon, comes from the penalty converted by Morelli on 29 minutes. Earlier it had been Sarti’s side who looked more dangerous, forcing Del Prete into a sharp save from Giangrandi. After the break Lago fails to hit the target from a glorious position, while Grieco – at the other end – cannot capitalise on a shaky coming‑off‑his‑line by Morelli. Raschi is off target with his next two efforts, one after a slaloming run and the other from a set piece, while Ulloa forces Morelli to tip a dead‑ball effort behind for a corner. There is a curious incident on 78 minutes: after saving from Giangrandi, Del Prete holds onto the ball too long, prompting Borriello to award an indirect free‑kick around eleven metres from the Libertas goal. Lago takes responsibility, but his shot crashes into the wall set up in front of goal. From there to the final whistle, little of note: Cailungo suffer a 13th consecutive defeat, while Libertas end a goal drought that had lasted seven matches. Expected, albeit hard‑fought, is Murata’s win over Pennarossa. It is the Biancorossi themselves who squander a sensational chance to break the deadlock early on: Salah forces a superb save from Benedettini, and then Michelotti – completely unmarked on the edge of the six‑yard box with the goal gaping – smashes his effort off the crossbar. A costly error from Dolci’s men, who are let off the hook by Ura’s thunderbolt on 10 minutes. The contest is balanced and entertaining, with Murata growing in terms of possession and chances created. Gaiani tries his luck on 38 minutes from the edge of the area but fails to hit the target. In the second half Angelini’s team fly out of the blocks, but Cicarelli is wasteful with the first chance. The scoreline remains in the balance until the 73rd minute, when an over‑confident piece of play by Gentili gifts Murata an extra attacking possession. The ensuing one‑two between Cecconi and Cunha allows the latter to surprise Barbieri with a powerful left‑footer, not particularly in the corner. Pennarossa push to the end, threatening Benedettini again with a Dinatale header. At the other end Echel wastes two huge chances to kill the contest, leaving it to Cecconi, who scores a minute before the 90th. That episode floors Pennarossa, who are 3-0 down barely ninety seconds later thanks to Echel. At 18:15 Faetano and Folgore faced off. It was a match packed with chances and emotion, and by the 6th minute it had already produced two goals. Cateni strikes first, finishing a Pancotti assist. His flick at the near post loops up, likely after a touch from Casadei, before dropping in at the far post. Just seconds later, the same Folgore midfielder tangles with Lisi, conceding the penalty for 1-1, coolly converted for Faetano by Brisigotti – as ever, flawless from the spot. Folgore also have a goal disallowed in each half, with Bernardi and Pica both caught offside, before restoring their lead through Bernardi. Timing his run right on the edge of offside, he pounces on a less‑than‑convincing pass from Casadei and lifts a delicate lob over the advancing Manzaroli. The Gialloblù are out of luck too, as Lisi hits the post from a corner situation. In the final ten minutes, Folgore wrap it up thanks to Pancotti and Golinucci. The former scores with a fine diagonal finish after escaping yet another double‑team, the latter adds the gloss with a tap-in after Manzaroli had parried yet another effort from the outstanding Pancotti – by some distance the man of the match. This is the partial picture from Matchday 23 of the Campionato Sammarinese BKN301:

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