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Annamaria Serturini and Agnese Bonfantini provided the goals at Stadio Tre Fontane, as Betty Bavagnoli's side just about made their superiority count against a dogged and disciplined opponent.
The side have now won five straight league games at home in the league.
"We could have wrapped things up sooner, but the main thing at home is to win and we did that," Bonfantini said afterwards.
"In the last few minutes we had to deal with a few attacks but in the end it all worked out for the best. Now we need to recharge our batteries over the international break."
It was Serturini who made the decisive intervention of the match, as she latched onto Lindsey Thomas's smart cross to tap home her eighth league goal of the season.
That strike seemed to relax the Giallorosse, who dominated possession for large parts of the contest but never found it straightforward to create clear-cut opportunities.
With the scoreline remaining 1-0 going into injury-time at the end of the second half, San Marino saw a glimmer of hope for an unlikely point. However, as they pushed harder for an equaliser they left themselves wide open at the back - and substitute Bonfantini took full advantage to slide home the clincher.
"It's a crucial win," Bavagnoli said.
"We knew that we were going to face a determined side, with two lines that would be hard to break down. We needed to be smart and wait for the right moments to attack the gaps with our forwards.
"I liked the way we managed to hold on at the end - that's a good sign for the future too."
See more photos from the game in our gallery below!
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