More than four goals per game in the early fixtures: Cailungo eyeing twelfth place

Goals galore in the early fixtures of Matchday 27 of the 2021-22 Campionato Sammarinese, the last before the international break and the subsequent final rush that will see the regular season conclude on 20 April. There were high expectations for the play-off flavoured clash between Tre Fiori and Folgore, which ended clearly in favour of the defending champions, who halted Borgagni’s side’s run of 16 games unbeaten. Two goals per half, scored by Docente (brace), Golinucci and Garcia, relaunch Folgore’s campaign. If a top-four finish now looks a big ask, they are at least pushing for a more comfortable draw in the Preliminary Round. Despite selection issues for both coaches (Lepri was even forced to start Spighi and Hirsch at full-back), the match did not lack for excitement. Folgore went ahead through Docente, who broke in behind Adami Martins and kept his cool to beat Simoncini one-on-one. After a long-range effort from De Falco and a scrambled chance for Cuzzilla, Golinucci doubled the lead on 35 minutes with a thunderbolt into the top corner after the defence had only partially cleared. Tre Fiori improved in the second half but repeatedly found a superb Gueye in their way. The feeling that nothing was going right for last season’s Coppa Titano finalists became a reasonable certainty when Folgore made it three, Docente taking the luxury of sitting Simoncini down on the third assist in four days from Fedeli. The fourth came from Garcia, on the pitch for less than ten minutes and perfectly placed at the near post after a great run down the flank by Dormi. The top two pull away and are now difficult for Tre Fiori to catch; the latter will also have to look over their shoulders in this final stretch of the regular season. Two narrow wins, achieved in very different ways, keep Tre Penne and La Fiorita locked together in a head-to-head battle for top spot that will likely go to the wire. The San Marino runners-up broke the deadlock against Domagnano through Guidi, who only had to finish from close range an attacking move started by Di Maio, carried on by Zulli’s surge and rounded off by Rinaldi’s pass. The captain doubled the lead just after the half-hour mark with a fine header that proved too powerful for Ermeti. In the closing stages of the match Domagnano got back into it with Grieco’s close-range strike, as he got free at the far post to make the most of a wide free-kick. Unfortunately for Mancini’s men, they came away empty-handed on a day that sees Cailungo climb back into the Preliminary Round places. The Rossoverdi move on to 20 points, three behind the pair of San Giovanni and Murata, who are level in twelfth place and face each other tomorrow. Nothing doing today for Cosmos, despite having drawn level. Cailungo took the lead with a magnificent solo effort from Benedetti, but a huge lapse in judgement then cost Protti’s men the equaliser. From a free kick on the edge of the box, Manuel Muccioli dropped back onto the goal line to cover for an eventual shot over the wall. That movement effectively cancelled any possibility of offside, allowing Ura – who had positioned himself in front of Gallinetta – to divert Gjorretaj’s free kick into the net from just centimetres out. Cailungo’s protests were in vain, although they would retake the lead just seconds later. Credit to Luca Cecchetti, who, picked out by a through ball from Manuel Muccioli, lifted the ball over the onrushing Gregori. Late on, with Liverani also sent off, Cailungo wrapped it up through Morri: on the pitch from the 90th minute, the San Marino forward was on the scoresheet less than two minutes later to revive the Rossoverdi’s ambitions. There were as many as seven goals scored in Domagnano, where two of the league’s most prolific sides met: Tre Penne and Fiorentino. The leaders saw two of their forwards grab braces, both supplied by an outstanding Luca Ceccaroli. His delicate cross set up Pieri’s header that opened the scoring on 11 minutes, and Pieri doubled the advantage five minutes later, finishing off a driving run by the 2019 Crystal Ball winner, who got to the byline before firing in a low cross. Fiorentino hit back through Castellazzi, who scored from close range. It was a fine counter-attack involving Ben Kacem and Bottoni, but above all Arrigoni, who cleverly wriggled away from Battistini’s pressure and laid on a simple assist for the former La Fiorita man. After the break, Castellazzi made his height and strength count in the box, heading home the equaliser on 52 minutes. Parity lasted just ten minutes, the time it took Ceccaroli to provide his third assist of the afternoon: he cut in from the byline, rode a challenge in the area and delivered yet another inch-perfect ball – this time for Badalassi, who netted his 21st of the season. It would not prove the most important goal of his day, because it was his 22nd that secured all three points for Tre Penne. In the meantime, Castellazzi had taken advantage of a misjudged outing by Migani to make it 3-3 from a corner. It was then Chiurato – unplayable for Fiorentino’s defence on the day – who turned on the edge of the final third and picked out a perfect through ball for Badalassi, who rounded the goalkeeper before sealing an absolutely extraordinary match. Here is the full picture at the end of the early fixtures on Matchday 27 of the league:

