League: La Fiorita catch leaders, Virtus win and close the gap

While waiting for leaders Cosmos – on the pitch tomorrow at 18:00 against Faetano – the battle at the top is really heating up. Today’s early matches in the seventh round of the Campionato Sammarinese saw La Fiorita held to a draw by Libertas (1-1), but still drawing level at the summit with the Serravalle side. Equally valuable is Virtus’ victory, as they defeat Murata (2-1), climb above them in the table and move to within just a single point of the top. Let’s start at Fiorentino, where the side from Montegiardino faced the team from Borgo Maggiore. The match was opened immediately in the 5th minute, when a handball in the box by Monterosso resulted in a penalty for the Gialloblu: Olcese stepped up to the spot, back from suspension, and made no mistake, scoring his fifth of the league (joint-top scorer with Badalassi). Despite going in front, La Fiorita kept pushing in search of a second. Chances came thick and fast, one of the clearest being a free-kick from midfield by Zaccaria which incredibly crashed against the post. The first half, dominated by the Gialloblu, nevertheless ended with Ceci’s team holding only a narrow lead. After the break, Libertas came out with a different attitude and in the 56th minute the Granata found the equaliser: a long ball over the top from Polizzi for Osayande, who powered past Mazzotti and beat Vivan with a fine left-footed strike from the edge of the area. La Fiorita threw themselves forward again, heads down, in search of a winner. The Montegiardino Gialloblu went close twice in quick succession in the final quarter of an hour, but Del Prete was nothing short of sensational as he kept out two powerful headers from Jacopo Semprini. The best opportunity for La Fiorita, however, came just minutes from time: Mazzotti crossed from the left, Del Prete could only parry and on the rebound Marco Gasperoni had a go, but his effort from inside the six-yard box incredibly missed the target. In stoppage time another chance went begging for the Gialloblu when Massari, shooting from the edge of the area, sent the ball just wide. In the end La Fiorita were unable to take all three points and recorded a second consecutive draw, as did Libertas, who remain unbeaten in six matches. The only – and significant – win of the day came from Virtus, who edged out a good Murata side. After a balanced opening, the deadlock was broken midway through the first half in favour of the Acquaviva team: a brilliant team move from Virtus, with Rinaldi playing vertically into Tortori, who exchanged passes with Buonocunto before the number ten spread the play wide to Sabato; his excellent cross into the box found Angeli, who could not miss. The momentum was with the Neroverdi, but they were unable to double their lead. Instead, the goal came at the other end – for Grassi’s Bianconeri – who drew level with a fine move of their own: Texeira played short into Milani, who with a first-time pass cleverly sent Zupel through on goal; he rifled his shot in off the underside of the bar for 1-1. Murata were very much in the game and, late in the half, went close to taking the lead but for a great save from Passaniti on a close-range stab by Milani. After the restart Virtus resumed their push to get back in front. Early on (52') it was Pecci who tried a spectacular long-range effort, looking to catch Cervellini out, but the San Marino goalkeeper turned it behind for a corner with an excellent intervention. The goal – which would prove decisive – eventually arrived for Virtus in the 67th minute when, on the counter-attack, Buonocunto picked out Pecci with a magnificent long pass. Pecci burst clear, Cervellini rushed out of his area but failed to make contact with the ball, leaving the Neroverde forward to round him and then roll the ball into the net. After Pecci’s goal, Virtus almost killed the game off in the 71st minute when Angeli struck the post with a left-footed swivel shot from inside the six-yard box. The drama at Domagnano wasn’t over, though, as Murata also hit the woodwork: Zupel collected the ball some 25 yards out and unleashed a powerful shot that crashed against the crossbar. Pecci’s strike proved enough to seal the win for Bizzotto’s Virtus (their first victory for around a month), while for Grassi’s Murata it was a second defeat in their last three outings. Honours ended even in Montecchio between Domagnano and Juvenes-Dogana. The game was opened almost immediately (4') with the Giallorossi taking the lead: a through ball from Babboni for Ferraro, who skipped past Gentilini with a lovely piece of skill before slotting the ball home. The goal fired up Paolo Rossi’s side, who, on the quarter-hour mark, went close to doubling their advantage with a powerful long-range shot from Gregori that brushed the top of the crossbar. Juvenes-Dogana, still searching for their first win of the season, responded through Paszynski, who accelerated past his marker but then fired over with Colonna rushing out. Achille Fabbri’s team did, however, find their goal late in the half, thanks to a brilliant piece of play from Stephane Traglia, who beat Nanni with a back-heel before laying the ball off to the edge of the box for Paszynski, who found the bottom corner. The sides went into the break level and both returned determined to claim all three points. On the hour Gentilini produced an excellent save to turn away Amati’s fine effort from distance; in the 67th minute Paszynski was dangerous again with a powerful right-footed shot after a lay-off from Simeoni, but Colonna kept everything out with a superb reflex save. The Domagnano goalkeeper from San Marino then pulled off another excellent stop late on (87') to turn away Omgba’s thunderous drive and preserve the point for his side. In the end it finished with a point apiece: Juvenes-Dogana get something on the board but remain stuck near the bottom with just three points, while Domagnano move up to six, halting their run of two straight defeats. Tomorrow the seventh round continues with three afternoon fixtures (all kicking off at 15:00) and the 18:00 "late" match between Cosmos and Faetano (all games, as always, live on Titani.tv). Here is the updated picture from Matchday 7 of the league:

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