Lugano U21's second official outing of the new calendar year took place at the Sportanlage Kleinfeld in Kriens, home ground of the Hoval Promotion League leaders. After ninety intense and hard-fought minutes, the result was a 5-2 (0-1) home win.
For the occasion, manager Andrea Vitali is forced to do without the suspended Yassin Sbai and Milad Amirzade, but can count on debutant Alessio Chiesa, the latest winter signing from Varesina Calcio. The 19-year-old plays left-back in place of another absentee, captain Luca Molino. The rest of the squad available is, as was the case last week, very young.
After a dozen minutes of relative balance, but without any scoring opportunities, an incident occurs that could change the score. From a free kick taken by Jason Parente, the ball appears to be touched by the arm of a Biancoverde defender. Despite protests from the Ticino players, referee Arber Smajli allows play to continue, judging the action to be legal.
A quarter of an hour passed and the young Bianconeri found the right opening to break the deadlock. Nicolò Puddu played a vertical pass to Jason Parente, who timed his run perfectly and beat Patrick Zajac with a precise left-footed shot across goal. It was the playmaker's third goal of the season. The goal instilled confidence in the visitors, who played intelligently, taking virtually no risks until the half-time whistle.
However, the return from the dressing room was 'shocking', as Lucerne immediately equalised from a set piece on the left wing. At first, Diego Mina made a providential instinctive save. However, the goalkeeper could do nothing about Rrezart Hoxha's close-range rebound, as he was the quickest to pounce on the ball and give his team new life. The visitors reacted with a quick counterattack, at the end of which Rafael Frizzi was denied at the last moment.
The first tactical change was made by the Bianconeri, with David Piffero coming on for Besart Shabanaj to form a two-striker formation. The coaching staff's intention to bring more men into the opposition's area was unsuccessful, as a couple of minutes later, a dangerous free kick taken by Nico Siegrist and flicked on by Hoxha allowed the Swiss side to turn the result in their favour. The lead could have been extended, but Luka Slišković's curling shot went just wide in the 63rd minute.
The danger did not deter the visitors, who brought the game back to a perfect tie thanks to Ian Tiraboschi, who was quick to follow up on the defence's clearance from Frizzi's shot and slot home the ball to make it 2-2. The excitement continued unabated, and from yet another set piece, Michael Winsauer's men regained the lead with a header from close range by Daoud Touré.
Leaving nothing to chance and not giving up an inch, the Sottocenerini fought hard to try and get back into the game. They almost succeeded with fifteen minutes to go, when a combination between Parente and Piffero found Yuri Peverelli in the centre of the box. However, the winger's shot from an excellent position failed to find the target and the potential danger vanished.
Set pieces are Kriens' strong point, and the game was finally decided by their eleventh corner of the match. Célien Wicht scored the fourth goal of the evening, imitating his teammate Touré and beating Mina with a header from close range. Making the trip to the Canton of Lucerne even more painful was Esey Gebreyesus' fifth goal, which came in injury time with the Lugano team pushing forward.
With this bitter away game in Switzerland behind them, Lugano U21 now face a home game. At the Maglio di Canobbio, starting at 3 p.m. on Saturday 28 February 2026, Ilija Maslarov and his teammates will face Breitenrain.
Finally, here is coach Andrea Vitali's post-match analysis: "Set pieces were decisive. However, the heavy result is a little misleading. They are top of the table for a reason, and we have to give them credit for that. For our part, we played quite well and showed the right focus. We know our weaknesses, especially when it comes to set pieces. We also have some shortcomings. In the long run, however, our strengths came to the fore. We did what we could and we know we need to improve. Kriens has won all its home games and has the confidence of being very strong, which it has demonstrated. Breitenrain? We'll see what the match against the Bernese has in store for us. We started the second half of the season with half the team new. We all have to make ourselves available and quickly understand the demanding requirements of this league.
MATCH REPORT
Hoval Promotion League, Matchday 19
Sportanlage Kleinfeld, Kriens - 844 spectators
SC KRIENS - FC LUGANO U21 5:2 (0:1)
GOALS: 27' Parente 0:1, 47' Hoxha 1:1, 58' Hoxha 2:1, 65' Tiraboschi 2:2, 68' Touré 3:2, 88' Wicht 4:2, 90' +3' Gebreyesus 5:2.
SC KRIENS (4-4-1-1): Zajac; Hermann, Harperink, Heiniger, Touré; Siegrist, Romano, François (74' Willimann), Slišković (83' Castro); Hoxha (83' Gebreyesus); Toggenburger (65' Wicht).
Substitutes: Mauch, Riedmann, Sefer.
Manager: Michael Winsauer.
FC LUGANO U21 (3-4-2-1): Mina; Gecaj, Radić, Chiesa (72' Krueziu); Peverelli, Puddu (83' Raffa), Maslarov (83' Heller), Shabanaj (55' Piffero); Tiraboschi, Parente; Frizzi (72' Donnini).
Substitutes: Pellanda, Jagodić.
Coach: Andrea Vitali.
REFEREE: Arber Smajli.
ASSISTANTS: Anastasios Katsikis and Kevin Berli.
BOOKINGS: 13' Heiniger, 19' Chiesa, 22' Romano, 40' Radić, 46' Gecaj.