League: Juvenes-Dogana and Folgore fly into the playoff Quarter-finals

The opening night of the post-season sees Juvenes-Dogana and Folgore celebrate as they book their tickets for the Quarter-finals of the play-offs. The two clubs from the castle of Serravalle are all smiles after this evening’s Preliminary Round ties in the Campionato Sammarinese BKN301, thanks to wins earned over Domagnano and Fiorentino respectively. Manuel Amati’s side will now face Tre Penne, while Oscar Lasagni’s men will meet La Fiorita. The season instead comes to an end for Paolo Rossi’s Giallorossi and Michele Camillini’s Rossoblu. In Acquaviva Juvenes-Dogana start strongly and break the deadlock just before the quarter-hour mark: a long ball over the top from Cevoli finds Davide Merli – preferred to Francesco Stella from the start – who heads it across for Gianluca Benedetti. Wearing the number 14 shirt, he brings it under control and then clips a delicate right-footed finish past Colonna. Domagnano need to react and do so shortly afterwards: Ferraro does well to create space for the shot, his effort deflects onto the head of Angelini who turns it in, but it all counts for nothing as the San Marino forward is offside at the moment of contact. The equaliser for Domagnano is however only a matter of minutes away: Ferraro drives forward and, just before the edge of the box, slips it left to the onrushing Angelini, who controls and curls a left-footer towards the far post, beating Gentilini. The goal fires up Paolo Rossi’s boys, who turn it around before the break: after a corner, Ferraro shoots from the edge of the box, Gentilini spills it and Gregori pounces on the rebound from close range and makes no mistake. It’s 2-1 to Domagnano and, with that scoreline, it is the Giallorossi who go through. At the start of the second half it is again Rossi’s side pushing on and, on 54 minutes, they go very close to a third with Buda rattling the crossbar with a powerful strike from distance. But the drama in Acquaviva is far from over. In the 66th minute Juvenes-Dogana find a precious goal that makes it 2-2 and temporarily sends them into the quarter-finals. Baldazzi battles away inside the area and, once he has shaken off the Giallorossi defenders, lays it off perfectly for Merli, who picks his spot and plants it in the top corner, leaving Colonna with no chance. The minutes tick away and Domagnano now need another goal to stay alive in the play-offs. Their clearest chance comes in stoppage time: Merendino swings in a cross, Semprini gets the slightest of touches and then Angelini also tries his luck but miscues the finish, sending the ball wide from a great position. Domagnano’s hopes are definitively extinguished shortly afterwards, when Juvenes-Dogana put the seal on both the match and qualification. Six minutes into added time, it is Gianmaria Borghini who provides yet another assist, taking a free-kick quickly into the middle for Tumidei, who catches everyone by surprise – Colonna included – and tucks away the final 3-2. Manuel Amati’s side progress and will be in action on Sunday at 17:30 in Montecchio against Tre Penne. With a goal in each half, Folgore defeat Fiorentino 2-0 and, as mentioned, qualify for the Quarter-finals of the play-offs. In the Montecchio match, the first clear chance falls to Oscar Lasagni’s team in the 10th minute: Bernardi wins the ball back high up the pitch and then finds Pancotti, who in turn lays it off for Cateni. He controls and shoots from the edge of the box, only to see his effort come back off the outside of the post. Shortly afterwards, the Falciano club again go close to taking the lead: from a perfect free-kick by Pancotti there is a stunning save by Benedettini, who gets just enough on the ball to divert it onto the angle of post and bar before gathering it on the ground. The game is open and lively, and Fiorentino also threaten with a fine curling effort from Abouzziane, but Venturini gets down well. On 34 minutes, however, Folgore manage to edge in front: a trademark corner from Sartori is met by Bernardi, whose header is perfectly directed and beats Benedettini. The Rossoblu try to respond at the end of the half with a Gimenez header, but Venturini holds on comfortably. After the interval, just before the hour mark, Salemme goes very close to the equaliser with a diagonal effort that drifts wide by only a matter of centimetres. But within a few minutes Folgore make life even easier for themselves. Pancotti is brought down in the box by Bottoni, and referee Zani points straight to the spot. Sartori steps up from eleven metres and makes it 2-0 for the Giallorossoneri. Fiorentino now need three goals to turn it around. They try in the 78th minute through Abouzziane who – helped by a deflection – manages to get his shot on target, but Venturini is again alert and holds on. Folgore calmly manage their two-goal advantage through to the final whistle and, after Zani’s triple blast, can celebrate their passage to the next round. Lasagni’s team thus move into the Quarter-finals of the play-offs and will be back on the pitch on Sunday afternoon at 15:00 in Acquaviva against La Fiorita. This is the full picture from the two Preliminary Round fixtures in the Campionato Sammarinese BKN301:

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FSGC | Press Office