A pointless debut in the 2026-27 Sammarinese Championship for San Marino Academy, beaten 2-0 by Fiorentino at the end of a match in which the blue-and-whites came away with far less than they deserved. What proved most costly were three shots off the woodwork and a penalty saved by Benedettini.
After an early chance for Vicente, it was the Academy who came close to taking the lead in the 12th minute through Grandoni, whose effort clipped the crossbar-post junction. The balance held until the 40th minute, when Azzurro latched onto a through ball and beat Cenci to make it 1-0.
Nicola Cancelli’s side raised their intensity after the break. A golden chance to equalise arrived almost immediately, in the 49th minute: a handball by Fedi Ajmi gave away a penalty, but Benedettini saved Nicola Molinari’s spot-kick. Three minutes later Canarezza crashed a long-range effort against the crossbar.
The Academy kept pushing forward and in the 69th minute the woodwork denied them once again: Pietro Renzi’s free-kick struck the crossbar. Yet right at the moment of greatest pressure from the blue-and-whites, Fiorentino struck. In the 81st minute, substitute Pintore, on for just a few minutes, capitalised on a deflection off Forcellini to beat Cenci and seal the 2-0 final score.
In the closing stages Delvecchio once again found Benedettini standing in his way. For the Under-22 side, it was a defeat filled with regret, above all for the numerous chances created but not converted.
