Rari Nantes Florentia: decisive challenge against Catania for salvation in A1

Rari Nantes Florentia in or out, the time for the verdict has arrived. Tonight starting at 18:XNUMX at the Nannini in Bellariva the last act of the playout takes place. The team of Luca Minetti faces in race 3 the Catania in a challenge without appeal, whoever wins is saved, whoever loses is relegated to A2. Game 1 had given us hope: the Florentines had won 13-9 with a good first quarter and a final fraction in the chair after having suffered in the other two; it therefore seemed that they could also make it in the return match, even though it was played away, on a fiery field like that of the home team. Instead, after a good start and a promising 0-2, they suffered a vehement comeback by the Catania team who only partially gave in in the fourth quarter when, however, it was already late and the game was over.

Now, after having reset everything, including the regular season at the end of which the Rare, eleventh, had distanced the opposing team, second to last, by a good 18 points, it is necessary to start from scratch by entering the pool with the right determination and that competitive spirit already demonstrated several times during this long season. Of course, it will not be an easy match, in which the fear of losing could prevail over the desire to win. After a championship spent in the rear, considered already done for for a long time, even the Sicilians will arrive with a knife between their teeth and will do everything to return home with the stamp of permanence in A1. Minetti preaches calm: it would be a mistake to get caught up in tension or nervousness that would cloud your ideas making everything much more difficult.

Therefore, a top team is needed, one that is lucid, patient and makes few mistakes, given that, in addition to itself, it also has the prestige of the red and white club to defend. As for the individuals, everyone will have to commit themselves beyond all limits: from the top scorer Stephen Sordini who always knows how to answer the call when needed, to the goalkeeper Massimiliano Cicali who on several occasions saved matches with his interventions.

Franco Morabito