After six draws in as many home games, Lugano U21 have finally tasted victory. At the Al Maglio Sports Centre, Bienne were beaten by the narrowest of margins thanks to a goal from Jason Parente early in the second half.
Still forced to do without several injured players – notably right-back Nicola Gamba and playmaker Yassin Sbai – as well as the suspended Rafael Frizzi, manager Andrea Vitali reshuffled his starting eleven, entrusting the attacking duties once again to David Piffero. In the defensive trio, alongside Lendrit Shala and Aleksandar Radić, Damian Kelvin made an appearance – a former Bienne player on loan from the first team to regain his confidence on the pitch following the muscle injury he suffered at the end of August against Celje.
The clash in Canobbio gets underway with the young Bianconeri determined to break the deadlock in front of their home crowd and secure their first home win. Christian Raffa’s horizontal dribble, followed by a weak left-footed shot from Yuri Peverelli, marks the opening highlight of the Sunday afternoon. The visitors’ response was an equally predictable right-footed effort from Mohamed Ali-Gueddar. Shortly afterwards, Omer Dzonlagić tried his luck, but his shot went over the bar. In a largely even opening period, it was Piffero who came closest to scoring. The centre-forward’s header from Parente’s corner missed the target by a matter of centimetres.
In the closing stages of the half, Peverelli lodged a mild protest over a challenge inside the penalty area, and a diagonal shot from the same winger was parried away for a corner by Benjamin Roth. At the other end, Jibril Djoumed Bouameur was booked rather harshly for simulation.
Four minutes after returning from the dressing room, Johann Angstmann was on the receiving end of the same punishment. His offence was holding back an opponent charging towards the 16-yard box. This brought the game to the 56th minute and the move that sent the home fans into raptures. The ball is played out to Peverelli on the left, whose low cross is gently flicked back by Piffero towards Parente. Arriving at the perfect moment on the eight-metre line, the attacking midfielder makes no mistake with this golden opportunity, curling his left-footed shot into the net and sending the Ticino stadium into raptures.
On the hour mark, Fotios Pseftis kept his clean sheet with a save from a powerful right-footed shot by Uroš Vasić. Moments later, the Biancorossi’s Roth had to stretch to prevent Parente from doubling the lead. Around the 90th minute, a confident low save by Pseftis denied Dzonlagić the satisfaction of scoring, whilst Aleksandar Radić literally threw himself in front of his goal to make the save. The final moment of danger came from a physical challenge by Ilija Maslarov, which referee Joël Brunner deemed fair. And so the celebrations for the first home win could begin.
“It was a good match, perhaps one of the best we’ve put in at home. We faced a tough, top-flight opponent with excellent players in their ranks, even though they were coming off two consecutive defeats. I’d say we were excellent for sixty to seventy minutes. Once we took the lead, despite a bit of fatigue and perhaps a touch of fear of not being able to secure the win, we kept fighting, with a bit of luck in certain situations and scrums. We’ve always put in good performances in front of our home crowd. We’d never managed to take all three points until this match. I can’t fault these lads. They’re gradually coming together more and more; they know the season’s objective, which is to pick up as many points as possible to avoid relegation. Their attitude and approach have always been spot on. We were missing that little something extra, which we managed to find this time. If someone told me, ‘Beat Grand-Saconnex and you’ll secure survival’, the approach to the match would be just right for the occasion. That won’t happen, because the season is long and there are plenty of matches left. It will certainly be an important match, just like all the others,’ said a naturally delighted manager Andrea Vitali after the match.
With this match now behind them with a smile, Lugano U21 – having climbed to 15 points and jumped from 15th to 12th place in the table – will begin preparations from today for their next official fixture, scheduled for 4.00 pm on Saturday 1 November 2025 at the Stade du Blanché, Grand-Saconnex’s home ground.
MATCH REPORT
Hoval Promotion League, Matchday 13 Al Maglio
Sports Centre, Canobbio – 150 spectators
FC LUGANO U21 – FC BIEL-BIENNE 1896 1:0 (0:0)
GOALSCORER: 56′ Parente 1:0.
FC LUGANO U21 (3-5-1-1): Pseftis; Shala, Kelvin (61′ Molino), Radić; Peverelli, Amirzade, Parente, Maslarov, Angstmann; Raffa (67′ Puddu); Piffero (88′ Lechner).
Substitutes: Ndiaye, Shabanaj, Jagodić.
Manager: Andrea Vitali.
FC BIEL-BIENNE 1896 (4-3-3): Roth; Vasić, Camara, Paviot, De Freitas (84′ Cassage-Nzimbu); Mäder (71’ Mbezele), Maurer (71’ Ssebunya), Asani; Dzonlagić, Gueddar, Bouameur (64’ Doucouré).
Substitutes: Moises, Monney, Samba.
Manager: Marco Martella.
REFEREE: Joël Brunner.
ASSISTANTS: Melissa Correia and Samuel Ringeisen.
BOOKINGS: 39′ Bouameur, 49′ Angstmann, 64′ Radić, 90′ Parente.