Play-off fever hits San Marino

Rivals stutter
In Group A, second-placed Murata went through without kicking a ball following their 2-1 loss to leaders Tre Penne, as the teams directly below them failed to take maximum points from their remaining three games.

Advantage Pennarossa
At the start of April, S.S. Pennarossa were in possession of the third and final Group A qualifying berth, but after drawing 1-1 at home to strugglers SP Cailungo, they were joined on the same points by Tre Fiori who had won 2-0 at bottom club SP Cosmos. Pennarossa then appeared to reclaim pole position after coming from a goal down at Tre Fiori in their penultimate match to score twice in the last three minutes and seal victory.

Pennarossa plunder
But a 2-1 home defeat by Murata, coupled with Tre Fiori’s 3-1 victory against Cailungo ensured the latter progressed by virtue of their better head-to-head record, as Loris Martinini’s side's had won 3-1 at their rivals back in September.

Virtus fillip
Group B saw three teams battling for the final play-off spot after second-placed Domagnano went through with three draws being enough. GS Dogana's poor form continued in April with two points from a possible nine, resulting in a slide from third to fifth position. Their one defeat came against in-form Virtus, who claimed a 1-0 home victory courtesy of Evert Zavoli’s 69th-minute penalty. Tiziano Giacobbi’s men went on to win 2-0 at another play-off rival, SC Faetano, to steal in and take third place by four points.

Group B triumphant
The first round of the Championship play-offs got under way on Tuesday with Group A runners-up Murata losing 2-1 to Virtus, while Group B runners-up Domagnano prevailed 3-2 against Tre Fiori. As a result, first-round victors Virtus and Domagnano will now play group winners Libertas and Tre Penne in round two.

Play-off procedure
Meanwhile, the losers of round one play the second-round losers in the third round, while the winners of the second-round ties face each other to determine the first final berth. The second final position is decided between the loser of this match and the winner of the game between the round three winners.