As part of the 29th matchday of the Hoval Promotion League – the fifth-last of this long season – Lugano U21 take on Bavois at the ‘Les Peupliers’ ground. At the final whistle, victory goes to the team from Vaud, who ran out 4–1 (3–1) winners.
For the occasion, manager Andrea Vitali makes a few changes to the starting eleven. Due to various injuries affecting several players in the squad, Ilias Chakor, Besart Shabanaj and David Piffero, among others, started the match.
Following the disappointing result six days earlier at home against their local rivals Young Boys, the bianconeri endured a nightmare start to the match under the Vaudois sun. Barely thirty-three seconds had passed when a harmless long ball was misjudged by Rron Krueziu; his weak pass to Diego Mina was intercepted by the onrushing Filipe Figueiredo, who beat the goalkeeper to the ball, opening the scoring almost without really meaning to.
The second goal, scored by Idriz Bega twenty minutes later, stemmed from a failed tackle in midfield by Ilija Maslarov, which allowed Adrian Álvarez to break into the attacking third and attempt a shot that was just flicked on by Ayoub Ouhafsa for the home winger to tap in. The visitors struggled to get into the game, and David Piffero’s double attempt – which, however, did not trouble Maxime Brenet – seemed to signal a swift comeback. This indeed materialised shortly after the half-hour mark, when Jason Parente won the ball back and, with the opposing goalkeeper’s unwitting assistance, brought the game back to life. The third goal scored by Adrian Álvarez at the end of the very next move was a heavy blow for the Ticino side, who went into the break two goals down, largely thanks to a series of decisive saves by Mina.
In a second half in which nine of the ten substitutions permitted by the rules were made, the French-Swiss side, buoyed by the lead built up in the first forty-five minutes, controlled the game without much trouble. The bianconeri tried to get back into the game, but were constantly thwarted by the Vaudois defence. In the closing stages, the fourth goal was scored by the newly introduced Logan Clément with a precise curling left-footed shot into the far corner. The second setback thus became a reality when referee Clovis Aebi blew the final whistle.
Due to this second consecutive setback, Lugano U21 remain in twelfth place in the table, stuck on 33 points. The next official fixture will take place at the Tissot Arena, kicking off at 17:30 on Saturday 2 May 2026.
At the end of the match in Bavois, manager Andrea Vitali analysed his players’ performance as follows: “It was a match that started badly. We tried to get back into it, but couldn’t. We’re struggling a lot in defence and we need to find a way to make fewer mistakes. Only then will we be a bit better. The string of individual errors? It’s difficult to find a definitive solution; the lads are aware that they need to make one last effort. Bienne? It’ll be a decidedly tricky challenge. At the moment, we’re paying the price for the many injuries and key absences. The matches, however, must be played. And we’ll prepare as best we can for the one at the Tissot Arena – which, like all matches, starts at 0-0 – ready to face them and give the Biancorossi a run for their money. Then, as always, we’ll see what happens.”
MATCH REPORT
Hoval Promotion League, Matchday 29
Terrains Les Peupliers, Bavois – 113 spectators
FC BAVOIS – FC LUGANO U21 4–1 (3–1)
GOALS: 1’ Figueiredo 1–0, 21’ Bega 2–0, 31’ Parente 2–1, 32’ Álvarez 3–1, 79’ Clément 4–1.
FC BAVOIS (4–3–3): Brenet; Diallo, Amedoski, Rodrigues, Guignard; Ribeiro (82' Risse), Fedele (73' Zock), Bega; Álvarez (82' Morelli), Ouhafsa (73' Clément), Figueiredo (73' Ivanov).
Substitutes: Manière, Alonzo.
Manager: Bekim Uka.
FC LUGANO U21 (3-4-2-1): Mina; Chakor, Krueziu, Chiesa; Peverelli (87' Donnini), Amirzade, Maslarov (64' Zurmühle), Shabanaj (57' Tiraboschi); Parente, Sbai; Piffero (46' Raffa).
Substitutes: Pellanda, Radić.
Manager: Andrea Vitali.
REFEREE: Clovis Aebi.
ASSISTANTS: Jonathan Collaud and Karim Sahmoud.
BOOKINGS: 13' Shabanaj, 71' Parente, 86' Guignard.
Men's U21April 26, 2026