Facing Zurich, the defending champions, in the round of 16 of the AXA Women's Cup, FC Lugano Femminile fought hard until the very end against their higher-ranked opponents, ultimately exiting the competition with their heads held high.
The outcome of the match, and the subsequent advancement of the Ticino team to the third round of the knockout tournament, was decided by a brace from attacking midfielder Martina Ćavar, who scored in the 11th minute from the penalty spot and in the 31st minute with a thunderbolt from 25 metres into the top corner.
After beating two teams from the First League – Lucerne's second team and Bienne – the Bianconere bowed out to one of the powerhouses of Swiss women's football, who clearly deserved the win. However, it is the performance of the Ticino team that is extremely pleasing: a performance characterised by organisation and temperament, with everything that had been prepared during the week executed to perfection.
"We are very satisfied because the girls were present on the pitch for the entire duration of the match. We also gave the Zurich team a hard time, as we created two or three good chances, albeit not very clear ones. I saw a lot of spirit of sacrifice and a lot of tactical self-sacrifice. We did what we had to do, and we did it well. Of course, the defeat remains. But there are different ways of losing. On this occasion, and given the calibre of our opponents, we couldn't have done any better. What we saw was positive. On Saturday, we have another home game, for which we need to be well prepared. And I'm sure we will be, thanks in particular to the morale and physical condition of the team, which are remarkable," said coach Andrea Antonelli in his post-match analysis.
The next match for FC Lugano Femminile is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, 15 November 2025. On the home turf of Campo F at the Cornaredo Stadium, Eleonora Castellani and her teammates will face off against Küssnacht a/R from Schwyz.
MATCH REPORT
AXA Women's Cup, round of 16
Cornaredo Stadium, Campo F – 100 spectators
FC LUGANO FEMMINILE – FC ZÜRICH FRAUEN 0:2 (0:2)
GOALS: 11' Ćavar 0:1 (penalty), 31' Ćavar 0:2.
FC LUGANO FEMMINILE (5-3-2): Audrino; Castellani (84′ Bassi), Russo, Colombo, Zanaboni, Nascimento Sa (58′ Di Mauro); Crapanzano (75′ Unternährer), Di Muro, Albertini; Oliva (58′ Andreoli), Sasso.
Substitutes: Enning, Mochi, Gigante, Fera.
Coach: Andrea Antonelli.
FC ZÜRICH FRAUEN (3-4-1-2): Gmür; Mégroz, Tsawa, Eads; Blumenthal, Schuster, Bürge (46' Uetz), Vincze (81' Bücher); Ćavar; Kovacević (67' Stoob), Roduner (46' Dubs).
Substitutes: Deyss, Lysser, Mohammed, Marc, Taylor.
Coach: Renato Gligoroski.
REFEREE: Dario Minder.
ASSISTANTS: Elmedin Aliji and Pehlül Demir.
BOOKINGS: 80' Tsawa, 81' Dubs.