League: the top four all in action on Saturday

A packed schedule awaits San Marino clubs in this final week of September. With the Coppa Titano put to one side, the league resumes tomorrow with Matchday 4. There will be just one Friday night curtain-raiser (Montecchio, 21:15), featuring San Marino Academy Under 22 against Libertas. Cecchetti’s Titani – who sat out the cup round – should have extra energy to chase their first points of the season. Sperindio’s Granata, who claimed victory over Tre Fiori exactly a week ago, bowed out in midweek to Fiorentino’s Gialloblu in the cup. All of the top four in the table will instead be on the pitch on Saturday afternoon. It’s a top-of-the-table clash between Virtus and Fiorentino (Montecchio, 15:00): the reigning champions in green and black and the Rossoblu are level on 7 points, with an identical record (two straight wins after an opening-day draw). They may not be especially prolific in front of goal, but their backlines are rock solid and concede very little. Last season, at this very venue in Montecchio, the contest was decided by a stunning strike from Francesco Salemme, which this summer earned him the Goal of the Season award. Speaking of awards, at the end of September, as in previous campaigns, the MVP prize will be handed out to the player of the month. In addition, and this is a brand-new feature for this season, there will also be an award for the coach of the month. Voting will be open next week on the FSGC social media channels. There is also plenty of anticipation for the meeting between La Fiorita and Tre Fiori (Domagnano, 15:00). The Montegiardino side, one of the joint leaders, boast the best attack in the league (12 goals) and had a rest in midweek (they are already through to the quarter-finals as holders of the trophy). Tre Fiori trail Ceci’s Gialloblu by just a single point, and their midweek victory has given fresh momentum to Girolomoni’s camp. The last of the leaders in action on Saturday are Murata, who take on Juvenes-Dogana (Fiorentino, 15:00). The Bianconeri saw their good run halted by Tuesday night’s defeat to Folgore, while the Serravalle side are still searching for their first league win – though they did find one in the cup on Wednesday evening. Saturday is also the turn of Cosmos, just one point off the top. The Gialloverdi are coming off a cup defeat to Virtus and are chasing a third league victory: the Serravalle club face Pennarossa (Acquaviva, 15:00), who in the last round held Tre Penne and picked up their first points of the season. Among the form sides right now are undoubtedly Folgore, who play on Sunday afternoon. Lasagni’s Giallorossoneri are on a three-game winning streak across league and cup and this weekend (Fiorentino, 15:00) face a Cailungo side in difficulty (eleven goals conceded in their last two). San Giovanni and Faetano will be looking to keep their own momentum going (Montecchio, 15:00), both coming off cup victories. Tognacci’s Rossoneri are still hunting their first league win, while Ricchiuti’s Gialloblu need to bounce back from the heavy débâcle of the last round against La Fiorita. Rounding off Sunday’s trio of fixtures is the clash between Tre Penne and Domagnano (Domagnano, 15:00). The side from Città are fresh from a tennis-style 6-0 scoreline over Cailungo in the cup, and Berardi wants points to close in on the summit – currently two points away. Victory has eluded the Giallorossi for the last two rounds, leaving them marooned in mid-table. Finally, a reminder that all matches on Matchday 4 of the 2024-25 Campionato Sammarinese will be broadcast in full and free of charge – with Italian commentary – on the Titani.tv streaming platform.  

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