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TRE FIORI A. Simoncini, D'Addario (from 65' Ciccione), Censoni (from 46' Dolcini), De Falco, De Lucia, Pracucci, Lentini (from 79' Rossi), Cuzzilla, Gjurchinoski, Grani (from 72' Della Valle), Adami Martins Subs: Castagnoli, Ramundo, Corinti Coach: Gian Luca Borgagni   FOLGORE Gueye, Hirsch, Rosini, Sottile, Spighi (from 18' Sabbadini, from 55' Piscaglia), Aluigi, Pasini (from 70' Giardi), Golinucci, Dormi, Docente (from 70' Garcia), Fedeli Subs: Mignani, Francioni, Cerquetti Coach: Omar Lepri   Referee: Domenico de Girolamo Assistants: Leonardo Battista and Giovanni de Girolamo Fourth official: Giacomo Cenci Scorers: 13', 59' Docente, 35' Golinucci, 79' Garcia Booked: Sabbadini, Gjurchinoski  

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COSMOS Gregori, Nanni (from 63' Della Valle), Cervellini, Comanducci, Sartini, Venerucci (from 73' Celli), Zaghini, Valentini, Gjorretaj, Stella, Ura Subs: Batori, Donati, Pari Coach: Massimo Gori   CAILUNGO Gallinetta, Ricci, Iuzzolino, Lusini (from 59' Grieco), Quaranta, L. Cecchetti, Liverani, M. Muccioli, Senja (from 90' Diallo), Benedetti (from 90' Morri), A. Muccioli (from 26' M. Cecchetti) Subs: La Monaca, F. Vagnini, K. Vagnini Coach: Cristian Protti   Referee: Elison Luci Assistants: Alfonso Gallo and Laura Cordani Fourth official: Giovanni Notarpietro Scorers: 55' Benedetti, 70' Ura, 72' L. Cecchetti, 90'+2' Morri Booked: Iuzzolino, M. Muccioli, Gallinetta, Liverani Sent off: Liverani (second yellow card)  

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TRE PENNE Migani, Cauterucci (from 90' Sartori), Vandi, Battistini, Lombardi, Genestreti, M. Semprini (from 57' Cibelli), Righini, Pieri (from 57' Chiurato), Badalassi, Ceccaroli (from 90' Zonzini) Subs: Zambetti, Zafferani Coach: Stefano Ceci   FIORENTINO Bianchi, D'addario (from 77' Zouhri), Baizan, Bottoni (from 37' Michelotti), Arrigoni, Molinari (from 77' Borgagni), Calzolari (from 30' Becchimanzi), Colagiovanni, Castellazzi, Abouzziane, Ben Kacem Subs: Berardi, Terenzi, Mastrota Coach: Enrico Malandri   Referee: Emiliano Albani Assistants: Salvatore Tuttifrutti and Andrea Depaoli Fourth official: Mattia Andruccioli Scorers: 11', 16' Pieri, 30, 52', 75' Castellazzi, 62', 87' Badalassi Booked: Righini, Colagiovanni, Vandi, Chiurato, Cauterucci, Baizan, Zouhri  

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LA FIORITA Vivan, Miori (from 57' Gasperoni), Brighi, Di Maio (from 63' Santi), Zafferani (from 72' Hoxha), Amati (from 57' Gregori), Loiodice, Pancotti, Rinaldi (from 72' Bonifazi), Zulli, Guidi Subs: Venturini, Errico Coach: Oscar Lasagni   DOMAGNANO Ermeti, Brighi, Nanni, Bacchiocchi, Olivieri (from 46' Parma), Grieco, Ricchi, Morena, Angelini, Gaiani, Fancellu Subs: Colonna, Francioni, Semproli Coach: Massimo Mancini   Referee: Andrea Piccoli Assistants: Gianmarco Ercolani and Andrea Zaghini Fourth official: Alessandro Vandi Scorers: 14' Guidi, 32' Rinaldi, 80' Grieco Booked: Morena, Loiodice, Brighi

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