FC Lugano are making the most of the international break to get some match practice under their belts with a high-level friendly. At the AIL Arena, behind closed doors, the bianconeri take on Hellas Verona, a historic Italian side that were relegated to Serie B at the end of last season after seven consecutive years in Serie A, but who still boast a strong squad.
Both teams go into the match with several players missing due to international commitments. Lugano are without Delcroix, Alioski, Moncada and Karimov, who have been called up by their respective national teams, whilst von Ballmoos, Steffen and Behrens are not in the squad. Verona have five players absent due to national team call-ups.
Mattia Croci-Torti initially lined up Lugano in a 3-4-2-1 formation: Gebhardt in goal; Papadopoulos, Kelvin and Bichsel in defence; Zanotti, Grgić, Kendouci and Marques in midfield; Beckham Castro and Dos Santos playing behind Ajeti.
The visitors got off to a good start, coming close to taking the lead through Le Borgne and De Battisti in the opening minutes. In the 12th minute, the bianconeri responded for the first time: Dos Santos broke into the box with a solo run and fired in a left-footed shot, only to be denied by Perilli.
Following an initial attempt by Mosquera in the 15th minute, it was the Colombian striker himself who put Verona ahead in the 19th minute: played in by a long ball from the goalkeeper, he won the duel with Kelvin, entered the box, rounded the onrushing Gebhardt and slotted the ball into the net.
Lugano found themselves behind but immediately showed they were still in the game, and two minutes later Ajeti found the net, cleverly tapping in a shot from Castro, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Then, in the 28th minute, Verona doubled their lead: Sezonienko found the net with a powerful long-range shot that gave Gebhardt no chance. Lugano were therefore two goals down. The pace of the match remained high throughout the first half, but neither side managed to find the net again, and they went into the break with the score at 0–2.
THE SECOND HALF
Croci-Torti made four changes at the start of the second half: Mai, Bislimi, Pihlström and Cimignani came on in place of Papadopoulos, Grgić, Marques and Zanotti. Lugano came out strongly and, after just thirty seconds, pulled one back: Ajeti played a through ball to Castro, whose run wrong-footed the opposition goalkeeper, allowing the bianconero striker’s shot to roll straight into the net.
In the 49th minute, the bianconeri came very close to equalising. Kendouci played a through ball to Dos Santos and the number 10 took aim with his left foot, striking the post squarely. This was Lugano’s best spell of the match; they seemed to have come back from the dressing room in better form and were putting Verona under pressure, coming close to equalising.
Verona, however, extended their lead again in the 56th minute: Gebhardt parried Harroui’s long-range effort, but Iannoni was first to the rebound and made it 1–3.
Shortly afterwards, the bianconeri tried their luck again through the newly introduced Pihlström, who immediately looked to threaten with a shot from the edge of the box that went just wide.
In the final half-hour, both teams continued to rotate their players, with several youngsters also getting a chance to play. Croci-Torti brought on Christian Raffa, Leon Gervasini and Kenan Jakupovic: for Gervasini and Jakupovic, this marked their first appearance for the first team, albeit in a friendly.
The score remained unchanged and the friendly ended 1–3. It was a useful 90 minutes to maintain match fitness during the international break and give playing time to various members of the squad and the youth team.
The next official fixture is scheduled for Saturday 10 October at 6.00 pm, when Luzern visit the AIL Arena for the Brack Super League.