League: pecking order unchanged at the top, Murata back in the mix

They live up to the pre-match predictions that had them as favourites: La Fiorita and Cosmos both win this afternoon against Juvenes-Dogana and Faetano, respectively, and remain in the top two positions in the table – separated by just two points, with the reigning champions still to play their rearranged fixture against Cailungo, which could return them to the summit. All this before next round’s head‑to‑head clash, when Tre Fiori and Tre Penne will also face each other. La Fiorita, packed with new faces (no fewer than four changes in the starting XI), edge Juvenes-Dogana by a single goal, making the most of the opening quarter of an hour in which the Biancorossazzurri struggled to get to grips with the game. Colonna’s right-footed effort over the bar is a warning, then the ultra‑offensive pressing of the title holders blows the contest open. Chances come in waves, with Juvenes-Dogana hanging on before paying dearly for a lapse in concentration. A quickly taken corner by Pancotti and Abouzziane creates a two‑on‑one, allowing the former Fiorentino man – signed from Torconca – to break the deadlock with a right-footed strike from the edge of the box on the right which flies into the far top corner. It is a first goal, on his full debut, for the Moroccan. On 26 minutes La Fiorita almost double their lead through Russo, who hits the post after pouncing on Gentilini’s short punch – the goalkeeper wrong‑footed by a deflection on Pancotti’s shot. Manfredini’s men consolidate their advantage but cannot find a second goal despite the liveliness of their front three – Pancotti in particular. Juvenes-Dogana grow into the game as the minutes tick by, but over the course of the match Vivan is not called upon to make a single save. It is a very different afternoon for his opposite number Gentilini, who is tested on 55 and 64 minutes by Pancotti – the second time with a semi‑overhead kick. Superb defensive interventions from Gasperoni and Cevoli prevent trouble at one end from Benedetti and at the other from Abouzziane. A quarter of an hour from time Greco stings Gentilini’s gloves, while Merli fires over from 20 metres. Grassi goes closer – but is still off target – shaving the far post. There are a few nerves at the end, but without ever really risking an equaliser La Fiorita bank three crucial points which could send them back to the top, provided they beat Cailungo in midweek. ©FSGC | Riccardo Zulli In that bid they will find an exceptional supporter in Cosmos. The Gialloverdi will in fact go into the top‑of‑the‑table clash as league leaders only if the Gialloverdi avoid defeat against La Fiorita. Berardi’s side today claimed their twelfth league win, scoring once in each half against Faetano. After an early foray by Capicchioni, it is Zulli who breaks the deadlock with a stunning curling right‑footer that – struck from the left edge of the box – clips the far top corner. For the winger from Lombardy, who received the pre‑match award as January’s Player of the Month, it is a fourth goal in fifteen league outings. Shortly after the half‑hour mark Nisi and Errico both try their luck without accuracy, while at the start of the second half Faetano appear to be on the front foot, putting Cosmos under pressure, but find themselves down to ten men on 55 minutes. Already booked, Pini goes in late on Loiodice on the edge of the opposing penalty area, prompting Ucini to show him a second yellow and then the red. For Faetano a difficult situation now takes on the contours of a mission impossible, and they almost fall 2-0 behind when Guidi fires across goal after being sent clear by Capicchioni. The second goal does arrive near the end, when Berardi decides to call upon the suspended‑on‑warning Prandelli and sends him on in the 69th minute. The league’s top scorer finds his way onto the match report, but only in the scorers’ column, reacting quickest to Porcellini’s miraculous save that denies Savelli, but cannot prevent the 34‑year‑old striker from netting his twelfth of the season. The clash just outside the play‑off spots, between Murata and San Giovanni, wrapped up Matchday 18. It began brightly, with a clear‑cut chance at either end: Bruma and Ura, however, are both denied by excellent reflex saves from the two goalkeepers. As the minutes pass, Murata take control of proceedings, threatening through Gega and Ura. Nothing, though, compared with the gilt‑edged opportunity Nicola Sartini lays on for Bruma, who again is wasteful in front of goal. Five minutes later San Giovanni are punished: a ricochet between Ferraro and Boldrini releases Raul Ura, who swiftly shrugs off captain Angelini and beats De Angelis at his near post with a fine right‑footed effort from the edge of the area. The San Marino keeper then has to stretch to tip away Gaiani’s low drive on 34 minutes, just ahead of the lurking Ura. At the other end, a misjudged header by Matteoni on Angelini’s diagonal ball opens up the area for Giuliano, whose first‑time shot forces Moussa Gueye into the second big save of his evening. If the first half was entertaining, the second brings chances galore at both ends. Murata strike first: on 58 minutes they break through the middle with Semprini, who fails to convert when one‑on‑one with De Angelis. At the other end San Giovanni draw level: Zani punishes a challenge in the box by Costantini and awards a penalty, which Bruma converts with aplomb on the hour mark. Tognacci’s men have the chance to turn the game around barely a minute later, when Nicola Sartini races clear in open field after dribbling past Vitaioli, but shoots wide with the outside of his right boot in a one‑on‑one with Gueye. Less than three minutes later Murata once again underline football’s unwritten rule: “miss a chance at one end, concede at the other.” Ura leaves defenders in his wake down the left and cuts the ball back for Semprini, who shows ice‑cool composure, first with the dummy that sends De Biagi the wrong way and then with the left‑footed diagonal that gives De Angelis no chance from close range. There is no let‑up in Acquaviva and by the 66th minute Bruma is played clean through by an irresistible Nicola Sartini, but the former Murata forward remains wasteful from open play. At the other end, a minute later, De Angelis is called into action again to deny Semprini a brace after yet another piece of magic from Ura. From this point on it is all Murata: De Angelis produces a superb stop to thwart Ura, then Toccaceli fails to hit the target from a promising position. There is no such lack of precision from Ferraro, who on 82 minutes makes the most of more excellent work from the irrepressible Ura – by some distance man of the match – to tap home the goal that seals the 3-1 scoreline. Deep into stoppage time there are further chances for Bruma and Gaiani, but the result does not change. It is a hugely significant victory for Murata, whose second win on the bounce also sees them draw level with Domagnano on 13 points. The threshold for post‑season qualification is now just a single point away, currently held by Cailungo – who face La Fiorita on Wednesday evening in their rearranged fixture. Overall, Murata’s main rivals are bunched within just three points, in a band where, on an off day, you can slip from eighth place to bottom of the table. Here is the full picture from Matchday 18 of the Campionato Sammarinese BKN301, available free of charge on TITANI.TV – live streaming from every ground, with Italian commentary:

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