League: Murata-San Giovanni, Monday night with play-off ambitions

The Friday night curtain-raiser returns in the BKN301 Campionato Sammarinese, with a match that tomorrow evening in Acquaviva will pit Cailungo against Tre Fiori. Chasing points that could prove crucial, Protti and Selva’s sides have completely different targets. The Gialloblù, coming off three draws in their last four outings (against La Fiorita, Cosmos and Virtus), want to get back to racking up wins and make up for the painful draw in the reverse fixture. Cailungo, meanwhile, will also look to build from that 2-2, having done reasonably well of late: they held leaders Cosmos to a goalless draw and only went down to highly-fancied Tre Penne. Out through suspension is Giangrandi, the Rossoverdi playmaker. Luigi Bizzotto, for his part, will have to do without two regular starters in Nodari and Pirini. The Virtus coach – whose side snatched a late equaliser against Tre Fiori in the last match of the previous round – is preparing for the clash with Fiorentino, a game the Neroverdi simply cannot afford to get wrong. With four points collected from their last three matches, the Acquaviva side have the worst recent form among the five title contenders, slipping to the edge of the leading pack. That said, we are still talking about a team just five points off top spot and with a squad of real quality. Fiorentino, on the other hand, are flying: nine of their fourteen points have come in the last five games. Back in action after their bye week, Malandri’s men face a particularly tough test in the only match scheduled on Saturday at 15:00. Things are not exactly easier for Domagnano, the side immediately behind Fiorentino in the table. Tre Penne arrive in the other Saturday fixture, kicking off at 19:00. Ceci’s men have strung together three wins on the bounce, and if they want to keep their title ambitions alive, they cannot afford any slip-ups. For Domagnano, still smarting from a painful defeat to Juvenes-Dogana, this is a chance to turn the page against an opponent that – in the recent past – has often yielded positive results, despite the odds. At the same time in Acquaviva, it’s also Folgore-Pennarossa. Locked in a no-holds-barred battle for play-off places that currently involves nine of the fifteen clubs in the league, Lepri and Gori’s teams are not enjoying their best spell. Folgore have not won in four rounds, while Pennarossa are still coming to terms with their defeat to Murata, having been 2-0 up as late as the 61st minute. Turning to the Sunday schedule, two fixtures kick off at 15:00. Both feature title contenders, Cosmos and La Fiorita, who will be duelling at a distance. On the artificial pitch in Domagnano it will be the turn of Nicola Berardi’s men, who moved top after the postponement of La Fiorita-Cailungo (to be played on 8 February). The Gialloverdi’s opponents go by the name of Faetano, a side enduring the worst run of form in the league. Not helped by a difficult fixture list, the Gialloblù are on a sequence of five straight defeats and will also be without their head coach for the next three matches. Cosmos, meanwhile, will be short-handed in midfield with suspended duo D’Addario and Di Maio unavailable; both will return in time for the big match with La Fiorita on Matchday 19. At the Ezio Conti in Dogana, it will be Juvenes-Dogana versus La Fiorita. Having managed to stem a run of poor results in their last outing, against Domagnano, Amati’s men – with the coach still serving a suspension – now face a demanding test of character against the reigning champions. The Montegiardino club recently handed Thomas Manfredini his first ever win as a head coach and are in no mood to stop there. They know that in seven days’ time – should La Fiorita beat both Juvenes-Dogana and Cailungo, the latter in the midweek rearranged game – they would return to the top of the table on the eve of their head-to-head showdown with Cosmos. Rounding off Matchday 18 is the most finely-balanced and perhaps most delicate fixture of the entire round. On the artificial surface of the Acquaviva Stadium, San Giovanni and Murata will face off for vital points in the race for the play-offs. Angelini’s Bianconeri, who have taken four points from their last three games, are looking to build on last week’s stunning comeback against Pennarossa. A win over San Giovanni, on a weekend when most of their direct rivals face particularly tough assignments, could reshape the balance of power right on the threshold of the post-season. Here is the schedule for Matchday 18 of the BKN301 Campionato Sammarinese, available free of charge on TITANI.TV – live streaming from every ground, with Italian commentary:

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