Lugano U21 opens the new calendar year, paying a visit to Kriens for the recovery of day number 18, postponed last November due to heavy snowfall that made the Kleinfeld ground impassable. At the final triple whistle of referee Luca Schelbli, the two teams split the stakes following the 2-2 (0-0) result.
STARTING 4-4-2 AND RHOMBUS IN MIDFIELD
Compared to the last two outings in 2024, in which he had to give up Boris Babić due to injury, coach Sergio Zanetti finds the best scorer of the group again, proposing Giovanni D'Agostino alongside him. For the rest, the starting eleven sees the return of Fotis Pseftis in goal and a rhombus in the median area of the field with captain Andrea Maccoppi to joust in the role of director and Yannis Ryter as the most advanced vertex supporting the two forwards. In place of the injured Dion Dermaku moves back to the center of defense Arbnor Gecaj, leaving the left flank to Besart Shabanaj.
EXCELLENT START, NO PRIZE
Officially back on the pitch after a 71-day winter break, Lugano began to put pressure on a team ambitious for promotion and intent on climbing the rankings and grabbing first place. The eight first-half corner kicks and as many attempted shots (although none framed the goal mirror) certify a certain dominance on the part of the guests. Such maneuvering is not rewarded by the goal of the lead, and so at the double whistle of the match director the result is not budged from the zero-zero start.
"BUMP AND GRIND" AFTER TEA
The fifteen-minute break seems to have allowed the two formations to "correct" their aim. Not even a lap of the needle elapses and D'Agostino makes the guests rejoice with an action similar to the one that led Moise Kean to overtake Yann Sommer in Fiorentina-Inter during the week (backward pass by a defender and the astute center forward reading the intentions and venturing onto the stray ball). The Swiss-centers' response was immediate and led to the equalizer thanks to Stiljan Gegaj, who was good at getting himself at the second post on a cross from the right and taking advantage of a teammate's veil.
THE PAW AND THE MOCKERY IN THE RECOVERIES
Continuing to offer the usual maneuvering, thinking only of their own qualities and characteristics, the Ticinese tried to put their definitive signature on the first of the many finals that await them until the conclusion of May, finding the goal of the new advantage with Ryter when there were six minutes left on the clock until the end of regulation time. The trequartista from the school-Basel school recovers the ball from a free kick in favor of the green-and-whites, sets off quickly for Diego Heller, combines with Babić and scores. The mockery to a valiant performance comes on the penultimate play of the match. Defining the winning of a point each is Lukas Riedmann's seal following a throw deep behind the centerbacks.
THE NUMBERS OF THE COMPARISON
The duel aired on the shores of Lake Lucerne turns out to be substantially balanced overall. The data collected at the end of the match tell of a ball possession slightly in favor of the hosts (54% versus 46% after the partial 47% versus 53% of the first forty-five minutes). As for conclusions, 14 were recorded each, with Kriens more accurate by two units (6 to 4). Finally, the corner kicks conquered smiled (but only from a numerical point of view) on the undercenians (11 as opposed to the 7 taken by the confederates).
STILL ON THE ROAD
Filed with this first fixture of the new calendar year, the young HCL group is awaiting a new trip Beyond Gotthard. On Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025, with kickoff at 4 p.m., Lendrit Shala and his teammates will challenge under the vaults of the Stadion Esp the Aargavians of Baden, who are hooked in the standings with 17 points.
COACH ZANETTI'S ANALYSIS: "THERE IS SOME REGRET, BUT THE TEAM IS ALIVE"
"It was a real game that you expect to be able to give your best. Kriens had the ambition to climb the standings and move up to the first position. For our part, we played our game, as happens on every occasion. The regret is for the goal conceded in the last minute. However, the team was always alive and present with personality. This aspect can only make me happy. We knew that this was the first of many finals. Beyond the disappointment of not getting the full post, the important thing was to show that we could play it head-to-head against the leader".
SC KRIENS-FC LUGANO U21 2-2 (0-0)
Sportanlage Kleinfeld.
Networks: 46′ D'Agostino 0-1, 48′ Gegaj 1-1, 84′ Ryter 1-2, 90′ +4′ Riedmann 2-2.
Admonished: 22′ Kadima, 59′ Schwegler, 63′ Pseftis.
SC Kriens: Heller; Hermann, Harperink, Aversa (88′ Caserta), Heiniger; Siegrist, Kadima (64′ Rüedi), Schwegler, Gegaj (88′ Riedmann); Ris (60′ Hoxha), Ukmata (60′ Slišković). Coach: Frontino.
FC Lugano U21: Pseftis; Plisko, Shala, Gecaj, Shabanaj; Maccoppi, Amirzade (90′ +2′ Ronchetti), Morandi (60′ Sbai), Ryter (86′ Piffero); D'Agostino (60′ Spinelli), Babić. Coach: Zanetti.
Referee: Schelbli. Assistants: Schenk and Tringaniello.
