Following the 2-1 defeat after coming from behind against FC St. Gallen 1879, Mattia Croci-Torti analyses a match marked by key moments and decided by Zigi’s save from Alioski’s penalty in stoppage time. The bianconeri manager highlights his disappointment at the result, but also FC Lugano’s ability to stay in the game right up to the final moment.
THE PERFORMANCE
Croci-Torti’s first thoughts go to the team’s performance, which improved after a difficult start and saw them create several chances throughout the match. The bianconeri coach is left with the regret of not having managed to turn the performance into a positive result. “There’s a bit of everything after a defeat like this. There’s certainly no joy whatsoever; there’s frustration because we missed the penalty in the last minute. Sometimes you score them, sometimes you don’t. The important thing is that we fought until the very last second.”
Then, turning to the match itself, the manager highlighted the bianconeri’s improvement after the first half: “Apart from the first twenty minutes, which I didn’t like because St. Gallen came out with the kind of aggression that is their strength, we then took control of the game and, in my opinion, put in a good performance.”
THE KEY MOMENTS
In the second half, Lugano took the lead through Belhadj, before conceding the equaliser and then the winning goal from a penalty. Croci-Torti focuses firmly on the key moments of the second half, whilst stressing the need not to reduce the analysis of the defeat to a single situation: “We made several mistakes on the 1-1 goal, but you can’t go behind the way we did today. That’s a bit of a shame. I have my doubts about the penalty for Delcroix’s handball.”
THE EUROPEAN
RACE The result ends the bianconeri’s run of four consecutive wins and puts St. Gallen three points clear at the top of the table. Croci-Torti, however, sees the defeat as part of a still-open title race, with several teams involved in the battle for Europe and a number of head-to-head matches still to be played: “I wasn’t calm before the match and I’m not now. The four teams chasing European places have all been in the mix since February. No one has ever given up; we’re all there for a very specific reason.”
For the bianconeri coach, the response must come as early as the next fixture: “We all have head-to-head matches, so we need to win them, and we’ll certainly have to try to win on Thursday.”
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES
Among the positives of the day was Belhadj’s performance; he scored the opening goal and has been a key figure in this crucial final stretch of the season. Croci-Torti highlights his professionalism and contribution to the team, despite the fact that he will be leaving at the end of the season: ‘Lugano tried to keep him last summer, but he had other ideas. However, he is a player who, despite having a future elsewhere in a few months’ time, is helping us enormously at this stage of the season and is playing like a true professional.”
The bianconeri coach also reflects on the penalty taken by Alioski in stoppage time, which was saved by Zigi. A decision linked to the established pecking order, with Grgić no longer on the pitch in the closing stages: “The penalty takers are Grgić, Alioski and Koutsias. The pecking order is clear; we know who takes them. I don’t want any surprises with players who’ve never taken one before.” Croci-Torti also pointed out that, this season, only Grgić and Alioski have stepped up to take penalties.
His thoughts then turn to the next match, in which Lugano will have to do without Renato Steffen, who is suspended. Croci-Torti is already looking ahead to the away trip to Sion, aware of the need to find new solutions in attack: “We knew suspensions could happen. At least we have a midfield and a defence that are up to the task, so we’ll certainly come up with something up front. We’ll see who gives me the most confidence.”
The bianconeri’s campaign therefore resumes with Thursday’s away match against FC Sion, another direct clash in the final – and decisive – week of the 2025/26 season.