League: Tre Penne threat for leaders Cosmos

After last week’s fine clash with La Fiorita, another demanding test awaits league leaders Cosmos. On Matchday 9 of the Campionato Sammarinese – scheduled, exceptionally, for Friday evening and Saturday afternoon to allow more rest ahead of the now imminent Regions’ Cup, which will see NAT San Marino involved – Lepri’s side will in fact face Tre Penne. All the ingredients are there for a great game: the Gialloverdi from Serravalle, boasting the best attack and the best defence, are determined to stay top; the Biancoazzurri from Città have returned to winning ways after five draws and are – together with La Fiorita – the only team still unbeaten in the league. Should Tre Penne win, Nicola Berardi’s side – currently seven points off the summit – would be right back in the title race. The match is scheduled for Saturday afternoon at 15:00 on the artificial pitch in Montecchio. Looking at the table, second place is occupied by an in-form Virtus, who will be hoping for a Cosmos slip-up to close the gap further on the leaders – currently just two points ahead. The Neroverdi – coming off two wins in a row – take on the Academy Under 22, who are themselves on an upward curve (four points from the last three, including a narrow recent win over Juvenes-Dogana). Bizzotto’s team and Cecchetti’s (who will be without the suspended Marco Casadei) will cross swords on Saturday afternoon at 18:00 in Montecchio, following a change to the original schedule. Continuing with Saturday’s fixtures, Fiorentino, coached by Paolo Tarini, will be looking to bounce back. The Rossoblu, narrowly beaten by Tre Penne in the last round, saw a good run come to an end and will travel to Acquaviva to face bottom side Cailungo (just 1 point collected so far). If Fiorentino are seeking a relaunch, the same goes for Libertas, coached by Floriano Sperindio – recently named Coach of the Month for October – who dropped both points and players against Faetano. The Granata, for Saturday’s match against Pennarossa (Fiorentino, 15:00), will be without goalkeeper Del Prete, Michael Battistini, Monterosso and captain Morelli. Filippo Dolci’s Pennarossa, with just one win in their last five, will try to take full advantage. Friday night’s games promise plenty of interest too, starting with an enticing San Giovanni v La Fiorita (Acquaviva, 21:15). The Rossoneri are in good shape, with four wins from their last five and unbeaten since 21 September. Tognacci can also count on the goals and assists of Augusto Garcia Rufer and Mattia Aprea, as well as the return from suspension of defender Robba. La Fiorita, for their part, come into this on the back of three consecutive draws, results which nonetheless keep them third on 16 points – two clear of San Giovanni – and three off top spot. Suspended Daniel Cicarelli, sent off in the last round against Cosmos, will miss out. Another intriguing fixture is Folgore v Murata, also on Friday evening at 21:15, in Dogana. The table shows Lasagni’s side currently in fourth place – level with La Fiorita – and it took a super performance from Passaniti in the last round to deny them more points, resulting instead in defeat to Virtus. It is a tough spell for Murata, with three defeats in their last four and several injuries to deal with. Even so, the Bianconeri sit seventh, six points off the top. Coach Sergio Grassi will also have to do without the suspended Rodrigues. Level on 13 points with Murata are Tre Fiori, who on Friday (Montecchio, 21:15) face a Juvenes-Dogana side in full-blown crisis. Girolomoni’s team – with their coach banned for one match by the Sports Judge – have returned to winning ways and are looking for more points to climb even higher, while Fabbri’s side have yet to record a win in the league and are stuck in the penultimate place. On the numbers, what really worries the Dogana side is the ‘goals scored’ column, with just two goals to their name. The defence, on the other hand, is holding up, with nine conceded (the same as La Fiorita). Buoyed by wins in the last round, Domagnano and Faetano (Fiorentino, Friday 21:15) are looking for confirmation and keen to put more points in the bag. The Giallorossi, with their victory over Cailungo, ended a drought that had lasted since the opening day against the Academy, while the Gialloblu are the only team yet to draw a game. Both sides are also level on 9 points in the table. Finally, this is the full programme for Matchday 9 of the Campionato Sammarinese. As always, every match will be shown live via streaming with full commentary on the Titani.tv platform.

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