Preliminary Round: tomorrow the full verdict on who will face the Fab Four

Tomorrow La Fiorita, Tre Penne, Tre Fiori and Virtus – the four sides already through by right to the league quarter-finals – will discover their respective opponents. The names of the latter will emerge from the second-leg fixtures in the Preliminary Round. One of these ties has already taken a clear direction after last Wednesday’s 90 minutes: Libertas beat Domagnano 5-0 and, thanks also to their higher league position, can practically count on a six-goal cushion to manage against the Wolves. Cardini’s team will focus their efforts on smothering any remaining resistance and could, reasonably, also make some selections with an eye already beyond this round of the competition, while still taking all the necessary precautions. This will be one of the two matches that will be broadcast live on the TITANI.TV platform. The other will pit Fiorentino against Folgore, with the Rossoblù two goals up after the first leg and determined to sink the reigning champions even further. Folgore, for their part, will need to mount a difficult comeback that would see them win by at least two goals, the minimum margin required to make their higher regular season position count, bearing in mind that this phase of the competition does not provide for extra time. While the two clashes in Acquaviva and Montecchio feature, on one side, a team able to manage a lead and, on the other, one forced to chase, the four teams playing on the pitches of Dogana and Domagnano will instead kick off from a situation of perfect parity. Palazzi’s last-gasp equaliser means Faetano now only need a draw in the second leg as well, while San Giovanni – who will be without Giacomo Conti, sent off in the first leg – will have to win at all costs to extend their stay in the competition. Head coach Marco Tognacci returns from suspension for the Rossoneri, while his Gialloblù counterpart, Danilo Girolomoni, will again be in the stands to serve the fourth and final match of his ban handed down by the Sports Judge. Pennarossa also found a late equaliser, cancelling out the earlier penalty that had given Murata a 1-0 lead and was allowing them to nullify their opponents’ advantage in the regular season standings and approach the second leg with relatively – at least – fewer worries over the 90 minutes. As with Faetano, Pennarossa too could get maximum benefit from a draw tomorrow. Here is the full picture of the Preliminary Round fixtures:

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