Sirotti Memorial: Petrelli responds to Shpendi. The stars of Cesena and Forlì are in fine form.

Forlì

1

Cesena

1

FORLÌ (4-3-3): Martelli; Farinelli (Valentini 39' st), Ercolani (Graziani 18' st), Menarini, Elia, Saporetti L. (Spinelli 45' st), Gaiola (Scorza 10' 1st), Rinaldini (Saporetti S. 1' st), Petrelli (Giovannini 22' st), Macrì, Coveri (Mandrelli 18' st). Coach: Miramari. Subs: Stella, Veliaj, Valentini, Manuzzi, Ghetti, Berti, Cappelli, Locatelli.

CESENA (3-5-2): Klinsmann (1st half Siano); Mangraviti (30th half Silvestri), Zaro (22nd half Piacentini), Ciofi; Adamo (22nd half Manetti), Calò (13th half Francesconi), Bisoli (30th half Zamagni), Berti (22nd half Bastoni), Celia (13th half David); Shpendi (30th half Galvagno), Blesa (1st half Tosku). Coach: Mignani. Subs: Guidi, Castorri, Fontana, Perini.

Referee: Gianquinto from Parma.

Goals: 31' pt Shpendi, 4' pt Petrelli.

FORLÌ

The heavy rain that fell in the hours before and during the match itself significantly dampened attendance at the Morgagni (the final attendance was around 600), with little more than a handful of fans on each side in the uncovered stands and everyone else in a covered grandstand that featured several empty seats at kick-off and slowly filled up after the match.

The Bianconeri lined up with their now-established 3-5-2 formation, with Shpendi and the curly-haired Blesa up front, while Forlì instead used their traditional 4-3-3. However, the Bianconeri lined up with several players who won't be wearing the Cavalluccio's jersey at the start of next season's Serie B, and it shows.

Despite a few flashes of brilliance in an overall enjoyable and well-played first half (a header from Bisoli hit the crossbar and another went wide), it was almost all a counterattack from a red and white corner, which set up Shpendi's lead: Zaro headed the cross into the box, Calò played a long ball to Blesa who raced to the byline, passing it into the center of the box for his twin brother to deflect into the net.

In the second half, Forlì equalized: Siano made two saves on Coveri before Petrelli tapped in to make it 1-1. A few minutes later, Simone Saporetti twice missed a chance to make it 2-1: first, stopping the ball and running out of time to shoot, then finding an alert Siano. Shortly thereafter, Siano stretched out again and made another great save on Saporetti.

In the whirlwind of substitutions in the second half, Forlì took advantage, almost pinning the Bianconeri back in their own half, who slowly faded away. The direct consequence was that Cesena went over half an hour without attacking, producing their first offensive move of the second half in the 81st minute. The final whistle left many doubts in the Bianconeri camp. And one certainty: that the transfer market is urgently needed. However, there were positive sentiments from Forlì.

Enrico Magnani