Tre Fiori and La Fiorita, both involved in midweek Sammarinese Supercup duty, closed out matchday one of the 2026-27 Sammarinese Championship by taking on Pennarossa and Virtus respectively in the two Sunday late kick-offs.
At the Acquaviva stadium, Oscar Muratori officially made his bow on the Virtus bench, taking over from Luigi Bizzotto with a squad that has been heavily overhauled compared to the group of players who delighted the black-and-green faithful over the past three seasons. There were new faces on the opposite side too, with Ceci handing a starting berth to Serges — sharp at picking out the run of winger Bonetti — though last season’s top scorer couldn’t quite organise a shot, shepherded by De Lucia and shut down by a timely rush from Guddo. Virtus replied through Piscitella, who combined down the flank with Buonocunto before cutting inside onto his right foot in the box, only for the effort to be providentially blocked by captain Barretta. Past the half-hour mark, Virtus carved out two promising chances: the first, born from a transition out of their own box, saw Lahrach whip in a low cross for Golinucci and Piscitella, who got in each other’s way and squandered what amounted to a moving penalty. Shortly after, on the same right-hand side, Lisanti cut inside onto his left to shoot for the far post, where Zavoli parried. Blanco pounced on the loose ball, but his strike crashed straight into Barretta. Virtus were the more convincing side, but Muratori’s men were let down by a lack of cutting edge — a failing not even Buonocunto escaped, firing wide from the heart of the box in the 44th minute. The start of the second half followed much the same pattern as the first, with Lahrach coming close on a Piscitella cross. La Fiorita threatened on the break in the 57th minute, when Berardi — after a nimble dribble on the edge of the area — struck his left-footed effort straight at De Lucia, failing to make the most of a three-on-two. Virtus went close again around the hour mark, working a throw-in to find Piscitella in the middle of the box; after failing to connect with a first-time volley, he tried to flick it home but sent it wide. Subsequent attempts from Lisanti and Enchisi caused no real alarm for either goalkeeper. Far more dangerous was the 78th-minute chance that fell to Piscitella from inside the box: Zavoli was quick to dive to his left, tipping away what could have been the black-and-green breakthrough from the corner of the net. It proved to be the last genuine chance of the match, aside from harmless efforts from Semprini and Paramatti in and beyond the 90th minute. Virtus and La Fiorita produced the round’s first goalless draw.
The story was very different in Montecchio, where Tre Fiori began the defence of their title against Pennarossa. There was an early exchange between the two number tens: Benedettini clipped the crossbar after just four seconds, while Gjonaj shot straight at Nardi from a tight angle. Soon after, both Prandelli, from a set piece, and Mema, with his left foot, had efforts of their own — but the two strikers, rivals now after sharing a dressing room in yellow-and-blue last season, failed to trouble either goalkeeper. Mengucci’s incisive run was more dangerous, releasing Bernardi in the box, though the striker’s effort cannoned off a defender before Pennarossa’s back line could clear their lines. Around the 20th minute the attacking talismans resurfaced: Prandelli couldn’t find the target with a header, while Mema forced Nardi into action with a powerful low drive. Something extra was needed to break the deadlock, and Prandelli and Belward duly obliged with two moments of quality within a 200-second span that nonetheless left the scoreline unchanged. Tre Fiori broke the deadlock through a free kick curled into the top corner by their captain, while the winger signed from Fiorentino found the far post with a curling left-footed effort — set up by a wide-angled outside-of-the-foot pass from Gjonaj. The balance held for less than three minutes into the second half, just long enough for Sami to send D’addario away down the flank; his perfectly weighted low cross rewarded Prandelli’s run into the box, and he beat Manzaroli again, this time after a collision with the white-and-red goalkeeper. This time Girolomoni’s side gave their opponents no way back, going 3-1 up in the 58th minute: Benedettini pounced on a loose ball and slotted it into the bottom corner to open his account for the season, then doubled his tally in the 71st minute when the midfielder made it four for the yellow-and-blues, dusting the top corner from 20 metres to catch Manzaroli by surprise. With nothing left to lose in the closing stages, Costantini’s side pushed forward and threatened through a Marco Evaristi free kick and a driving run through the middle from Calderone, who was denied at the last by a phenomenal recovery tackle from Rea. It was that same Calderone, a fresh substitute, who kept alive hopes of an improbable comeback, tucking away the ball for 2-4 after an unstoppable run from Abouzziane. Any excitement was quickly snuffed out by Ben Kacem with a goal of the highest quality. Receiving the ball near the byline with his marker at his back, the returning former player turned onto his left foot to send in a shot with a trajectory that was hard to even imagine. It was a goal to be applauded, from Girolomoni’s new forward, sealing the win on the opening day for reigning champions Tre Fiori.
