San Marino Talent Cup: Vanni delivers the title to Perugia

The second edition of the San Marino Talent Cup came to a stylish close with the awards ceremony on the artificial pitch of the “Ezio Conti” Stadium in Dogana. In the afternoon, two matches were played simultaneously to determine the final placings behind the two finalists. Bologna and Ascoli met after having suffered two defeats apiece in their respective qualifying groups: on the Montecchio artificial pitch it was the Rossoblù who edged it. It was, however, the Piceni who took the lead, breaking the deadlock on 10 minutes through Cantini – helped by a costly attempt to play out from the back by Bologna, who hit back through Rajouani shortly before the half-hour mark. Bursting forward on the overlap after winning the ball high up the pitch, the full-back unleashed a right-footed rocket of extraordinary power to make it 1-1. Ascoli also got their noses in front again after the restart: Bologna conceded a second successive own goal, this time involving Stragà and in particular Milan, only for that setback to be cancelled out by a superb run from Passanisi, who restored parity in the 52nd minute. The contest was decided from the penalty spot, where Daniel Capra proved decisive: the Bologna goalkeeper, introduced during the game, saved three spot-kicks to clinch fifth place for his side.

At the same time, San Marino Academy – coming off an excellent performance and victory over Bologna that earned them second place in their group behind Sassuolo – locked horns with Cesena in the match that had the final step of the podium at stake. The Biancazzurrini looked to be heading for their second win of the tournament when they went in front on 41 minutes through Pedrelli, taking a narrow lead into the dressing rooms along with their third consecutive half-time clean sheet. Vanni’s boys then doubled their advantage from the spot through Magnani in the 53rd minute. The 2-0 scoreline held until the final rush, when Cesena avoided defeat by striking in quick succession through Ciccarese and Marra – the latter having spent time in the Academy’s youth ranks. In the ensuing penalty shoot-out, the Bianconeri were the more composed and clinical, securing third place thanks to three saved penalties by Gaetano Rapisarda.

The grand finale, as mentioned, took place in Dogana. The showpiece final at 19:00 featured Sassuolo – making their debut in the San Marino Talent Cup – and Perugia, back in the final after last year’s impressive run. In this just-concluded edition, the Grifoni were the first to go close through Perugini, who, after a mazy run down the left flank in which he skipped past three opponents, burst into the area and unleashed a left-footed effort from a tight angle that crashed off the crossbar with Bini beaten. The Umbrians were the better side in the opening phase, flirting with a 1-0 lead also through Ciani, Merico and Minestrini. Although the Biancorossi’s dominance of possession did not translate into a deserved advantage by half-time, it took substitute Vanni just ten minutes of the second half to make his mark on the scoreline. His first-time strike gave the goalkeeper no chance, capping in style a superb assist from Merico. Perugia then managed their lead with composure, threatening Bini’s goal again through the ever-dangerous Vanni. In truth, Sassuolo created their only real clear-cut chance right at the death: Di Chiara found space at the far post to meet a wide free-kick with a header, but could only find the side-netting. After three minutes of added time, Perugia were able to celebrate their first San Marino Talent Cup title, having been carried all the way to the final by Perugini – named Player of the Tournament. In goal, Bini, his opposite number in the decider, stood out and collected the award for Best Goalkeeper.