Titano Futsal Cup: Juvenes-Dogana masterpiece as Murata tame a battling La Fiorita

If there is one thing the evening dedicated to the Futsal Cup quarter-finals has taught, it’s that not even a three-goal lead can be considered decisive. Folgore know this only too well, seeing the 4-1 advantage earned in the first leg slip away as they are forced to hand over a semi-final spot to their “cousins” Juvenes-Dogana, who refused to give in and were ultimately rewarded in the penalty shoot-out. Roberto Levani’s side begin chipping away at the first-leg deficit through Cavalli, destined to be the undisputed star of the night. The opener arrives on 11 minutes from the number 14’s right foot, while shortly before half-time it is Simone Celli who puts his name to the second goal. Folgore still have a cushion, which grows again when Bortolotto, right at the start of the second half, strikes to make it 2-1. Juvenes-Dogana do not lose heart – they hit back again through Cavalli – and they do not fold even when Pelliccioni makes it 3-2: in fact, Cavalli’s immediate reply injects fresh energy into Levani’s men, who manage to stun Folgore in the 57th minute with the fourth goal of the evening from the rampant 2002-born forward. It’s 5-2: three goals’ difference, just like in the first leg. Extra time is needed, but it brings no further twists. So the verdict comes down to penalties. And this is where Lorenzo Cecchetti steps into the spotlight, saving Casali’s effort – the only miss out of ten attempts – and thus becoming the second hero of Juvenes-Dogana’s night after Cavalli. At that point, Juvenes-Dogana already knew who their opponents would be in the semi-final. In the opening match in Dogana, Murata had in fact protected – and ultimately stretched – the narrow advantage secured in the first leg. The 2-1 from the first 60 minutes demanded full concentration from the Bianconeri and, on the other side, kept La Fiorita’s hopes very much alive – hopes that flare up when Pellegrini puts Traviglia’s side ahead in the 12th minute. But Murata’s reply is lightning quick, with goalkeeper Protti getting on the scoresheet to restore parity and – on aggregate – preserve the +1 cushion. Between the 17th and 21st minutes Spada’s side even attempt a mini breakaway: Cesarini’s 2-1 and Moretti’s 3-1 are followed, however, by Matteo Chezzi’s reply before the interval. A 3-2 scoreline is not enough to set alarm bells ringing for the Montegiardino outfit, who in fact come flying out of the blocks at the restart and draw level again on 36 minutes through a Pellegrini penalty. The Gialloblù need one more goal to take the tie to extra time – provided they do not concede. Instead, it is Murata who rediscover their scoring touch: goals from Mattioli and Moretti (who, like Pellegrini, ends with a brace) seal a win that mirrors the first leg and brings Montegiardino’s run in the tournament to an end. Pennarossa and Virtus, in action in Fiorentino, also repeat themselves compared to what they did on 14 November, booking their places in the other semi-final bracket. Virtus even produce a perfect copy-and-paste of the first-leg scoreline: 5-0 against Cosmos back then, 5-0 again last night, with goals from Pasqualini and Morganti in the first half and from Tassitano, Pazzaglia and Di Maio after the break. The margin is narrower against San Giovanni, but it is still a win for Pennarossa. After the 5-1 in the first leg, comes a 3-2 in the return, opened by San Giovanni, who strike first on 8 minutes through Volpinari and, after the Biancorossi’s comeback entirely signed by Verri, get back on the scoresheet with Valentini, only for Giacobbi to reply almost immediately. This is the complete picture of the Titano Futsal Cup quarter-finals:

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