HOME VICTORY ON WOMEN'S DAY

International Women's Day ended on a high note for the Bianconere girls, who won 1-0 (1-0) against Wädenswil.

On the pitch at Campo F in the Cornaredo Stadium, the Sottocenerine players started off with their foot on the accelerator, looking for the winning goal. After five minutes, a precise pass to Mathilda Andreoli was controlled by the centre forward, who moved into the centre and forced An Spijkers to make a save with her foot. Aline Oliva's subsequent incursion from the left ended with a save by the opposing goalkeeper. The same elusive winger then collided with the goalkeeper following a mistake in Zurich's build-up play. From the resulting corner, Anna Crapanzano tried her luck with a right-footed shot that went over the bar.

The pressure continued and in the 20th minute, Andreoli set up Oliva, whose goal was ruled out for offside. The home side's first scare came from a long-range attempt by Clara Henricsson. Chiara Audrino was troubled by the tricky trajectory but managed to block the ball in two attempts on her line. Eleonora Castellani's header, which went just wide shortly after the half-hour mark, foreshadowed what was to come in the 39th minute. Oliva passed to Andreoli, who controlled the ball, shook off two opponents and broke the deadlock with a left-footed shot from a central position.

During the first part of the second half, the Confederates tried to get back into the game with two shots - from Jessica Berger and Henricsson - which were central and saved by Audrino. At the same time, on the other side of the pitch, Crapanzano fails to hit the target. Although the Lugano side are in control, the visitors find the equaliser in the 64th minute, but it is ruled out for offside. After this scare, Andreoli has the chance to seal the win, but her right-footed shot from the edge of the box is straight down the middle. Giorgia Zanaboni's powerful follow-up attempt went wide, while Spijkers came out at the right time to block the newly entered Lucrezia Sasso, who had been sent deep by Luisa Nascimento Sá. The last notable moment was Andreoli hitting the crossbar in the 92nd minute.

The 1-0 victory was then sealed by referee Valon Emini's final whistle. The three points earned allow the Sottocenerine to climb to 27 points, consolidating their seventh position, two points behind sixth-placed Wil. The next fixture for Melissa Colombo and her teammates is scheduled for Saturday 14 March 2026 at 7 p.m. away to Ostermundigen.

At the end of the match, coach Andrea Antonelli commented on the joyful afternoon spent in front of their home crowd: "The victory could have been bigger, we maintained almost total control and, apart from the corner kick in the scramble where they scored offside, the three points are well deserved. A major flaw today was the lack of ruthlessness in front of goal. We had several clear chances that we failed to take advantage of. However, congratulations also to their goalkeeper, who put in a quality performance. For us, playing at Cornaredo is important. What mattered was to maintain consistency in our results. Without a good performance and a win against Wädenswil, the points we earned two weeks ago against Winterthur risked being 'cancelled out'. The girls did well to maintain their concentration. These tricky games are dangerous because when you fail to close them out, there is a chance that your opponents will get back into the game. Ostermundigen? They are putting together some important results in the second half of the season. I expect them to be in good form. It will be a match similar to today's, played on a knife-edge, where every ball, for better or worse, could be decisive. The team has character, focus and confidence in its own abilities. Last but not least, and this is another aspect I am delighted about, is that the girls have given themselves a nice gift for Women's Day.

MATCH REPORT
Women's National League B, Matchday 19
Cornaredo Stadium, Field F - 150 spectators
FC LUGANO FEMMINILE - FC WÄDENSWIL 1:0 (1:0)
GOALSCORER: 39' Andreoli 1:0.

FC LUGANO FEMMINILE (4-3-2-1): Audrino; Castellani (86' Di Mauro), Colombo, Zanaboni, Nascimento Sá (80' Bassi); Di Muro (86' Aio), Crapanzano, Albertini; Oliva, Gigante (69' Sasso); Andreoli.
Substitutes: Enning, Fera, Boettger.
Coach: Andrea Antonelli.

FC WÄDENSWIL (4-2-3-1): Spijkers; L. Geiger, Tanner, Färber, Camor (46' Rauso); M. Geiger (58' Löser), Henricsson; Morf, Mächler (73' Caluori), Berger (73' Erni); R. Geiger.
Coach: Remo Mayer.

REFEREE: Valon Emini.
ASSISTANTS: Alican Yildiz and Cem Kisa.

BOOKINGS: 26' Henricsson, 67' Tanner, 69' Zanaboni, 85' Castellani, 88' Aio.