League: last chance for Faetano, Murata, Domagnano and Juvenes-Dogana

Ninety minutes to keep the journey going or officially call time on the season. Four teams are at a crucial crossroads: tomorrow evening, at the end of the Preliminary Round ties (all live on Titani.TV), it will be clear who will go on to face Cosmos and La Fiorita in two of the four quarter-final fixtures. The quarter-finals will be played over two legs. Tomorrow night, however, is different: it’s a single-leg tie with no second chance. There will also be no extra time or penalty shoot-out, as in the event of a draw the ranking from the regular season will prevail. Faetano, 11th and therefore the last side to qualify for the post season, take on a Murata side riding the wave of the five goals scored against Domagnano last Sunday and, more generally, of a run of two wins and a draw in their last three games. On the other hand – in stark contrast – the aim is to immediately erase the setback suffered against Cosmos and pick up again from that very recent mini streak of a win and a draw, against Domagnano and Virtus respectively. There have already been four meetings between the sides this season. In the Coppa Titano BKN301, Murata pulled off a remarkable comeback, winning the second leg of the Round of 16 4-0 after losing the first leg 3-1. The trend in the two league encounters was very similar: Faetano won the first match 2-0, but in the return fixture the black-and-whites prevailed 5-2. The showdown with a place in the quarter-finals at stake will be played in Acquaviva and will be officiated by Avoni. The other pitch in use will be Montecchio, where Domagnano and Juvenes-Dogana will go head-to-head: the former needing to reverse a run of two consecutive defeats, the latter eager to build on their emphatic victory – embellished by a couple of stunning goals – against Cailungo. For the Lupi – who finished the regular season in tenth place, just behind Juvenes-Dogana – there is a significant absentee: first-choice goalkeeper Colonna, sent off against Murata for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. Guidi will deputise in goal. This season the two sides have met only in the league: a 1-1 draw on 10 September and a 3-1 Juvenes-Dogana win on 28 January. Ucini will referee. This is the schedule for the Preliminary Round: 4

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