Academia San Marino and Faetano shared the points in a 0-0 draw during the third round of the Italian Championship on Sunday. The match took place at the home ground of the hosts, with both sides unable to find a breakthrough despite what appeared to be an open contest. By then, each team had played three fixtures without registering a single victory.
There were no goals, no chances created, and no corners awarded to either side. The statistics told a flat story: possession split evenly at 50-50, while shots on target remained at zero for both teams. And here's the thing — when neither side can muster a corner, you know the game wasn't flowing in either direction.
The hosts came into this fixture sitting in 13th place with two points from two draws and a defeat, while Faetano occupied 14th position with just one point from a single draw. To be fair, neither side had shown much attacking intent in their previous outings. Academia San Marino had drawn 1-1 with La Fiorita 1967 before losing 2-0 to Fiorentino, while Faetano's recent results were even more concerning — defeats to Domagnano, Tre Fiori, and Juventus/Dogana.
We had backed the home side to win, offering 40 per cent confidence in a victory. The match went another way entirely, and it wasn't particularly surprising when you look at what came before. Neither team had managed to score in their last three competitive outings combined, and neither could find a way through the other on this occasion.
The result leaves both sides still searching for their first win of the campaign. Academia San Marino remain on two points, while Faetano stay on one. A fourth straight win was not on the cards for anyone, and that's probably the most honest way to put it.