With one day to go, Lugano is among the teams mathematically certain to contest the penalty shootout for the title. By drawing with St. Gallen on Sunday, the HCLers have climbed to 49 in the standings and can no longer be joined by teams currently below the line.
FEW GASPS IN THE FIRST HALF
The first half of the match with St. Gallen did not offer much excitement. There was much play in the center of the field with several duels and a few mistakes. Agonism often prevailed over lucidity, and in the first half hour there were virtually no chances on either side. The game seemed to awaken in the last quarter of an hour. First with a Steffen feed on which Koutsias was anticipated a few meters from the goal. Later it was Bislimi who served the Greek forward who avoided an opponent but then hit Stanic's body with a shot that appeared to be a sure shot. On the continuation of the action Renato Steffen let off a bomb from the edge that ended up just wide. In the dying minutes it would be St. Gallen who could have gone through: an HCL indecision in the middle of the field gave way to Akolo who came into the box and tried to avoid Saipi. The goalkeeper got the better of him and saved the result.
LUGANO FORWARD
Although a draw was a result that might have suited the bianconeri, Mattia Croci-Torti did not seem to want to passively accommodate the inertia of the match. So at the beginning of the second half he removed a central defender (Hajdari) to insert a flank man like Cimignani. And the hosts' maneuvering immediately benefited. After a save by Zigi on Mai's header (corner) came the lead. Elaborate action on the right with Zanotti, Bislimi and then Steffen brushing a service on the second post that Marques header sent into the net.
EMOTIONS IN THE FINALE
The equalizer came just six minutes later. Geubbel settled a furious scrum in the HCL area with a low shot that went in just wide of the post. From this moment on, St. Gallen, which wanted the three points at all costs to still possibly play for access to the title round, pushed forward frantically. While Lugano with restarts could have struck. There was actually a one-timer by Steffen, served by Marques, that ended up on the bottom and an outside shot by Bislimi (pass from Steffen) that was parried. Saipi was good in the 89th minute to prevent Mambimbi from putting the guests ahead. Two minutes later a shot by Quintillà was printed on the crossbar. Then came the final whistle.
EASTER MONDAY IN LAUSANNE
The last games of the regular sesason are scheduled for Monday, April 21, at 4:30 p.m. Lugano will be on the scene in Lausanne.
TABLE: Lugano-San Gallo 1-1 (0-0)
NETWORKS: 58′ Maraques, 64′ Geubbels
AMMONITES: OKoroj, Görtler.
SPECTATORS: 4’777
LUGANO: Saipi, Zanotti (90′ Brault-Guillard), Papadopulos, Mai, Hajdari (46′ Cimignani), Marques, Grgic, Doumbia (68′ Macek), Steffen, Koutsias (68′ Vladi), Bislimi. Unavailable: Aliseda, Bottani, Belhadj, Mahou, Valenzuela.
ARBITRO: Stefan Hortisberger.
