FC Lugano dominated the rescheduled Matchday 4 fixture in the Brack Super League, beating FC St. Gallen 1879 4-1 at the AIL Arena. The bianconeri took control of the match with a first-half performance of the highest calibre, ending the half 4-0 up thanks to a goal from Beckham Castro, a brace from Pihlström and Karimov’s first goal in a bianconeri shirt.
In the second half, Pihlström’s sending-off after just two minutes changed the course of the match, but the bianconeri managed their lead and conceded only a goal from Hunziker. The victory allows Mattia Croci-Torti’s side to consolidate their lead at the top of the table and move four points clear of Sion, now second in the standings.
FOUR GOALS IN ONE HALF
Lugano started with great intensity from the off. In the 2nd minute, Papadopoulos took aim from 30 metres and forced Zigi into his first save of the evening. It was merely the prelude to the opening goal, which arrived two minutes later: a long throw-in from Papadopoulos himself found Beckham Castro making a run into the box; he beat his marker and curled a left-footed shot into the corner to make it 1–0.
St. Gallen tried to respond and, in the 13th minute, Balde beat his direct opponent, entered the box and shot with his right foot, sending the ball just wide of Gebhardt’s left-hand post. The match remained lively, but a minute later the bianconeri struck again. Dos Santos led a lightning-fast counter-attack, running practically the entire length of the pitch before reaching the edge of the box and shooting towards goal. Zigi parried the ball but couldn’t hold onto it, and Pihlström was quickest to pounce, slotting home to make it 2–0.
St. Gallen look to respond, particularly from set-pieces. In the 25th minute, Okoroji crosses from the left and Stanić beats everyone to the ball in the centre of the box, but his header sails over the bar.
Three minutes later, however, Lugano once again found space behind the white-and-green defence. Following a long ball from Bichsel, Pihlström won his one-on-one duel with his marker and drove in from the left towards goal. The Swede found himself one-on-one with Zigi and caught him off guard at the near post, scoring his second of the match to make it 3–0.
Even with a three-goal lead, the bianconeri did not stop pressing forward and continued to consistently find ways to play the ball forward. In the 33rd minute, Bislimi and Dos Santos linked up quickly, with the number 27 finding himself in a wide position in front of goal and attempting a shot, but failing to hit the target.
The fourth goal came in the 36th minute. Lukas Mai played a long ball from defence; Karimov broke through the defence, won the race for the ball and beat Zigi as he came off his line before slotting the ball into the empty net. It was the Uzbek’s first goal in an FC Lugano shirt.
Even at 4–0, the team did not ease off. In the 39th minute, Cimignani went in search of the fifth goal with a left-footed shot from the edge of the box which, thanks to a deflection, grazed the post. At half-time, the score reflected a first half in which Lugano dictated the pace, played with directness and showed great attacking efficiency.
LUGANO DOWN TO TEN
MEN The second half took a different turn almost immediately. In the 47th minute, Pihlström made a high challenge on the newly substituted Fazliji and the referee showed him a red card. After scoring a brace in the first half, the Swede’s match ended just two minutes into the second half, leaving Lugano down to ten men.
St. Gallen immediately tried to capitalise on their numerical advantage, partly through the substitutions made at half-time. In the 52nd minute, Ruiz crossed from the right for Vandermersch, whose header was met by a swift diving save from Gebhardt.
As the minutes ticked by, the visitors increased their presence in the bianconeri’s half, whilst Lugano sat deeper and managed their comfortable lead without seeking out the same kind of counter-attacks as in the first half. In the 66th minute, Owusu played the ball into the centre for Hunziker, who attempted a backheel shot: the effort was weak and Gebhardt saved it comfortably.
However, the same move led to a goal in the 74th minute. This time the cross came from Kleine-Bekel and Hunziker, again with a backheel, managed to find the space to beat Gebhardt and pull one back to make it 4–1.
St. Gallen kept pressing and, in the 79th minute, Okoroji picked out Fazliji from the left: the midfielder’s header was once again met with an excellent save by Gebhardt, who tipped it away for a corner.
Despite being a man down, Lugano also looked dangerous again. In the 83rd minute, Zanotti accelerated down the right flank, weaved his way past two opponents and entered the box, aiming for the far corner with a powerful shot: Zigi parried it away, denying number 46 a goal against his former club.
In the closing minutes, the visitors tried their luck from distance on two further occasions, but were unable to get back into the game. FC Lugano thus ran out 4–1 winners, picking up a further three points at the AIL Arena and consolidating their lead at the top of the table. The bianconeri move four points clear of Sion, who sit in second place following their win over Grasshopper, ahead of their final match before the international break on Sunday in Lausanne.
MATCH REPORT
: FC LUGANO v FC ST. GALLEN 1879 4–1
Brack Super League – rescheduled Matchday
4 fixture, 16 September 2026 – AIL Arena
Attendance: 5,773
Goalscorers: 4’ Beckham Castro, 14’ and 28’ Pihlström, 36’ Karimov, 74’ Hunziker.
FC LUGANO (3-2-3-1): Gebhardt; Papadopoulos, Mai, Bichsel; Karimov (46’ Zanotti), Grgić, Bislimi (82’ Delcroix), Cimignani (82’ Kelvin); Beckham Castro (55’ Ajeti), Dos Santos (68’ Kendouci); Pihlström.
Substitutes: Ndiaye, Alioski, Ajdin, Moncada.
Manager: Mattia Croci-Torti.
FC ST.GALLEN 1879 (3-1-4-2): Zigi; Kleine-Bekel, Stanić, Okoroji; Daschner (46’ Fazliji); Ruiz (61’ Owusu), Stevanović, Boukhalfa (46’ Vandermersch), Witzig; Scherrer (46’ Hunziker), Balde (67’ Besio).
Substitutes: Watkowiak, Heydari, Gaal.
Manager: Enrico Maassen.
Referee: Luca Cibelli
. Assistant referees: Vital Jobin and Matthias Sbrissa
. Fourth official: Luca Piccolo
. VAR and AVAR: Lukas Fähndrich and Michèle Schmölzer
Booked: Karimov (LUG), Scherrer (SG), Daschner (SG), Bislimi (LUG), Okoroji (SG), Ajeti (LUG).
Sent off: Pihlström (LUG).