League: no surprises in the Matchday 17 late fixtures

The four late fixtures on Matchday 17 of the 2023-24 Campionato Sammarinese BKN301 all ended in comfortable, largely expected wins – even if Tre Fiori and Virtus were made to work hard to see off San Giovanni and Pennarossa, who stayed in the game and on level terms for an hour or more. Starting with the match in Fiorentino, a lively San Giovanni took the lead midway through the first half, capping a fine team move worthy of applause. In the final phase of the move, D'angeli picked out Bruma at the back post, and he produced a scissor-kick assist for Aprea’s right-footed finish from point-blank range. De Falco’s men, however, needed less than ten minutes to get back on track thanks to a bicycle kick from Nicolò Micchi. The forward, signed from Vigasio, marked his debut in Sammarinese football with a goal straight out of the highlights reel. Before the break it was Boldrini’s turn to test Nardi, who reacted well to beat away the San Giovanni captain’s thunderous drive. After the restart Tre Fiori took control of proceedings, going close through Luigi Rizzo and Cirrottola before Micchi crashed a rocket against the crossbar. The Gialloblù moved in front after an uncertain outing from De Angelis triggered a pinball between Robba and Contadini. The ball ricocheted to the feet of Fedeli, who only had to tap into the net with 80 minutes on the clock. In stoppage time, Islamaj’s penalty – awarded for a handball in the box – wrapped up the 3-1 victory, by which time De Falco had already been dismissed with a red card. The other Fiorentino side also hit three, recording a fourth straight win at the end of a largely uneventful evening against Cailungo. The Rossoblù broke the deadlock from a corner thanks to a left-footed stab from Davide Simoncini on 18 minutes. It was then an uphill battle for Cailungo as Camillini’s team almost doubled the lead through Dolcini before eventually celebrating Hirsch’s 2-0. It was his third goal in as many games and very similar to his solo effort against Murata – this time starting from the left flank. After nipping in front and sending his marker to ground, the national-team winger completed the move by running at the rest of the defence before coolly beating Morelli. It was a piece of play worthy of applause, and it was matched by his assist for Salemme’s third on 51 minutes, the forward arriving right on cue at the far post to effectively seal the win at the start of the second half. Two minutes later Simone Benedettini denied Urbinati the chance to drag Cailungo back into the contest, doing his part to preserve tonight’s clean sheet. Late on, the spell of poor finishing continued for Stefanelli, last season’s top scorer in San Marino with almost 20 goals to his name. Tre Penne helped themselves to a feast of goals in Domagnano against San Marino Academy. The reigning champions were carried by Badalassi, who broke the deadlock shortly after Mattia Sancisi had gone close at the other end – his effort drifting just wide. Dormi released Scarponi down the flank, and from the byline he whipped in a precise cross for Badalassi’s scissor-kick – this time finding the net. The move for 2-0 was simply stunning, just before the half-hour mark. Rosini played a vertical ball for Dormi, who flicked it on with his heel to Scarponi. He then played first time to release Nigretti, whose pinpoint ball to the near post found Badalassi stealing in to make it 14 league goals for the season. He would add another on 41 minutes, pouncing on a loose ball that had slipped away from Borasco: the striker’s ruthlessness earned him top spot in the scoring charts, one goal clear of Prandelli and Ambrosini. Early in the second half, the Academy found the net again – their first goal of 2024. It was scored by Casadei, who produced a perfect header from a cross on the right delivered by his near namesake, Valli Casadei. Buoyed by that goal, Cecchetti’s youngsters kept pushing and almost made it 3-2 through Famiglietti and Molinari. The decisive incident came on 73 minutes, when Badalassi was brought down by Lusivi on the edge of the area. The referee ruled the contact had taken place on the line, despite widespread protests from the Academy players and bench. Once the decision was made, the penalty was converted by designated taker Righini – who in the reverse fixture had seen a penalty saved by Battistini. At the death, there was glory for Dormi as well, as he rounded off the scoring at 5-1. The game proved trickier than anticipated for Virtus, who were up against a well-organised Pennarossa side that threatened immediately through Dinatale. At the other end, Pecci failed to hit the target from the edge of the box, while Lazzaretti bravely threw himself at Tortori’s feet. The opener arrived on 22 minutes, when from a corner Angeli was the quickest to react to a loose ball in the area, firing it into the back of the net. Out of nowhere, just after the half-hour mark, came the 1-1 equaliser, scored by Pintore. The Rossoneri striker did superbly well to use his body to shield the ball from Battistini and Genestreti before coolly slotting past Passaniti from close range. Late in the half, Golinucci’s overhead kick shaved the post, while Lazzarini produced a monumental save to deny Tortori. Pennarossa were far from done and even struck the post through the ever-dangerous Pintore at the start of the second half. After Angeli had passed up another chance, Bizzotto turned to Buonocunto, who for once had started on the bench, and the match changed completely. The former Rimini playmaker needed less than 200 seconds to make it 2-1 from a Pecci assist. He then also sparked the move that, via the Tortori-Pecci combination, virtually put the game to bed. In the final quarter of an hour there was little of note, apart from a solo counter-attack by Benincasa, who set off from the halfway line and went on to beat Lazzarini for the fourth time on 87 minutes. This is the partial picture from Matchday 17 of the Campionato Sammarinese BKN301, which will be completed by four more late fixtures tomorrow evening – all broadcast live and free on TITANI.TV:

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