San Marino narrowly beat Liechtenstein to record first victory in 20 years
Both teams would have felt an unusual sense of pressure heading into this contest, with both La Serenissima and the Blue-Reds earmarking this as a realistic opportunity to record a rare victory and end their combined winless run of 179 games.
San Marino could take some form of belief from the fact their only previous victory came in a friendly against Liechtenstein in 2004. Understandably, the two teams looked rather nervy in the opening exchanges, with both sides making simple mistakes and being guilty of forcing the play.
Shortly after the hosts had had their best spell of the first half, the visitors thought they had taken the lead on the half-hour mark when a ball over the top freed Ferhat Saglam down the right, and his first-time squared pass was directed home by Fabio Luque-Notaro. However, the offside flag came to San Marino’s rescue and the game remained goalless heading into half-time.
Luque Notaro may have thought he was about to find the net for a second time five minutes after the restart, but his close-range effort was blocked by the San Marino defence.
The game’s big moment then arrived two minutes later when Giacomo Benvenuti’s ball into the area was mis-headed by Sandro Wieser, and Sensoli stole in to divert the ball past Benjamin Buchel and make it 1-0, sparking wild scenes of celebration amongst his teammates and everyone in attendance.
Given the pressure they must have felt in the closing stages, San Marino did very well to keep the desperate Blue-Reds at bay, with the visitors failing to register a shot on target as Roberto Cevoli’s side moved to the lofty heights of top spot in Group D1 of the Nations League.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Nicko Sensoli (San Marino)