Matchday 14 of the Hoval Promotion League sees Lugano U21 make the long trip to the shores of Lake Geneva, where they face Grand-Saconnex in one of the season’s many head-to-head encounters. The fiercely contested match that kicks off November – and which certainly kept spectators on the edge of their seats – ended with a 3–2 (3–0) scoreline.
Facing an opponent dressed entirely in red, coach Andrea Vitali’s lads – out in their classic black and white kit – were once again without several injured players, notably right-back Nicola Gamba and attacking winger Yassin Sbai. No one is suspended, however, with Rafael Frizzi returning to the starting line-up as the attacking focal point after serving a one-match ban following his sending-off fourteen days ago against Bavois. Damian Kelvin is confirmed at the heart of the defence, aiming to regain full fitness so he can soon rejoin the first-team squad led by Mattia Croci-Torti.
On a gloomy afternoon, the match begins with an attempt by #5, whose header from a corner in the fifth minute sails over the crossbar. Two minutes later, another moment worth noting follows. This time, it is Frizzi who seriously tests André Pinheiro, who reacts quickly to parry the visiting centre-forward’s header off the line. At the other end, in the tenth minute, Fotios Pseftis read a venomous low diagonal shot from Yannis Kali perfectly, tipping the ball over the bar with his fingertips. The Greek goalkeeper could do nothing in the thirteenth minute to stop Valmir Rahimi’s right-footed strike from twenty metres, which grazed the crossbar.
Subsequently, in the space of just three hundred seconds – between the 16th and 21st minutes – the young Ticino side ran riot with three quick-fire goals. Lendrit Shala’s header from yet another corner kick opened the scoring, followed by a solo counter-attack from Nicolò Puddù, who won the ball back and slotted it in with his left foot under the crossbar, and a splendid strike from 22 metres by Frizzi that literally cleared the cobwebs from the top corner, catching Pinheiro off guard. His opposite number, Pseftis, was forced to stretch every inch of his frame to deny Kali the joy of a goal and, consequently, to deny the Geneva side a reason to head into the dressing room with a smile.
Early in the second half, there was a very heavy accidental head-to-head collision in which Johann Angstmann came off worst. The Swiss-American player, who remained on the ground for a couple of minutes, was unable to continue and was replaced by Luca Molino. Buoyed by their three-goal lead, the Sub-Ceneri side created a chance to seal the match definitively in the fifty-eighth minute. However, Yuri Peverelli’s close-range shot went wide, keeping the score at 3–0. Following a brief lapse in concentration and the home side being granted a huge amount of space, the Bianconeri conceded a goal to the visitors, scored by Matteo Regillo with a close-range header.
Subsequently, concentration returned to high levels. However, the players on the pitch dropped their defensive line by a few metres, risking seeing the encouraging performance in the closing stages undone following Regillo’s goal. In the 95th minute, when referee Luca Schelbli blew the final whistle, the celebrations were all for Milad Amirzade and his teammates, who managed to secure a splendid second consecutive victory on a pitch that was anything but straightforward.
“We’re very pleased. It was a match played really well, in which we also scored some fine goals. As is to be expected, we conceded a couple of chances. In the second half, the game seemed well under control, but in the final twenty minutes we struggled a bit, because we’re not used to managing a comfortable lead. We mustn’t take anything for granted; the important thing was to put in a good performance and create scoring opportunities. We managed to do that, and leaving the Canton of Geneva with a nine-point lead over Grand-Saconnex is a nice reward for the lads. The match against Schaffhausen will be one to approach with caution. The Yellow-Blacks are going through a difficult spell, but if they stay in the game, they become dangerous. But we’ll be playing at home, where we’ll try to play our usual game. We’ll see what we come away with in the end,” said manager Andrea Vitali in his post-match analysis.
Having secured their second consecutive win (a season first) in this tough challenge, Lugano U21 – who climb to 10th place in the table on 18 points (nine clear of their current rivals) – will have a week to prepare for their next fixture, scheduled for 3.00 pm on Saturday 8 November 2025 against Schaffhausen at the Al Maglio Sports Centre in Canobbio.
MATCH REPORT
Hoval Promotion League, Matchday 14
Stade du Blanché, Grand-Saconnex
FC GRAND-SACONNEX – FC LUGANO U21 2:3 (0:3)
GOALS: 16′ Shala 0:1, 18′ Puddu 0:2, 21′ Frizzi 0:3, 64′ Regillo 1:3, 85′ Regillo 2:3.
FC GRAND-SACONNEX (3-4-3): Pinheiro; Rizvanović, Perracino, Borges (88′ Ben El); Ouattara, Baddy Dega (65′ Mayingi), Opoku Mensah (74′ Hajoubi), Matuvunu (74′ Sghaier); Rahimi, Regillo, Kali.
Substitutes: Tomas, Passi Mafuta, Abdeljaoued.
Manager: Augustine Simo.
FC LUGANO U21 (3-5-1-1): Pseftis; Shala (76′ Shabanaj), Kelvin, Radić; Peverelli, Amirzade, Parente, Maslarov, Angstmann (52′ Molino); Puddu (65′ Raffa); Frizzi (65′ Piffero).
Substitutes: Lepori, Gecaj, Lechner.
Manager: Andrea Vitali.
REFEREE: Luca Schelbli.
ASSISTANTS: Marcel Held and Jasmin Hasanković.
BOOKINGS: 27′ Shala, 45′ Opoku Mensah, 84′ Maslarov, 90′ +3′ Mayingi, 90′ +4′ Kali.