NAT San Marino see red again as Vojvodina pull away late on

The decisive match in Group 2 of the Intermediate Round of the UEFA Regions’ Cup went the way of Serbian side Vojvodina, who again clinched a place in the tournament’s Final Tournament reserved for regional amateur representative teams. Looking only at the heavy scoreline (0-4) does not reflect an hour of substantial balance on the pitch – even though NAT San Marino once again had to cope with being a man down. This time, Azael Garcia Rufer received a second booking as early as the 31st minute and the Biancazzurri – for whom a draw would also have meant elimination – suddenly found themselves facing a mountain to climb with bare hands.

It was a full-blooded contest right from the off, with NAT San Marino nevertheless standing out for their greater initiative. Ura drove down the left before cutting inside and looking for Belward at the far post. From the resulting corner, Ura again was freed to shoot on goal – his attempt was blocked by a defender. Vojvodina replied through Barić, who failed to trouble Guddo in the 8th minute. Midway through the half, more determined play by Ura led to a flurry of shots from Bernardi and Ferraro – neither of whom managed to find a way through the forest of opposition legs. At the other end, Đorđe Petrović launched into a coast-to-coast run, urged on by the small crowd – almost entirely backing the Serbian side – but was eventually stopped by Fabbri. The incident that proved most decisive, both in that period and in the game overall – given its consequences – came on 31 minutes. The Biancazzurri tried to build from their own defensive third, but Garcia Rufer was beaten to the ball just as he went in for the tackle: for Turkish referee Sağlam, there was enough in it to reach for his cards a second time in the space of 22 minutes for the midfielder – who was sent off.

The match thus swung into ideal territory for Vojvodina, who went into it knowing that even a draw would be enough. NAT San Marino weathered the first waves of pressure with the extra man against them, and even found themselves briefly down to nine men for a minute when Buda required treatment from the medical staff. Before the break there was one chance apiece: Bernardi teed up Ferrero’s right foot with a delightful back-heel, but the midfielder pulled his diagonal effort too wide. Right on the stroke of half-time, Guddo came off his line smartly to deny Adamović.

After the restart Šponja immediately sent on Lepojević, effectively finding the key to unlock the Sammarinese defence. First, however, came an attacking move down the flank from Fabbri: the Folgore full-back crossed into the middle, where Bernardi was inches away from making contact with a close-range header. Following a wayward attempt by Lepojević, Vojvodina finally prised the game open: Aćimović’s thunderbolt crashed against the crossbar after a deflection from Fabbri, and Lepojević did brilliantly to recycle the ball into the box, where Adamović finished from two yards. It was the 67th minute and NAT’s hopes of going through now depended on a comeback win with ten men. A difficult task became impossible in the 73rd minute, when Adamović doubled his tally, breaking the offside line to latch onto Đorđe Petrović’s through ball. Protests from the Sammarinese bench were in vain; assistant Rumež judged the striker to be onside. With qualification effectively secured, Vojvodina then padded the scoreline through Ivetić and Kranjinović. While the defender’s header – scored with a Sammarinese player down – could be considered routine, the substitute forward’s goal was a wonderful lob from mid-range that wrapped things up.

NAT San Marino finish in second place on 4 points, behind Vojvodina – who top the group with maximum points. Bizzotto’s side once again confirmed themselves as a solid force in this competition, with every reason to believe they can target another Final Tournament in future. What clearly weighed on this international campaign was the fact that they played more minutes with ten men (157) than with eleven (126) across the three matches, taking into account stoppage time in each game.

UEFA Regions’ Cup 2026-27, Intermediate Round – MD3 | NAT San Marino-Vojvodina 0-4

NAT SAN MARINO (4-3-3)

Guddo; Perazzini, Costantini, Ciacci, Fabbri (82’ Quaranta); Ferraro, Buda (56’ Azzurro), Garcia Rufer; Belward (75’ Sartini), Bernardi (82’ Bottoni), Ura (75’ Merli)

Substitutes: Francioni

Head coach: Luigi Bizzotto

VOJVODINA (4-3-3)

Dr. Petrović (82’ Vojvodić); Prolić, Topić, Ivetić, Malinović; Aćimović, Bačvanski (82’ Viola), Herceg; Đo. Petrović (78’ Trpćčević), Adamović (78’ Krajinović), Barić (46’ Lepojević)

Substitutes: Bošnjak

Head coach: Vladimir Šponja

Referee: Kadir Sağlam (TUR)

Assistant referees: Mehmet Tugral (TUR), Aleš Rumež (SVN)

Fourth official: Blaž Bezjak (SVN)

Scorers: 68’ and 74’ Adamović, 79’ Ivetić, 84’ Krajinović

Booked: Barić, Garcia Rufer, Adamović, Bačvanski, Fabbri, Bernardi, Costantini, Bottoni

Sent off: Garcia Rufer (second yellow card)