Lugano U21 kick off the crucial month of May – the final month of this long and gruelling season – by drawing with Bienne in their match on matchday 30 of the Hoval Promotion League.
At the Tissot Arena, manager Andrea Vitali and his staff – who had to do without the key contributions of Rafael Frizzi and Yassin Sbai, as well as Rron Krueziu in defence, but who welcomed back key players such as Gjan Ajdin and Ilija Maslarov from the start – entrusted the attacking threat to the flair and youth of the talented Bryan Zurmühle, making his sixth appearance of the season for the bianconeri’s second team and his first as a starter.
The match got off to a lively start on both sides, although it was the home side who came closest to opening the scoring between the fifth and sixth minutes, with a header from Olivier Cassange-Nzimbu that went wide and a far more dangerous right-footed shot from inside the box by Omer Dzonlagić, which was superbly saved by an alert Diego Mina. Mina then had to punch away another attempt to prevent his side from falling behind early on.
Whilst the home favourites sought to control possession and put together well-worked moves, Milad Amirzade and his teammates played mostly on the counter, trying to find the perfect run between the opposition lines. Two distinct tactics that reflect the current form of the two sides. As is often the case in football, the most interesting moments came from set-pieces. And from one such occasion, in the 24th minute, Jason Parente replicated Renato Steffen’s feat in St. Gallen, sending a soft left-footed shot grazing the post to Felix Hornung’s right.
As the clock ticked towards the half-hour mark, a double golden opportunity failed to yield the desired result for the Ticino side. Thanks to the Swiss goalkeeper’s skill, who used his body to deflect Christian Raffa’s diagonal header and then parried Zurmühle’s follow-up, the opening 0-0 scoreline remained intact. But not for long, as the deadlock was broken in the 37th minute: Ajdin tested the goal with a left-footed shot from 20 metres and the ball was deflected towards Zurmühle, who, having started from an onside position, fired past Hornung with a precise, direct finish. Hornung then proved reliable in the closing stages of the first half, saving Parente’s dangerous free-kick, taken from the spot near the right corner of the penalty area following a foul by Mamadou Doumbia on Yuri Peverelli, which earned the Biancorossi centre-back the first yellow card of the late afternoon.
After the customary fifteen-minute break to recharge their batteries, play resumed in much the same vein as the closing stages of the first half, with the Sottocenerini well organised and adept at countering the Swiss-German pressure. This allowed the visitors to showcase a combination between Parente and Aleksandar Radić. The attacking midfielder slipped through the defence and was brought down by Modibo Camara. Referee Maurizio Londino saw no grounds for awarding a penalty, and so the cruel twist came at the end of the next move, as Mohamed-Ali Gueddar beat Mina with an unstoppable diagonal shot from the edge of the box that nestled precisely into the far corner.
There was plenty of time left to make a difference and secure all three points. However, the chances to score did not materialise. Consequently, it was not until the 77th minute that Dzonlagić struck the crossbar with a thunderous effort, sending shivers down the spines of the Lugano side, who appeared to be running out of steam, having not ventured into the opposition’s third for some time. The focus shifts instinctively to the dogged defence of a point that would be invaluable and bring the season’s survival target closer. No sooner said than done. Because at the final whistle, the satisfaction of securing the draw is such that the away trip to Bienne is deemed a resounding success.
The Bianconeri’s second team’s league tally thus rises to 34 points, with their league position now standing at fourteenth. With an eight-point cushion above the relegation zone and the maximum opportunity to pick up twelve points, survival in the third tier of Swiss football is just around the corner. To achieve this, they will need to put in a performance similar to today’s, starting at 4.30 pm on Saturday 9 May 2026, when they host Grand-Saconnex from Geneva at the Al Maglio Sports Centre in Canobbio.
As usual, the final word goes to the team’s leader, Andrea Vitali, who had this to say about the sunny match at the Tissot Arena: ‘We played a brilliant first half, perhaps one of the best of the season. And to think there were so many underage lads on the pitch and no “over-age” players. The match was going exactly as we’d hoped, and we performed excellently in the opening minutes of the second half too. Then, after the equaliser, we were also lucky to see one of their shots hit the crossbar. In the box, however, we defended well. Grand-Saconnex? Honestly, I haven’t the faintest idea what to expect. Now, we’ll need to assess how many players we’ll have available. I don’t want to hear any talk of survival in the event of a win against the Romands, and I hope the team has understood the importance of these last four matches.”
MATCH REPORT
Hoval Promotion League, Matchday 30
Tissot Arena, Biel – 563 spectators
FC BIEL-BIENNE 1896 – FC LUGANO U21 1:1 (0:1)
GOALS: 37’ Zurmühle 0:1, 59’ Gueddar 1:1.
FC BIEL-BIENNE 1896 (4-2-3-1): Hornung; Samba (88’ Veselinović), Camara, Doumbia, Moulin; Maurer (72’ Ssebunya), Mäder; Alić (72' Mast), Cassange-Nzimbu (62' Jakob), Gueddar; Dzonlagić.
Substitutes: Vašić, De Freitas, Rimann.
Manager: Samir Chaibeddra.
FC LUGANO U21 (3-5-1-1): Mina; Chakor, Chiesa, Radić (78' Gecaj); Peverelli, Amirzade, Ajdin, Maslarov, Parente (71' Shabanaj); Raffa (61' Tiraboschi); Zurmühle (61' Piffero).
Substitutes: Pellanda, Berisha.
Manager: Andrea Vitali.
REFEREE: Maurizio Londino.
ASSISTANTS: Gian-Luca Schenk and Kevin Berli.
BOOKINGS: 45' Doumbia, 61' Raffa, 87' Jakob, 87' Chakor, 89' Laneri (Bienne assistant coach), 90' +2' Veselinović, 90' +2' Tiraboschi.
Men's U21May 2, 2026