League: Mazzei wonder strike sends Tre Penne top, draw in Acquaviva

Tre Penne went in search of top spot on their own – while waiting on Tre Fiori’s result tomorrow – in one of the two Campionato Sammarinese fixtures scheduled for the day. Their opponents were San Marino Academy, who welcomed D’Addario back in the starting line-up after a long injury lay-off. On the Acquaviva artificial pitch, the match simultaneously broadcast on FIFA+ saw San Giovanni face Fiorentino, with the Rossoblù chasing a second straight win and Tognacci’s men still looking for their first victory of the season.

Fiorentino came flying out of the blocks, almost taking the lead after just 12 seconds through the Ben Kacem-Belward combination, with the latter lifting his left-footed effort over the bar from close range. San Giovanni’s response came via former player Gakou, denied at the last moment by a miraculous save from Benedettini, who also dealt with Boldrini’s ensuing driven cross-shot. Fiorentino, however, remained in control of proceedings and went close on the half-hour mark with Tosse – thwarted by Casadei. Costantini’s side reaped their reward on 38 minutes thanks to Fratini’s header, as he shook off his marker at the far post to meet Gjonaj’s corner. Shortly afterwards, another burst from Ben Kacem seemed to have set up a certain second for Tosse, who was brilliantly blocked on the goal line. After the restart San Giovanni adopted a completely different attitude and on 53 minutes Boldrini struck the equaliser. Benedettini failed to deal cleanly with his right-footed effort from the edge of the area, the ball bouncing just in front of him. The San Marino keeper redeemed himself a few minutes later, sparing Diop’s blushes: the latter took a free-kick too quickly, opening up a two-on-one situation that D’Angeli saw smothered by the opposing goalkeeper. In the final quarter of an hour the game became stretched, with constant counter-attacks at both ends. No clear-cut chances were recorded until the 79th minute, when Fiorentino’s protests rose for a potential penalty on Diop, who went down after an unstoppable run and contact with Fabbri. Moments later, San Giovanni found the net through D’Angeli – only to see the flag raised for offside after Fabbri’s left-footed effort, which Benedettini had parried. In stoppage time Gjonaj almost snatched it with a right-footed strike from the edge of the area, pushed away to the side by Casadei: it finished 1-1 in Acquaviva.

The first chance at the Ezio Conti in Dogana fell to Tre Penne, close to scoring with Fabbri’s acrobatic attempt after a pinball sequence in the box. The Academy replied through Marfella’s right-footed shot, technically difficult and off target. Midway through the half a free-kick from the angle of the area teed up Badalassi for a volley – the forward unusually wayward with his finishing. To break the deadlock, Tre Penne had to rely on an absolutely stunning strike from Mazzei: first to react to Borasco’s punched clearance, he unleashed a first-time right-footed volley of rare power and precision to make it 1-0 on 35 minutes. At the start of the second half Tre Penne made three substitutions, including the introduction of Casadio, who tried his luck from mid-range without success. The game drifted without major incidents until the closing stages, when Marco Gasperoni had the equaliser on his head: from a corner, he met the ball cleanly only to be denied by Migani’s reflex save. The Tre Penne captain’s subsequent stop from the same San Marino forward, right on 90 minutes, was more routine. A moment before the final whistle, the club from Città were denied by the woodwork through Fabbri, but the win and their perfect record at the top were no longer in doubt.

This is the partial picture of the third matchday of the Campionato Sammarinese, which will be broadcast in full, live and completely free of charge, on Titani.tv.