Play-offs begin: Libertas-Tre Fiori and Virtus-Folgore tomorrow

With the Preliminary Round concluded and victories for Juvenes-Dogana and Faetano, it is now time for the main draw, the actual play-offs that will award a place in the next UEFA Europa Conference League. The ties taking place this weekend are effectively the first-leg fixtures of the quarter-finals which – like the semi-finals – will also have return legs. There will be no extra time or penalties, however: if the aggregate score is level after the two matches, the teams that finished higher in the regular season will go through. The exceptions are the play-off final and the single match for the allocation of fourth place, which do include possible extra time and penalty shoot-outs. The two teams involved in last Wednesday’s Preliminary Round will not return to the pitch before Sunday, while tomorrow it will be the turn of the sides that finished between fourth and seventh place in the regular season. Starting with Libertas-Tre Fiori, scheduled for 15:00 on the artificial pitch in Domagnano. The Gialloblù, who recently announced the end of their coaching relationship with Andy Selva, will be led from the bench by Giorgio Leoni – former Head Coach of the San Marino National Team between 1990 and 1995. The first issue to resolve will be at the heart of defence, where Tre Fiori will have to cope with the absence of Umberto De Lucia – sent off on the final day of the league season against Cosmos. Libertas have no suspensions, so Sperindio will have plenty of options for this first act of the play-offs, which the Granata will approach with maximum motivation: above all, to prove that the ground lost in the first half of the season – which effectively ruled them out of the title race early – is by no means a true reflection of the technical quality that the Borgo Maggiore club can show on the pitch. At the same time tomorrow, Virtus and Folgore will meet for the fifth time this season. After two league clashes and a two-legged quarter-final in the Titano Futsal Cup, Bizzotto’s and Lepri’s sides will go head-to-head once more on the Montecchio artificial turf. Virtus are hoping to find a swift solution to the problem caused by the enforced absence of all three goalkeepers in the squad, a situation that has seen Pedrini don the gloves twice for the Neroverdi and, most recently, Ciacci. Not a minor unknown at this stage of the season, all the more so looking ahead a month, when Buonocunto and his team-mates will take the field in the Coppa Titano final against newly crowned champions Tre Penne. For Folgore, a completely new mini-tournament is about to begin, in which Lepri’s men will need to be good at resetting after a regular season that was far from exciting, to prove they can effectively embrace the role of outsider. Making matters more complicated is the suspension of Daniel Piscaglia, who will miss tomorrow’s match. Understandably, Juvenes-Dogana and Faetano will enjoy an extra day’s rest, ahead of their third match in seven days. Each one more important than the last, given that both secured the right to play the Preliminary Round only last Sunday – and then won it two evenings ago. They will attempt to overturn the odds, which have them clearly behind Cosmos and La Fiorita. Faetano, who last year were knocked out by Tre Fiori after two draws in the play-off phase, will have the thankless task of testing the mood in a Cosmos camp still smarting from the bitter outcome of the regular season – in which they finished second, one point behind Tre Penne, after leading the standings for a long time. Roberto Di Maio will be missing from the centre of Nicola Berardi’s defence, suspended after the yellow card picked up while on a caution in the final match of the regular season against Tre Fiori. The quarter-final schedule is completed by La Fiorita-Juvenes-Dogana. Amati’s side come into it after a well-managed game for over an hour against Domagnano in the Preliminary Round, before suffering a blackout that allowed the Wolves back into it with two quick goals. The tie still went the way of the Serravalle club who, against the reigning champions, certainly will not be able to afford similar lapses in concentration. The match will be played in Montecchio on Sunday early afternoon, when La Fiorita will return to official action two weeks on from their last game. Manfredini’s team sat out the final matchday of the regular season due to their bye and, on their play-off debut, will face a Juvenes-Dogana side that may be tired but is also far more aware of its own strengths than a few weeks ago. Below is the schedule for the first legs of the play-off quarter-finals of the Campionato Sammarinese BKN301, 2022-23. All matches will be broadcast live, free-to-air and with Italian commentary on the TITANI.TV platform.

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