Preliminary Round: Libertas and Fiorentino on track, San Giovanni and Murata pegged back at the death

The first legs of the Preliminary Round go into the books with the ties still wide open in three cases out of four. The only side that seems to have done more than just lay a marker down for a place in the quarter-finals is Libertas: it is hard to imagine Domagnano overturning a 5-0 deficit, all the more so given that the Wolves should start the second leg with a six-goal advantage over the Granata thanks to their position in the regular season. Trying to turn it around is, of course, both right and necessary, but the scoreline from last night in Domagnano realistically already looks like a verdict. Libertas broke the deadlock on 33 minutes through Olcese and then ran away with it after the break, with goals from Giovagnoli and substitutes Aruci and Berretti. Fiorentino also take an important step towards the quarter-finals – albeit with a less reassuring cushion than Libertas – thanks to a 2-0 win over Folgore, sealed by Abouzziane – on target shortly before half-time – and Ben Kacem, whose 16th league goal closes the first-leg contest and seriously complicates the comeback plans of the Falciano side, even though the latter will have the benefit of the higher league position if the tie finishes perfectly level after 180 minutes. At Montecchio and Acquaviva, by contrast, draws leave both ties open to any outcome. Both 1-1 scorelines took shape in the final stages. In particular, Faetano used the very last second available to find the equaliser from a free-kick, courtesy of dead-ball specialist Palazzi. The referee blew for full time just as the side coached in absentia by the suspended Girolomoni were celebrating wildly around their playmaker. San Giovanni’s opener had also come from a set piece, right at the other end of the game: Magnani was cool and precise from the spot after Montebelli had earned a penalty on 6 minutes. Faetano were chasing the game throughout, struggling to find a way through the organised red-and-black ranks until the final segment of the match, which San Giovanni played a man down after Conti was shown two yellow cards in rapid succession between the 78th and 79th minutes. At that point Tognacci’s side – with their coach also suspended – dropped deep to protect the result but wobbled several times before conceding, deep into stoppage time, the free-kick that proved fatal and leaves everything to play for in the second leg. Pennarossa also salvaged, late on, a game in which they had been trailing. Murata took the lead on 65 minutes from the spot through Cangini. But Stefanelli’s turn and finish, two minutes from time, restored parity and leaves Pennarossa able to go through even with a draw in the return, just as in Faetano’s case. Here is the picture from the first legs of the Preliminary Round:

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PENNAROSSA Semprini, Mantovani (from 70' Halilaj), Martin, D. Conti (from 55' Raffelli), Maioli, Cola, Zago (from 84' Rastelli), A. Conti, Tiboni (from 84' Dema), Stefanelli, Michelotti Substitutes: Landi, Baldani, Sebastiani Coach: Andy Selva   MURATA Benedettini, Valentini, Genghini, Gori, Vitaioli, Carlini, Fall, Cangini, Toccaceli, Comuniello, Bruma (from 80' Bertozzi) Substitutes: Castelgrande, Pari, Babboni, Lelli Coach: Achille Fabbri   Referee: Emiliano Albani Assistants: Laurentiu Ilie, Andrea Zaghini Fourth official: Alessandro Vandi Booked: Valentini, Mantovani, Tiboni, Michelotti, Cangini, Semprini Scorers: 65' pen. Cangini, 84' Stefanelli  

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FAETANO Marino, Federico (from 57' De Buono), Fatica, Romagna, Tomassoni (from 81' Fall), Palazzi, Giardi, Pini, Tamburini (from 72' Soumah), Kalemi (from 57' Magno) Substitutes: Rossi, Barretta, Igbin Coach: Maurizio Gasperoni (standing in for suspended coach Danilo Girolomoni)   SAN GIOVANNI De Angelis, Senja, Angelini, Conti, Tasini, Lisi, Strologo, Magnani, Berardi, Ugolini (from 81' Paoloni), Montebelli (from 76' Satalino) Substitutes: Montagna, Grillo, Satalino, Perotto, Mema Coach: Massimo Dolcini (standing in for suspended coach Marco Tognacci)   Referee: Andrea Mei Assistants: Andrea Guidi, Andrea Depaoli Fourth official: Davide Borriello Booked: Federico, Kalemi, Angelini, Tasini, Conti, Magno Sent off: Conti (second yellow) Scorers: 7' pen. Magnani, 90+5' Palazzi  

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LIBERTAS Zavoli, Moretti, Barretta, Pesaresi, Nigretti (from 78' Morelli), Ruiz (from 78' Ndao), Patregnani, A. Gasperoni (from 67' Berretti), Giovagnoli (from 67' Cuomo), Olcese, Flores (from 56' Aruci) Substitutes: Gentilini, L. Gasperoni Coach: Gabriele Cardini   DOMAGNANO Colonna, Nanni, Mazzavillani, Morena (from 35' Parma), Olivieri (from 65' Averhoff), Grieco, Ceccaroli (from 46' Faetanini), Gaiani, Angelini, Bara, Brighi (from 87' Ricchi) Substitutes: Ermeti, Semproli, Fancellu Coach: Massimo Mancini   Referee: Raffaele Delvecchio Assistants: Ernesto Cristiano, Francesco Mineo Fourth official: Andrea Piccoli Booked: Brighi, Faetanini, Olivieri Scorers: 33' Olcese, 49' Flores, 53' Giovagnoli, 62' Aruci, 89' Berretti

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FOLGORE Mignani, Hirsch, Sottile, Piscaglia (from 75' Francioni), Bonini (from 46' Docente), Nucci, Golinucci, Pasini, Aluigi, Fedeli, Dormi Substitutes: Gueye, Sabbadini, Cerquetti Coach: Omar Lepri   FIORENTINO Bianchi, Bottoni, Baizan, Filippi, Arrigoni, Molinari (from 65' Calzolari), Colagiovanni, Michelotti (from 65' Mastrota), Castellazzi (from 89' Perlaza), Abouzziane (from 87' Zouhri), Ben Kacem Substitutes: Berardi, D'addario, Paglialonga Coach: Enrico Malandri   Referee: Giacomo Cenci Assistants: Salvatore Tuttifrutti, Fabrizio Morisco Fourth official: Outail Kaddoudi Booked: Baizan, Castellazzi, Mastrota, Fedeli, Francioni Scorers: 39' Abouzziane, 88' Ben Kacem

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