League: Valentini seals Academy equaliser as Fiorentino shift into fourth gear

Tre Fiori stay top of the standings after Matchday 13 of the Campionato Sammarinese, needing just eighteen minutes to wrap up their tenth win of the campaign. A nightmare start for Libertas, punished by two quickfire moves through the middle that make it 2-0 in the blink of an eye: on 5 minutes Prandelli releases the run of Bernardi, who shrugs off Severi’s recovery attempt before beating Manzaroli. There is clear blame on Senja, whose attempted clearance is intercepted by Benedettini: the midfielder is at the heart of the second goal, which arrives as early as the 7th minute after a fine move involving Prandelli and Bernardi – the latter providing the assist into the middle. Benedettini doubles his tally on the quarter hour, sweeping home the 3-0 after another high regain of possession. Things go from bad to worse for the Granata, who concede a fourth on 18 minutes: Sirri delivers a perfect cross from the by-line, met by Prandelli’s emphatic header at the back post. In truth, nothing else happens before the break. The second half is different, with Manzaroli forced into action to deny Mema and Ciccione a fifth for the league leaders, while Libertas show themselves in Nardi’s area without ever really managing to trouble him.

In Domagnano Virtus are under pressure to keep pace, and a stunning strike from Benincasa allows the reigning champions to take the lead shortly after the quarter hour. A well-worked set-piece, with Buonocunto teeing up the centre-forward’s right-footed volley as he executes the technique to perfection for a goal of the highest degree of difficulty. Earlier, Bracconi had produced a monumental save to deny Lombardi, who had shot from the edge of the six-yard box. Despite Virtus controlling proceedings for long spells, Murata remain fully in the contest. Camillini’s side go close to levelling through De Biagi on 61 minutes, but the powerful left-footed effort flies just over the bar. Having ridden out the hosts’ best spell, the defending champions make their squad depth count to kill off the game: Niang lays on a tap-in for Scappini into an empty net, the striker making it 2-0 on 78 minutes; both had started this afternoon on the bench. The Neroverdi thus stay right on the heels of the leaders, shadowing Tre Fiori at close range.

It is Fiorentino who break the deadlock in Acquaviva against Faetano. Costantini’s side open the scoring thanks to Diop’s interception in midfield, his powerful surge ending with a pass out wide to Abouzziane. The talented forward then fires left-footed from a tight angle, catching out Caputo at his near post. The Faetano keeper is not blameless on the second goal either, beaten as he rushes out by Abouzziane’s free-kick, which on 36 minutes allows Cucchi to apply the finishing touch. After the restart the Rossoblù put the seal on a fourth consecutive victory with Gjonaj’s tap-in, forcing the ball over the line after Caputo’s save from Belward’s unstoppable solo run leaves it loose in the goalmouth. It is a convincing performance from Fiorentino, who string together their fourth win on the bounce, repeatedly going close to a fourth goal while at the same time keeping Benedettini’s goal untroubled throughout the contest.

San Marino Academy start with Conti between the posts and the 17-year-old goalkeeper is called into action immediately, denying D’angeli after barely 200 seconds. Roberto Di Maio’s men respond down the Della Balda-Renzi channel, but the captain fails to make a clean connection. The same outcome follows at the other end from a move launched midway through the half by Tamagnini: Protti attacks the near post, but Giambalvo’s fortunate deflection snuffs out the danger. San Giovanni waste a great chance on the half-hour through Zanni, who redeems himself on 38 minutes with an unstoppable right-footed strike from the edge of the box. The Rimini-born forward is in the spotlight for better and for worse, as he then picks up a second yellow card just before the hour for holding an opponent in the area. The Academy make the most of the numerical advantage on 79 minutes, equalising in real style through substitute Filippo Valentini: a delightful back-heel from Protti sets up his team-mate to finish left-footed. There are no further twists in the tale: it ends 1-1 in Montecchio.

This is the partial picture from the thirteenth matchday of the Campionato Sammarinese, broadcast in full live and free-to-air on Titani.tv: