League: La Fiorita seal fourth place thanks to goals from Rinaldi and Semprini

Two goals in the last quarter of an hour give La Fiorita victory over Cosmos and secure fourth place in the league. After not even three minutes Rinaldi forces a tough save from Simoncini, but he had started from an offside position. Another chance for the men of suspended coach Manfredini comes with a powerful effort from distance by Jacopo Semprini, just wide of the target. Cosmos respond shortly after the 15-minute mark: Sapori breaks into the area and cuts the ball back perfectly for Pastorelli, who squanders what is effectively a penalty in open play. Pastorelli has another go a minute later, but his shot flies well over. Jacopo Semprini tries again from outside the box: this time his left-footer is on target, but Simoncini is equal to it. After a very cagey spell, the play-off for 4th place sparks back into life in the last ten minutes of the half. First it is Rinaldi, set up by Semprini, who has a good chance, but the left-footed effort from the Giallorossi captain is just off the mark. Then, at the other end, it is Prandelli who gives Vivan a scare with a low drive flashed just wide. The second half begins exactly as the first ended, with an extremely dangerous effort from Prandelli, this time also very unlucky: his ferocious left-footed strike from the edge of the box crashes off the underside of the crossbar, brushes the base of the post and bounces on the goal-line, but without crossing it. After a right-footed attempt from Greco that sails well over, La Fiorita find the breakthrough in the 76th minute. Great credit goes to Zafferani, who starts wide on the left, cuts inside slaloming past three opponents and forces Simoncini into a save with a well-placed left-footer. The Gialloverdi keeper cannot hold it and Rinaldi pounces on the rebound like a hawk, needing only to side-foot home to put his side in front. Cosmos try to equalise from a free-kick, but Vivan flies across to tip away Prandelli’s curling right-footed effort. The Montegiardino goalkeeper is also alert in beating Ben Kacem to D’Addario’s low cross. Once these Gialloverdi surges are weathered, La Fiorita wrap it up on 90 minutes with a precise diagonal finish from Jacopo Semprini after a cross from Olcese. The Gialloblù could have added gloss to the scoreline in stoppage time through Zafferani, excellent in launching the counter-attack but less so in finishing it, as the number 33 from San Marino scuffs a simple close-range tap-in after an intelligent knock-down from Rinaldi. Before the final whistle there is still time for Ambrosini to be sent off, punished for saying a few words too many as he was about to take a corner. A small blot that does not spoil La Fiorita’s positive evening and propels them with even greater conviction towards the BKN301 Coppa Titano final, scheduled for exactly eight days’ time. Tomorrow instead it will be Murata versus Tre Penne for 2nd place in the league and a spot in the next Conference League:

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