Valentine's Day afternoon turned out to be bittersweet for FC Lugano Femminile, who were forced to share the spoils with Oerlikon/Polizei after harbouring hopes of returning home with all three points.
Overall, the final score of 2-2 (1-0) was fair, especially given that in the first half, Chiara Audrino and her teammates were a far cry from the team that had impressed the previous week against Étoile Carouge. The Zurich side went into the break one goal ahead, thanks to a free kick from Manar Benslama. After returning from the changing rooms, the Ticino side reacted, first with Antonella Albertini equalising – responding to her Tigurina counterpart in kind – and then Mathilda Andreoli turning the result around. All this took place in the space of nine minutes, between the 62nd and 71st minutes. In the final minutes, a furious scramble in the Ticino area, in which goalkeeper Lucia Zuberbühler also took part, allowed the Swiss to seal the final 2-2 score with Eva Beck. The home side rejoiced at this last-gasp goal, leaving the Bianconere with much regret. However, given how the match had gone, the point is certainly to be welcomed.
Coach Andrea Antonelli analysed the afternoon on the banks of the Limmat as follows: "The first half was not played well. I pointed this out to the girls in the dressing room at half-time. I made myself heard because the team I saw was not the one I know. In the second half, however, the attitude was right, so much so that we came back and even turned the game around. Then, the set piece in the final minutes rewarded our opponents. Winterthur? It will be a very difficult game. If we face the red and whites as we did against Étoile Carouge, we can have our say. Otherwise, if we take to the pitch as we did initially against Oerlikon/Polizei, it will prove to be a very difficult match.
The point earned increases the Bianconere's overall tally for the season to 21 points. They have therefore consolidated their seventh place in the table. The next fixture is scheduled for Saturday 21 February 2026 at 18:30 against Winterthur. The match will take place at Campo F of the Cornaredo Stadium.
MATCH REPORT
Women's National League B, Matchday 17
Heerenschürli, Zürich.
FC OERLIKON/POLIZEI ZH - FC LUGANO FEMMINILE 2:2 (1:0)
GOALS: 44' Benslama 1:0, 62' Albertini 1:1, 71' Andreoli 1:2, 90' +3' Beck 2:2.
FC OERLIKON/POLIZEI ZH (4-5-1): Zuberbühler; Zumbühl (76' Beck), Zwimpfer, Tremml, Staub; S. Arpagaus, Benslama, F. Arpagaus, Pérez, Hurni; Erkol (76' Bras).
Substitutes: Funke, Egli, Andretta.
Coach: Marina Radulović.
FC LUGANO FEMMINILE (4-5-1): Audrino; Di Mauro (59' Castellani), Colombo, Zanaboni, Nascimento Sa; Oliva, Gigante, Crapanzano (90' +1' Aio), Albertini, Andreoli; Sasso (59' Di Muro).
Substitutes: Enning, Bassi, Russo, Boettger.
Coach: Andrea Antonelli.
REFEREE: Stefan Berner.
ASSISTANTS: Gavrila-Ioan Danci and Asmir Memić.
BOOKINGS: 67' Erkol, 83' Castellani, 85' Nascimento Sa, 88' Beck.