Titano Futsal Cup: Folgore book a place in the final, Fiorentino 2-0 up after first-leg derby

The much-anticipated final is taking shape and – at least for one half of the draw – is close to being a foregone conclusion. Folgore in fact swept aside Juvenes-Dogana 8-1 in the first leg of their Titano Futsal Cup semi-final, effectively putting one foot in the final. Last night, in the first of the two cup ties played in Fiorentino, Spada’s men approached the game in ideal fashion, producing a blistering start that brought them two goals inside the opening ten minutes. The deadlock was broken on 3 minutes by Matteo Chezzi, with captain Bernardi doubling the lead on 7 minutes and then making it 3-1 shortly before the interval. Juvenes-Dogana had temporarily halved the deficit through Lorenzo Bacciocchi. After the restart, the Giallorossoneri kept their foot firmly on the gas and were even more ruthless than in the first half, all but securing their place in the final thanks to two further strikes from Bernardi (completing his four-goal haul) and another from Chezzi, taking the scoreline to 6-1 on 36 minutes. In the closing stages, Iuliani and Chezzi again (a hat-trick for him) rubber-stamped the final 8-1 scoreline. By contrast, Fiorentino struck once in each half to claim the first-leg derby in the Titano Futsal Cup with two goals either side of half-time. The deadlock was finally broken in the second minute of first-half stoppage time, after Busignani had failed to convert a 10-metre free-kick on 30 minutes. The responsibility then fell, two minutes later and just before the change of ends, to Matteo Moretti – who this time made no mistake from the spot. At the start of the second half, Michelotti’s Rossoblù doubled their lead through a precise finish from Maiani, seeing out the 2-0 scoreline despite having to spend two minutes a man down after Moretti was sent off for a second yellow card. Tre Fiori’s power-play failed to produce a goal that would have added even more spice to the second leg, scheduled – like Juvenes-Dogana v Folgore – for Thursday 9 March. It is worth recalling that in the event of complete parity in goals scored and conceded at the end of the 60 minutes of regulation time in the second leg, the match will go to two additional extra-time periods of five minutes each, followed if necessary by a penalty shoot-out. Such an outcome looks almost out of reach for the return leg of the Serravalle derby, but is less unlikely in Fiorentino’s intra-town clash, which in this first act has showcased the solidity of the Rossoblù unit. Here is the semi-final schedule for the cup: Click here for the tournament bracket.

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