Vicenza Women 2-2 San Marino Calcio Academy (w) — a night of swings, momentum and late drama at the Stadio Romeo Menti ended with the points shared, as Vicenza Women fought back from a second-half deficit to rescue a 2-2 draw in Italy's Serie B Women on Saturday, 3 October 2026. In front of an engaged home crowd under the Menti floodlights, the hosts twice had to respond to setbacks, and their 84th-minute equaliser ensured a match that had threatened to slip away finished level.

The result leaves both sides still searching for the consistency that turns promising performances into a run of results. For Vicenza, the comeback will be framed as a demonstration of character; for San Marino Calcio Academy, it will feel like two points dropped after a disciplined away display that had them ahead with less than ten minutes remaining.

Match overview

Vicenza Women started the brighter of the two teams, pressing high and forcing San Marino into a series of hurried clearances. The hosts' reward arrived inside the opening quarter of an hour, when a well-worked move down the right ended with a clipped cross that was headed firmly past the visiting goalkeeper. It was the kind of goal Vicenza's coaching staff have been demanding all season — patient build-up, a decisive delivery, and an aggressive run into the box.

San Marino Calcio Academy responded exactly as a well-drilled side should. Rather than chasing the game impulsively, the visitors settled into a compact 4-4-2 mid-block, slowed the tempo and began to win the ball in the middle third. Their equaliser came before the interval, finished calmly after a turnover deep in Vicenza territory, and it changed the mood of the contest entirely.

Both teams went in at the break level, but the second half belonged, for long spells, to the visitors.

Key moments

• 12' — Vicenza take the lead: A flowing move on the right flank produced a measured cross and a powerful header to make it 1-0 to the hosts, sparking the loudest celebration of the first half.
• 39' — San Marino level: A high press forced a loose pass in midfield, and the visitors moved the ball quickly through the lines before finishing low into the corner for 1-1.
• 63' — The visitors go ahead: San Marino's best passage of the game ended with a shot from the edge of the box that beat the Vicenza goalkeeper to make it 2-1, capping a spell of sustained pressure.
• 72' — Double change for Vicenza: Fresh legs on the flanks shifted the momentum, with the hosts suddenly able to stretch a tiring San Marino back line.
• 84' — The equaliser: Vicenza's persistence paid off when a half-cleared corner was returned with interest from distance, the ball finding the net through a crowded penalty area for 2-2.
• 90+3' — Late scare: San Marino won a free kick in a dangerous position in stoppage time, but the delivery was headed clear as the final whistle approached.

The tactical story

The match was a classic contest between a home side committed to proactive, front-foot football and an away team content to defend in numbers and strike in transition. Vicenza Women dominated possession for long stretches but struggled to break down a well-organised San Marino shape when their wide players were double-marked. Their first-half goal came from exactly the kind of wide overload they had been working on, but once San Marino adjusted their cover, the hosts' attacks became increasingly predictable.

San Marino's approach was intelligent rather than merely defensive. Their midfield pressed in coordinated bursts rather than continuously, conserving energy for the moments when Vicenza tried to play out from the back. That discipline produced the turnover and the equaliser, and it produced the platform for their second-half lead. Where they will be disappointed is in game management: after going 2-1 up, they dropped deeper and deeper, allowing Vicenza's full-backs to advance unchallenged and inviting the pressure that eventually told.

Vicenza's substitutions were the turning point. By introducing pace on both flanks, they forced San Marino's defence to defend one-on-one in wide areas, something the visitors had avoided comfortably for the first hour. The equalising goal, arriving from a corner that was only half-cleared, was a fitting reward for the sustained territorial pressure of the final twenty minutes.

Standout performers

Vicenza's captain led by example at the heart of defence, stepping into midfield to break up San Marino's counters and winning several important aerial duels. Her composure on the ball allowed the hosts to keep recycling possession even as frustration grew. In attack, the left winger introduced as a second-half substitute changed the game'