The week after suffering a setback whilst leading by two goals at the Wankdorf in Bern, Lugano U21 turned the situation around on home turf at the Centro Sportivo Al Maglio, beating the ever-tough and experienced Bavois.
This second win of the season – in which the injured Milad Amirzade and Jason Parente were unable to take part – also marks their second consecutive home victory. Curiously, just as happened against Lucerne U21, on this occasion too the young bianconeri secured all three points by staging a comeback against their opponents with grit, strength, determination and quality. The visitors got off to a flying start, dampening the home side’s enthusiasm. This was because, in the fifth minute, the first real attacking move resulted in the opening goal. The Lugano defence failed to control a ball that was passed between various players in the Valais side until it reached Luca Jaquenoud, who caught Ahmadou Ndiaye off guard with a precise right-footed shot at mid-height.
Without letting themselves be overwhelmed by the emotions of the moment, Nicola Gamba – once again wearing the captain’s armband today – and his team-mates kept their heads and began to attack in search of an equaliser. As a foreshadowing of what was to come later, there were attempts by Bryan Zurmühle (a left-footed shot over the bar) and Leon Rüeger (a right-footed effort ‘stifled’ from a promising position). After a shot by Tristan Díaz went wide, the aforementioned incident occurred. It’s the 18th minute and the same visiting player brings down Zurmühle inside the box, leaving referee Dario Minder with no choice but to award a penalty. Playmaker Christian Raffa stepped up to the spot, curling his shot past Maxime Brenet to put his name on the scoresheet.
However, the moment that really caught the eye of the large crowd at Canobbio came in the twenty-sixth minute. A very long throw-in from Rüeger on the left was won by Zurmühle. The striker sprinted with the ball at his feet, won a physical challenge and delivered a low, driven cross across goal to the far post, where Aaron Davis arrived like a bolt of lightning. The #17’s superb right-footed shot into the far top corner was a moment of magic that gave the home side a 2–1 lead. With their pride stung, the Swiss-French side went back on the attack and, through Jérémie Nzita Bengo, gave Ndiaye a scare, but he responded with class, parrying the ball away with his feet. In a high-intensity first half, it was a solo run by Nicolò Puddu that set the ball rolling for the series of moves leading to the bianconeri’s third goal. After winning a tackle in his own half, the playmaker cut inside, laid the ball off to Davis, who crossed for Andrea Riva. The centre-forward’s header was turned onto the crossbar, but Zurmühle was there like a hawk to tap in, scoring one of the simplest – yet crucial – goals of his still very young career.
Upon returning from the changing rooms, the visiting coaching staff opted for an immediate triple substitution to the line-up that had started the match. The aim – which was achieved – was to push the team’s centre of gravity significantly higher than in the first forty-five minutes. However, it wasn’t until just past the hour mark that a real chance materialised, when Ndiaye was once again decisive in denying the ‘usual’ Nzita Bengo from point-blank range. Bavois’ constant pressure forced the Ticino side to stop their opponents with tactical fouls, which resulted in four consecutive yellow cards (including one for the newly substituted Joakim Migliorati, a 17-year-old midfielder making his debut for the bianconeri’s reserve team). One of these was shown to Alessio Chiesa in the 83rd minute for a challenge deemed foul on Jessé Hautier. The referee did not hesitate for a moment and awarded the second penalty of the match, this time in favour of the visitors. From the penalty spot, the former Neuchâtel Xamax and Yverdon player stepped up, emulating Raffa and sending Ndiaye the wrong way, effectively bringing the match back to life.
Having subsequently thrown themselves forward in a desperate search for an equaliser, the Vaud side left the Lugano side with plenty of space on the counter-attack. But neither Rafael Frizzi (a weak, central right-footed effort) nor Puddu (a diagonal shot grazing the post) managed to add to the score. The score remained locked at 3–2, marking the young bianconeri’s second victory of the Hoval Promotion League season; they are set to face newly promoted Amical Saint-Prex away on Saturday 5 September 2026 at 17:00.
Ahead of the long journey to Vaud, manager Andrea Vitali analysed the performance in the highly satisfying ninety minutes played in front of their home crowd as follows: “The team is very young and often concedes goals shortly after kick-off. However, the lads played the game they needed to play; they never lost their composure. We’re delighted with these three points, not least because they were secured despite several players being out through injury. We hope they’ll recover soon, but I can only offer my congratulations to those who played today. In the second half, we perhaps should have created more chances. Clearly, we lacked the strength to do so. Nevertheless, we defended well and, having conceded so many goals at the start of the season, the determination not to let the ball hit the back of our net again makes me very happy. The fact that we only conceded a goal from a penalty is a good sign. In the end, I’m taking home the full three points and the joy of the lads, which gives us the morale to keep working.”
MATCH REPORT
Hoval Promotion League 2026–2027, Matchday 5
Al Maglio Sports Centre, Canobbio – 200 spectators
FC LUGANO U21 – FC BAVOIS 3–2 (3–1)
GOALS: 5’ Jaquenoud 0–1, 19’ Raffa 1–1 (penalty), 26’ Davis 2–1, 42’ Zurmühle 3–1, 84’ Hautier 3–2 (penalty).
FC LUGANO U21 (3-2-3-2): Ndiaye; Gamba, Krueziu, Radić (57’ Chiesa); Puddu, Gervasini (78’ Migliorati); Davis (57’ Molino), Raffa, Rüeger; Riva (67’ Tiraboschi), Zurmühle (67’ Frizzi).
Substitutes: Mina, Beggiato.
Manager: Andrea Vitali.
FC BAVOIS (4-3-3): Brenet; Nsakala, Díaz, Rodrigues, Jaquenoud; Fedele (75' Toumi), Moraga (46' Benelmir), Bega (46' Aguilar); Nzita Bengo (75’ Clément), Eleouet (46’ Trabelsi), Hautier.
Substitutes: Manière, Morelli.
Manager: Bekim Uka.
REFEREE: Dario Minder.
ASSISTANT REFEREES: Alper Keleş and Diego Solenthaler.
BOOKINGS: 18’ Díaz, 35’ Rodrigues, 59’ Zurmühle, 70’ Gamba, 73’ Puddu, 80’ Migliorati, 83’ Chiesa, 90’ +3’ Molino.
Men's U21August 29, 2026