Titano Futsal Cup: Fiorentino and Libertas close in on the quarter-finals

The full schedule of the first-leg Round of 16 ties in the Titano Futsal Cup has now been completed. Last night only Cailungo and Tre Penne were in action, in a match that was expected to be – and ultimately proved – finely balanced. Jacopo Gamba struck twice to give the Rossoverdi the lead on two occasions, with Biordi first and then Contato levelling it up. The club from Città will regret missing a 10-metre free kick with Fantini in the 55th minute. Whoever prevails in the return leg will face holders Folgore, who, by virtue of last year’s triumph, will enter the competition at the quarter-final stage. In the top half of the draw, Faetano and Juvenes-Dogana have taken control in their two-legged ties with Virtus and Domagnano. Omar El Attar inspired the Gialloblù with a first-half brace that sealed a 2-0 victory over Virtus. Corbelli’s side managed their two minutes with a man down well, after Bacciocchi was sent off with a straight red in the 10th minute, keeping a clean sheet throughout. It finished with the same scoreline in Dogana, where Domagnano slipped to defeat without laying a real glove on their opponents: goals from Chezzi and Giardi delivered a 2-0 advantage for Juvenes-Dogana to take into the second leg as they look to book their place in the next round. In the bottom half of the draw, only the tie between La Fiorita and Pennarossa looks likely to go right to the wire in the return leg. Casadei’s Biancorossi emerged 4-3 winners at the end of a thrilling encounter that was opened by Belloni. Right at the end of the first half came the turnaround, courtesy of Ciacci and Rinaldi. In the early stages of the second half, Giuccioli’s equaliser was cancelled out by a strike from Brighi. Bernardi then made it 3-3, only for his effort to be rendered meaningless by an own goal from Andrea Franciosi, which handed the Chiesanuova club the decisive victory. For La Fiorita, Giuccioli was sent off late on for a second yellow card. The winners of that tie will meet Fiorentino in the quarter-finals. Michelotti’s side sent out a strong statement with a 6-0 first-leg win over San Giovanni. The Rossoblù struck three times in each half: an own goal by Zonzini opened the scoring, with Zafferani and Rossini also getting on the sheet. Rossini found the net again after the interval, along with Moretti and Ceccoli. Libertas have all but booked their place in the last eight as well, following a 5-1 win over Cosmos. The Granata broke the deadlock at the end of the first half through Taddei, then doubled their advantage deep into stoppage time thanks to Davide Rossi. Cosmos pulled one back in the 50th minute with Bologna, but were then hit three more times by Ercolani, James and once again Davide Rossi – who scored his second in added time. Libertas now appear on course for a quarter-final clash with Tre Fiori, who ran out 3-0 winners against Murata. Cecchini broke the deadlock in the 19th minute, before Verri and Casadei struck in the second half to put a firm stamp on qualification. These are the results from the first-leg Round of 16 matches of the 2022-23 Titano Futsal Cup: