Three days after the match was postponed due to snow, FC Lugano return to Kybunpark to face FC St. Gallen 1879 in the rescheduled fixture from Matchday 30 of the Brack Super League, in a head-to-head clash between the top teams in the table.
The match starts evenly, with the Bianconeri immediately looking to create danger: in the 10th minute, Cimignani picks out Koutsias with a long ball; the Greek striker attempts a lob, but Zigi is alert and saves. However, it was St. Gallen who struck at their first real chance: in the 14th minute, Witzig received the ball on the edge of the box, played a quick one-two and found the bottom corner with his right foot, putting his side ahead. Lugano felt the blow and struggled to find rhythm and precision, whilst the home side upped the intensity of their pressing, forcing the Bianconeri into several errors when playing out from the back. In the 18th minute, there was a scare as St. Gallen came close to doubling their lead, with Baldé firing just wide from the edge of the box. As the minutes ticked by, the game remained deadlocked, with Lugano failing to create any real chances and St. Gallen, thanks to their pressing, managing to win back plenty of high balls and launch continuous attacks, but unable to find a second goal. The first half therefore ended with the Biancoverdi leading by a single goal.
A COMEBACK WITH 10 MEN
In the second half, the Bianconeri came out with a more attacking mindset and, in the 55th minute, Bislimi tried to spark the team into life with a run through the middle and a left-footed shot which, however, was easily saved by Zigi. Lugano tried to turn the game around, but with half an hour to go, an incident threw a spanner in the works: Dos Santos was sent off for a second yellow card, leaving his teammates a man down. Despite being a man down, Croci-Torti’s side reacted with character and courage, finding fresh energy thanks in part to the introductions of Pihlström and Mahou. The Swede immediately made his mark with a shot that crashed against the crossbar, whilst shortly afterwards it was Mahou himself who found the net for a potential equaliser, though the goal was disallowed for a millimetre-perfect offside by his teammate at the start of the move. Lugano continued to believe until the very end and in the 86th minute came close to making it 1-1 through Delcroix, whose close-range header was too weak to trouble Zigi. After another long-range attempt by Bislimi, which sailed high over the bar, the Bianconeri’s pressure was rewarded in stoppage time: in the 91st minute, Steffen struck a long-range free-kick towards the box, Lukas Mai’s run deceived the goalkeeper and the ball flew straight into the net for the final 1-1. A draw that was at times unexpected yet deserved given the second-half performance, allowing Lugano to take home a vital point at the end of a tricky match. The league table therefore remains unchanged, and the Bianconeri are already looking ahead to their next fixture: the away trip to Bern to face Young Boys.
MATCH REPORT
FC ST. GALLEN 1879 – FC LUGANO 1-1
Brack Super League – rescheduled Matchday 30
17 March 2026 – Kybunpark, St. Gallen
Attendance: 15,841
Goalscorers: 14’ Witzig, 91’ Steffen
FC ST. GALLEN 1879 (3-5-2): Zigi; Gaál, Stanić, Okorji; Vandermersch, Görtler (77’ Stevanović), Daschner, Boulhafa, Witzig; Besio (90’ Efekele), Baldé (77’ Ouattara).
Substitutes: Watkowiak, Kleine-Bekel, May, Weibel, Konietzke, Scherrer.
Manager: Enrico Maassen.
FC LUGANO (3-4-2-1): Ballmoos; Papadopoulos (81’ Bottani), Mai, Delcroix; Zanotti, Bislimi, Grgić (90’ Kelvin), Cimignani (68’ Mahou); Steffen, Dos Santos; Koutsias (68’ Pihlström).
Substitutes: Saipi, Carbone, Brault-Guillard, Belhadj, Kendouci.
Manager: Mattia Croci-Torti.
Referee: Anojen Kanagasingam
Assistant referees: Pascal Hirzel and Mirco Bürgi
Fourth official: Hüseyin Sanli
VAR and AVAR: Michèle Schmölzer and Hajrim Qovanaj
Bookings: Daschner (FCSG), Papadopoulos (LUG), Dos Santos (LUG), Grgić (LUG), Besio (FCSG).
Sent off: Dos Santos (LUG).