On matchday nine of the Hoval Promotion League, Lugano U21 suffered a narrow defeat at the hands of a solid Cham side, who secured a 0–1 (0–0) victory at the Centro Sportivo Al Maglio in Canobbio.
For this match, manager Andrea Vitali was forced to do without several players, from the suspended Aleksandar Radić to the injured Luca Molino and Jason Parente, as well as Aaron Davis, Leon Gervasini and Ian Tiraboschi, who had been called up by their respective Swiss youth national teams (the U18s for the former, the U17s for the latter two). Consequently, at the last minute, the squad welcomed Abdullah Alsheikh, a centre-back born in 2008 who normally plays for the U19s and who put in a solid, high-quality performance on his debut for the U21s. In addition, Yassine Ourais was given the chance to showcase his qualities, starting once again after having done so last week in Schaffhausen. Furthermore, playmaker Milad Amirzade returned to the squad for the final push.
The pattern of the match was clear from the very start: the Zug side, very solid both physically and technically, looked to find openings through possession, whilst the Ticino side defended in an organised manner without allowing their opponents the necessary space to manoeuvre in the danger zone. We had to wait until the fourth minute for the first save of the match, when Diego Mina dived low to block a venomous right-footed shot from Matteo Pasquarelli. The home side’s response came in the twelfth minute. Leon Rüeger played a through ball for Bryan Zurmühle, who was only prevented from shooting on goal by the timing of Diego Heller, who came off his line perfectly to anticipate the centre-forward’s run. The next chance also fell to the home side, created thanks to some excellent work from Ourais, who played an inviting ball to Christian Raffa – who is looking increasingly at home in his role as the team’s attacking leader. However, the left-footed playmaker’s shot was straight down the middle and easily saved by the visiting goalkeeper.
Pascal Nussbaumer’s men then came close to opening the scoring. A costly clearance error by Rron Krueziu sparked a dangerous move that ended with Marin Wiskemann’s header going wide by just a few centimetres. From that moment on, and right up until referee Loric Duc blew the whistle for half-time, all the chances fell to the Swiss side. From a long-range right-footed shot by Sven Haag, which gave Mina a scare, and a goal by Wiskemann ruled out for offside just before the half-hour mark, the action moved on to a header blocked by Leon Rüeger, an excellent save by Mina from Jorge Facal Castro, a diagonal shot by Wiskemann that missed the target, and another superb save by Lugano’s No. 12 from Haag’s thunderbolt from the edge of the box. The first forty-five minutes ended like this, with no goals for either side.
Whilst the same twenty-two players who started the match returned from the changing rooms, the opening quarter of an hour of the second half saw a much more evenly matched contest. Then, just past the hour mark, Rüeger let his direct opponent get away, allowing an assist for Facal Castro who, completely unmarked, was able to control the ball, turn inside the box and elegantly slot the ball into the far top corner, literally shaking the cobwebs off the ‘7’.
At this point, the Swiss-German side’s aim was to control the game. The home side, on the other hand, were throwing themselves forward in search of an equaliser. They fell just short of achieving it. In the 76th minute, Andrea Riva tenaciously wins the ball back in a tackle, immediately playing it to the newly substituted Rafael Frizzi. The striker dribbles past Heller on the edge of the box but, with the goal practically unguarded, misses the target, sending the ball wide of the post. The despair at the missed opportunity – the last of the match for the bianconeri – is palpable.
Despite the defeat – which was kept to a narrow margin thanks in part to yet another superb save by Mina from Marvin Bieri in the 88th minute – the lads put in a valiant performance. This is particularly impressive given the increasingly young average age of the Lugano U21 side taking to the pitch, which remains in 15th place in the table on 9 points. The next fixture, eagerly anticipated throughout the city, is the derby against Paradiso, scheduled to take place at Campo Pian Scairolo from 4.00 pm on Saturday 3 October 2026.
In the meantime, and as has become customary in post-match comments, it is the turn of Andrea Vitali, the manager of the very young bianconeri squad, to comment on what he observed on the home pitch: “I’d like to congratulate my lads, because they were brilliant. It’s a shame, as we deserved to take a point home. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage it. The low centre of gravity? We’re missing ten players. And ten players make a team. We drew on the U19 squad, whose players were exceptional. Clearly, we couldn’t go into the match head-on. We prepared for the match, waiting for them in ‘zone two’ so we could break forward and finish the game with courage. We didn’t manage to secure the result, but the squad approached the match in the best possible way. Abdullah Alsheikh? It was a last-minute decision. I’m delighted he was able to give himself that satisfaction. Paradiso? The lads who played today have shown they can handle a match like the derby. It’ll be a very tough contest from a competitive point of view. They’re very well-organised and highly competitive. We have our own path to follow, facing difficulties but putting in positive performances. So, heads held high and let’s keep going.”
MATCH REPORT
Hoval Promotion League 2026–2027, Matchday 9
Al Maglio Sports Centre, Canobbio – 300 spectators
FC LUGANO U21 – SC CHAM 0–1 (0–0)
GOALSCORER: 60’ Facal Castro 0–1.
FC LUGANO U21 (3-2-4-1): Mina; Gamba, Krueziu, Alsheikh; Migliorati (84’ Amirzade), Ajdin; Riva, Raffa, Ourais (71’ Frizzi), Rüeger; Zurmühle.
Substitutes: Ndiaye, Schipani, Beggiato, Donnini, Montorfano.
Manager: Andrea Vitali.
SC CHAM (4-4-2): Heller; Heuberger (71’ Vögele), Bühler, Niederhauser, Haag; De Oliveira (71’ Flühmann), Hegglin, Bajrić, Facal Castro (82’ Bitjél); Wiskemann (58’ Kamberi), Pasquarelli (58’ Bieri).
Substitutes: Zaugg, Andersen.
Manager: Pascal Nussbaumer.
REFEREE: Loric Duc.
ASSISTANT REFEREES: Vincent Roggli and Sandro Palma.
BOOKINGS: 54' Heuberger, 74' Haag, 80' Zurmühle, 83' Krueziu, 83' Flühmann, 85' Hegglin.