Tre Penne fly into the Conference League, Murata beaten in a spectacular final

A place in the UEFA Conference League is on the line in the final derby of the season in the Castello di Città. The winners are guaranteed a spot in the youngest of the European competitions, while the losers must hope La Fiorita slip up in the Titano Cup final in order to reach Europe through the back door. Tre Penne start cautiously with a compact line-up, allowing Murata’s passers to dictate play in the hope of exploiting the wide open spaces of the San Marino Stadium. The game plan has to be rewritten after just nine minutes for the defending champions, who are punished by an excellent move from Cunha, sharp in teeing up Echel’s lethal left foot – the Brazilian scoring from the edge of the box with a low drive at the near post. The match inevitably opens up and Tre Penne threaten just two minutes later, when Pieri appeals for a penalty after contact in the area: referee Beltrano waves play on. Murata are more incisive and force Migani into action on 21 minutes through Cunha. Tre Penne fans hold their breath on the counter down the Cicarelli-Affonso axis: Lombardi does brilliantly to win the one-on-one on the edge of the box. At the other end, a sloppy passage of play at the back from Murata forces Vasconcellos to take a booking that gifts Righini a free-kick from the D. The set-piece specialist goes for the goalkeeper’s side, with Benedettini watching the ball drift wide. The match turns on 34 minutes, when Murata are reduced to ten men. A huge lapse from the Bianconeri, who are caught on the break from their own corner. Santos then makes things worse, allowing the ball to bounce and giving Pieri the chance to outpace him in the sprint. At that point the full-back’s foul can only be punished with a straight red card. Five minutes later Tre Penne have the equaliser at Pieri’s feet, but the forward loses his composure at the crucial moment. An even better chance falls to Vandi on his right foot in the 44th minute: he finds himself clear after a ricochet but leans back too much and fires over from the heart of the area. After four minutes of stoppage time, Murata head into the break with the slenderest of leads. At the restart Ceci switches to a 4-2-4, introducing Dormi and Ceccaroli for Poggi and Battistini. Murata respond by withdrawing Echel and sending on Santana. Tre Penne need just over five minutes to draw level: from the second consecutive in-swinging corner delivered by Righini, Badalassi times his leap to perfection and powers home a header for his 29th goal of the league campaign. At this stage the defending champions are in the ascendancy, helped by their numerical advantage: Pieri is guilty of selfishness on 55 minutes, blazing over after a solo run. Just after the hour mark, Benedettini is decisive in turning away a thunderbolt from distance by Dormi. Yet Murata are anything but resigned to their fate: Cunha, moved to full-back after Santos’ dismissal, bursts forward and forces another save from Migani. From the rebound the same wide man works it back into the middle for Raul Ura, who shoots from point-blank range but is denied by the miraculous reflexes of Tre Penne goalkeeper Migani. In the closing stages of normal time the teams stretch out, adding to the spectacle. On 75 minutes Ceccaroli controls on the edge of the box from a corner and curls just past the far top corner. Chances at both ends around the 85th minute: first a superb stop from Benedettini, who sticks out a trailing arm to keep out Dormi’s curling left-footer. Then, on the counter, the Peters-Ura combination sets the latter free for a solo move that ends with a right-foot effort from the edge of the box which misses the target by inches. In the first minute of added time Ceccaroli tests Benedettini’s reactions, the keeper quick off his line to smother at the feet of Pieri – picked out by the tireless Dormi. It is the final incident before Beltrano’s second whistle: to decide the BKN301 Campionato Sammarinese play-off final, extra time is required. Murata start the extra period better, freeing up Ura for a right-foot effort from the edge of the box. But it is Tre Penne who carve out the first clear opportunity to score: Ceccaroli meets Vandi’s cross perfectly, but his header drops just over the angle of post and bar. The San Marino winger is in the thick of it again on 101 minutes when, supplied by Dormi, he sells a dummy to an opponent and bears down on Benedettini, who is monumental in attacking the ball and turning it behind for a corner. And it is from the ensuing, hotly disputed corner that Tre Penne complete the comeback: once again it is Badalassi at the near post, this time on the end of a Scarponi delivery, nodding home a carbon-copy goal that puts the reigning champions within touching distance of the next Conference League. Murata are on the ropes, a goal and a man down. Coach Angelini plays his last card in Cecconi for the final quarter of an hour. Meanwhile, Benedettini denies Dormi the knockout blow, moments before Scarponi – already on a booking – commits a tactical foul in the opposition half and is sent off, unintentionally restoring numerical parity. Murata need just one ball to level the scores: from a Cicarelli free-kick it is Cecconi who pounces amidst a pinball in the Tre Penne box and stabs home for 2-2. It is not, however, the final twist, because in the 120th minute Ceccaroli swings in a cross and Pieri rises to head in for the decisive 3-2, sending Stefano Ceci’s side – in his final match in the biancazzurri dugout – into the 2024-25 UEFA Conference League qualifying rounds.  

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BKN301 Campionato Sammarinese 2023-24, Play-off Final | Murata-Tre Penne 1-1 (2-3 a.e.t.) MURATA Benedettini; Giaretta (from 105' Toccaceli), Vasconcellos, Petillo, Santos; Cicarelli, Peters (from 105' Grieco), Gaiani (from 106' Cecconi); Echel (from 46' Santana), Cunha, Affonso (from 52' Ura) Substitutes: Gueye, Vitaioli, Gjorretaj, Rastelli   TRE PENNE Migani; Nigretti, Lombardi, Rosini, Poggi (from 46' Dormi), Vandi; Battistini (from 46' Ceccaroli), Righini (from 75' L. Gasperoni), Scarponi, Pieri; Badalassi Substitutes: Zeka, Magrotti, Giovagnoli, Cecchetti, Zafferani, A. Gasperoni Coach: Stefano Ceci   Referee: Michele Beltrano Assistants: Francesco Lunardon and Alfonso Gallo Fourth official: Raffaele Delvecchio Scorers: 9' Echel, 51', 104' Badalassi, 118' Cecconi, 120' Pieri Booked: Vasconcellos, Scarponi, Nigretti, L. Gasperoni, Giaretta, Pieri Sent off: Santos, Scarponi (second yellow), Lombardi

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