W3 Maccarese – SSA Rieti 12-05-2024 Play-off Promotion of Lazio Excellence Group A. Single match Neutral Field “Tre Fontane” in Rome
An entire championship was not enough to decide the winner of group A of the Lazio Excellence championship. It was an exciting championship, full of many surprises and with several teams taking turns in first place in a whirlwind of emotions difficult to find in the past. In the end W3 Maccarese and SSA Rieti finished the championship tied in first place with 76 points, just one point more than Montespaccato and then, slightly further behind, Pomezia.
Promotion is therefore decided in this interesting play-off which is played in Rome, in the renovated stadium Three Fountains and at the unusual time of 10:45. Despite the proximity, I try to arrive well in advance, so I can see the Rieti ultras arrive compactly with three buses plus many private cars. Once I set foot on the pitch, the peculiarities of the stadium and the fans, one in front of the other, immediately catch my eye. As for the stage of Three Fountains It’s truly been a lifetime since I set foot there, I’m not exaggerating if I say that at the time there were only raised steps and that was it, but now the changes are many and substantial: first of all the stands have all the seats and also in the central part the roofing of a grandstand was added, also creating the so-called VIP area with additional, more particular seats, after all, it is here that the Roma women’s team plays its home matches, both championship and cup, so this had an impact without doubt about the improvements.
The W3 Maccarese, heir of the very famous Giada Maccarese, has changed its name and club colors several times in recent years, while the SSA Rieti born just this year in Eccellenza and in which the ultras immediately identified themselves, is the union between Amatrice and New Rieti. Speaking of fans, the differences immediately catch the eye, with W3 Maccarese having an improvised fan base and this can already be seen from the material, all printed for the moment, in the midst of which stands a flag with the words OLD MACCARESE SPLITTS, but otherwise nothing else of note. On the opposite side, already from the arrangement in the stands you can see an ultras group, in this case the COMMANDO ULTRÀ RIETI which over the years has carved out its own small space in the vast national panorama. For this important meeting they are accompanied by friends from Civitavecchia (who display the historic banner BAD BOYS and a banner), those of Albalonga also present with the historic banner of the WARRIORS and finally the boys from Lodigiani, who stand out with a scarf and a red and white flag.
Already in the pre-match you can notice the difference, with the Rieti team clapping their hands across the entire sector, masterfully executed by those present, while the Bianconeri appear more scattered. With the entry of the teams onto the field, the W3 Maccarese fans will light a smoke bomb and wave various black and white flags, on the opposite side the Sabines display a large flag with the club colors and underneath the banner “DEFEND HISTORY” with the first colored letter red, the same one that all the amaranth and celestial people hope to conquer at the end of this difficult match.
In the first half both fans start well but in the long run, the Juventus fans, with all their good will, will begin to alternate long pauses with chants. The Rieti fans, however, will be something extraordinary, despite the almost summer heat. It is truly a pleasure to hear and see them at work in this first part of the race in which they never stop. Authors of many claps to accompany the choirs, they rely on the three banners for the color.
At the end of the first half the game broke the deadlock thanks to Di Giovanni, who momentarily gave W3 Maccarese the lead to the delight of their fans. In the second half, despite starting at a disadvantage, the Rieti ultras did not give up and actually relaunched, demonstrating a great spirit of sacrifice but above all unity. Regardless of the disadvantage and the heat, they intoned the chorus “we want to win”, which lasted for about twenty minutes or more, so much so that the people across the street, noticing this, will also try to sing some choruses, almost as if to somehow break the moment of greatest emphasis from the opponents.
Today, however, against the Sabines it would be difficult for any fan, in fact they continue to cheer carelessly and make a large number of claps. Not even the passage of minutes affected their performance in the slightest which, six minutes from the end, was rewarded by Sarritzu who found the right corner to pass the Juventus goalkeeper and made the amaranth-celeste fans rejoice. The last minutes, however, are the most thrilling ones, Rieti believes in victory and when there is one minute left until the ninetieth minute, they take the lead thanks to Andrea Fiscaletti’s header.
When we are only waiting for the end of the hostilities, this daring match sees, with fifteen seconds left until the end of the five added time, the unexpected equalizer of the W3 Maccarese which sends everything back to extra time, to the unbridled joy of the Juventus fans almost resigned to the defeat. The Sabine fans need some of the minutesextra-time before recovering from the shock of the draw just when everything seemed done; once this phase has been overcome, the encouragement resumes positively, while on the opposite side they continue to struggle.
On the pitch, however, the emotions never end: in the hundredth minute on the dot Rossi gives SSA Rieti the lead again, W3 Maccarese attacks with his head down, claims a penalty in the final minutes, but at the final whistle nothing changes and he can finally explode the joy of the Rieti players and fans for this return to Serie D, while Mr. Colantoni’s opponents will have to go through the play-offs, starting with the away match in Tuscany against Terranova Traiana. This however is another story, now there is only room for the joy of Rieti, with the players celebrating this much desired promotion under the ultras sector. The banner also appears in the stands WELCOME BACK SERIES D, the same one who appears on the pitch after a few minutes in the usual photos of the players. Even with the celebrations still underway, I am still forced to leave the stadium, also due to the extra time which prolonged the match considerably: at 3pm in the San Basilio district I have another match to follow and another story to tell, with the chants of the Rieti fans echoing in my head as I drive away in the car.
Marco Gasparri
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2024-05-17 12:52:29
#MaccareseRieti #championship #wasnt #minutes
