Matchday 11 of the Hoval Promotion League sees Lugano U21 take on their local rivals, Young Boys. At the end of the ninety minutes played at Bern’s vast Wankdorf Stadium, the three points went to Joël Magnin’s side, who secured a 3–2 (2–0) victory.
Forced to do without Lendrit Shala and Niccolò Puddu – called up by Kosovo U21 and Switzerland U19 respectively – as well as, in particular, Nicola Gamba, Jason Parente and Yassin Sbai, they took to the pitch with an even younger line-up than in recent matches – with 15-year-old Ian Tiraboschi making his debut for the bianconeri’s reserve side and immediately starting the match, whilst 18-year-old Dario Jagodić began on the bench – the Ticino side got off to an inauspicious start. This was because, as early as the sixth minute, following a swift and precise move that developed from winning the ball in their own half, the home side opened the scoring thanks to a fine backheel from Endrit Bejić, who skilfully caught the entire visiting defence off guard. Twelve minutes later, Diego Mina was on hand to deal with a diagonal shot from Daniel Mendes, who had outpaced Arbnor Gecaj and was looking to trouble the Ticino goalkeeper.
Andrea Vitali’s side came close to conceding again in the 20th minute, when Ebrima Colley’s shot was miraculously cleared off the line by captain Luca Molino. Whilst the home side were hitting the target with their efforts, the Lugano side – who were nevertheless trying to showcase their attacking prowess – struggled to trouble Ruben Salchli. In fact, quick-fire attempts by Ilija Maslarov and Yuri Peverelli went wide of the target, posing no threat to the yellow-and-black goalkeeper. At the other end, the duel between the scorer of the Confederation’s opening goal and Mina resumed. On this occasion, it was the latter who came out on top, skilfully anticipating the trajectory of the #22’s left-footed diagonal shot. The tricky afternoon in the capital continued, so much so that in the 41st minute, a lost ball on the halfway line allowed Colley – kept in play by Aleksandar Radić – to surge towards a second goal. The Gambian’s diagonal right-footed shot, aimed at the far top corner, sent the home fans into raptures for the second time just moments before referee Antoine Lehmann blew the whistle for half-time.
After returning from the changing rooms, the bianconeri coaching staff opted for a double substitution: Gecaj and Peverelli made way for Noah De Queiroz and Tobia Donnini. However, the difficulties encountered in the first half persisted. These could have allowed Young Boys to extend their lead to three in the 51st minute. Only the crossbar denied Bejić another personal goal. The striker, born in 2006, did not lose heart, however, and on the hour mark he sealed the victory, scoring the team’s third goal with a precise right-footed shot across goal from inside the penalty area.
With little hope of a comeback now, the visitors sought at least to see out the match by maintaining their concentration and avoiding further slip-ups. Mission accomplished. On the attacking front, the result was initially made a little sweeter by Besart Shabanaj’s low left-footed shot in the 76th minute. Then, the match took on a very interesting turn with Rafael Frizzi’s close-range header. The renewed enthusiasm treated both players and spectators to a thrilling finale. However, it did not end in what would have been an epic comeback.
Once the match was over, manager Andrea Vitali analysed the team’s second setback in their last three competitive matches as follows: ‘It wasn’t a good performance from us. The important thing now is to move on. I don’t know if it was a question of our approach. The fact is that the team was at the mercy of the opposition for the first sixty minutes of the match. Defensively, we were constantly struggling; in attack, we posed little threat. Then, it’s true, we had a good reaction, but it wasn’t enough. Ian Tiraboschi’s debut? It was positive, and I brought him on to see if he deserved it. He did. Looking ahead to our next fixtures, the lads need to focus more on the team as a whole than on their own personal situations. If this group works as a team, we can achieve some satisfying results. If, on the other hand, they focus on personal goals, that’s when problems can arise.”
With this away fixture behind them, Lugano U21 will return to play in front of their home crowd at the Centro Sportivo Al Maglio in Canobbio on Sunday 19 October 2025. Kick-off is at 15:00, when they’ll face Bavois from Vaud.
MATCH REPORT
Hoval Promotion League, Matchday
11 Stadion Wankdorf, Bern – 300 spectators
BSC YOUNG BOYS U21 – FC LUGANO U21 3:2 (2:0)
GOALS: 5′ Bejić 1:0, 41′ Colley 2:0, 61′ Bejić 3:0, 76′ Shabanaj 3:1, 80′ Frizzi 3:2.
BSC YOUNG BOYS U21 (4-2-3-1): Salchli; Jetzer, Rumo, Racević, Macumi; Tschanz, Kabeya; Mouta Borges (73′ Seyfu), Colley (86′ Ramadani), Mendes (86′ Bellino); Bejić (82′ Urbano).
Subs: Bregant, Gasche, Jelk.
Manager: Joël Magnin.
FC LUGANO U21 (3-4-2-1): Mina, Gecaj (46′ De Queiroz), Radić, Molino; Peverelli (46′ Donnini), Amirzade, Maslarov, Angstmann; Tiraboschi (67′ Shabanaj), Raffa; Piffero (55′ Frizzi).
Subs: Ndiaye, Jagodić.
Manager: Andrea Vitali.
REFEREE: Antoine Lehmann.
ASSISTANT REFEREES: Johann Bastian and Carmine Imbriaco.
BOOKED: 66′ Maslarov.