Montegiorgio-Vigor Senigallia: dreams fade, emotions remain

The last day of the Serie D championship takes place on this first Sunday in May. In some groups, the winners who will play in the third series next year are already known, in others the games are still open both at the front and at the back. In my personal case, I decided to follow Montegiorgio-Vigor Senigallia, spin-off in group F where the penultimate hosts, three points behind the Notaresco, are one step away from the abyss and hope to at least reach the play-off, while the guests second in ranking, after an excellent championship behind the leaders Pineto, they managed to reduce the gap from over ten to just two points, legitimizing dreams of promotion. Finally, the desire to discover Montegiorgio for the first time contributes, a small town of just six thousand five hundred inhabitants and its “Tamburrini” stadium, recently renovated and brought up to standard.

During the week, the Montegiorgio club, foreseeing an exodus from Senigallia, wanted to grant the guests the local grandstand, capable of eight hundred seats, leaving the away sector with two hundred seats to the home fans, which would not have satisfied Senigallia’s requests. At first, six hundred tickets were granted to the rossoblùs which were literally burned, then fortunately the two companies agreed and with the approval of the police headquarters (which by now evidently was at the top of the chain of command) another two hundred were granted. On the day of the match, the official data attest the total to seven hundred thirteen tickets, while also the away sector, this time occupied by the locals, is full in every order of seating.

My personal approach to this race this time is by car, also because Montegiorgio is really difficult to reach by public transport on Sunday. Despite the more than two hundred and fifty kilometers traveled, I arrive at lunchtime so as to be able to take a tour of the beautiful streets of the historic center, perched high up with the various monuments and buildings that open up to my view.

This time the tour doesn’t last long because the kick-off is coming soon and I want to see the “Tamburrini” up close and enjoy all the details. When I arrive, the traffic police are there to sort out the fan traffic and, even if there is a good hour to go, there are already many cars parked in the area. Having left mine too and having collected the accreditation, I find many guest supporters near the square who have arrived with cars and buses ready to enter, after an initial check. Really well organised, the ultras from Senigallia distribute plastic checkered red and blue flags at the entrance to be used in the upcoming initial choreography. For them it is a historic day and even if hopes are minimal, all of Senigallia believes in the miracle and in that Serie C that has been missing since the 1984-85 season. The fans all came in piecemeal and slowly the sector is filling up. Attached to the balcony is the historic banner “THE BOYS FROM THE NORTH”, the historic one from 1982, the year the group was founded which, amid more pain than joy, has since then followed the fortunes of Vigor which has sunk over the years to Promotion.

The hosts of Montegiorgio, whose team must necessarily win to hope to win at least the play-off for salvation, instead show up in a hundred simple fans. It’s a pity not to see the ultras group that was formed to follow the fate of the clubs anymore, also because they had made a good impression on me at their debut in the Italian Cup of the category in Bastia, where they showed off a respectable performance and then, let’s face it all , for a small town it’s always nice to be able to count on a group of guys who encourage the team. In any case, nothing remains of all this and not even knowing if it is actually a matter of dissolution or absence, I cannot add anything else except that those present do not cheer on the team but merely follow the match, even if the two celebrations are very decided.

On the opposite side, however, the Senigallian ultras cheered immediately, making the pre-match pleasant and interesting with the waving of flags and the group’s flag and several claps. Once the teams enter, their portion of the stadium is colored with a multitude of red and blue flags whose chromatic effect, strengthened by the flags, is perfect. In the first part of the match, the cheering is decidedly good and also the positioning of the two launchers, one in the center and one more secluded on the left side, is a good choice because it involves more fans and the result is at times amazing.

Everything seems to be going perfectly but Montegiorgio really doesn’t want to be a spectator so, after just ten minutes, they take the lead thanks to a penalty kick signed by De Angelis, who doesn’t however reduce the visiting fans to silence. Various smoke bombs are lit as the race progresses, flags are waved but above all there is an infinite number of clapping to accompany the choirs. Practically Vigor seems to be playing with one more man and a scene remains with me, a little curiosity, when during the match, in moments of greatest frustration, Montegiorgio starts to be insulted but a lancer with great respect puts an end to these spontaneous chants remembering which is also thanks to society agreeing to reverse sectors that they can be here in such large numbers. Of course he must have also thought about the collection but the gesture counts as much as this gesture of respect from the ultras who, however, will clearly never reach the same media clamor that the negative things get.

We go to the break with the vice leaders down by a goal but with the incitement of the ultras which remained constant for the entire duration of the first part of the match. When the teams enter the green rectangle again, the ultras start singing again with a good choral intensity and the players seem to understand the message, so much so that Senigallia, in the fifty-seventh minute, reaches a draw with Denis Pesaresi who literally blows up the sector , with the ultras lighting a red smoke bomb to color the grandstand even more. It doesn’t matter if Pineto is winning, everyone continues to incite their favorites on the field and the volume increases even more as the clapping is wasted, until the end, even if the hopes of a sensational comeback are slowly ending. Even the players seem to run out of steam and in fact Montegiorgio scores the winning goal, in full stoppage time, which marks the definitive end of the Senigallian dream.

At the triple whistle of the referee, with Pineto now promoted and despite the disappointment being great, the players who went under the sector cheered on anyway, some with tears in their eyes. Once the disappointment has passed, we all sing together to seal a season to be framed, also calculating that Vigor was making their debut in this Serie D championship. A championship in which the Senigallia fans improved from match to match, carving out a small space for themselves in a group where there were teams with emblazoned fans such as Fano, Sambenedettese, Chieti but also Termoli, Vastese and Avezzano.

The home players, on the other hand, await the news from the other fields with trepidation, where Notaresco comes out defeated from the home confrontation with Fano. So there are three teams in last place: Tolentino, Montegiorgio and Notaresco with thirty-one points. Tolentino is relegated due to the detached classification while Montegiorgio and Notaresco will compete in the safety play-off. Whoever wins will go to play the play out in Riano at Roma City’s home. Finally, Vigor Senigallia, classified in second place, will have the privilege of playing the playoffs at home, starting as early as next Sunday when they will host Cynthialbalonga. Sure, for what these playoffs are still worth…
Marco Gasparri