'Joke penalty' spells trouble at GC – Lugano wins

Lucerne ended a run of four games without a win. Coach Mario Flick's team defeated Grasshoppers 2-0 at home. Meanwhile, Lugano edged leaders FC Zurich with a 2-0 win over Yverdon. Servetus missed the leap with the loss at Lausanne.

Lucerne – GC 2:0

Lucerne and Grasshopper both experienced an unforgettable October. Central Switzerland has only two points from four games, while FC Zurich has only one point. FCL finally ended the series with a victory, which is not without some logic. GC are arguably Lucerne's favorite opponents; they have lost just once in their last 23 games against the record champions. Their last home loss was on February 2, 2014 (1:3).

After Zurich took a corner kick, the home team made it 1-0 (Game 8). Lars Villiger passed the ball to Kevin Spadanuda before the 21-year-old sprinted across the pitch, collected the ball and passed it to Levine Levin Winkler, who successfully completed the goal with his knee. In the 56th and 59th minutes, Lucerne was awarded two penalty kicks due to handball. Adrian Grbic fumbles in first to Justin Hammel, Donat Rrudhani finishes in second changed.

The first penalty was unfortunate enough, but Noah Persson had his arm stretched out from his body. VAR was activated at the second penalty whistle, although it was not clear from the video images that the ball hit Dirk Abel's arm. Referee Johannes von Mandach may have observed the scene too briefly and did not see a better shot. The referee's decision gave the Grasshopper team a real setback. The Dutch defender made it clear after the game:

Referee von Mandach later explained that he did not notice anything on the pitch. However, the video referee pointed out the handball and he walked towards the screen. “Then I saw the defender take his arm away from his body, but I couldn't see if the ball made contact with his arm.”

That's why von Mandach asked the VAR if the ball had indeed made contact with the arm, and the VAR answered in the affirmative and mentioned better TV images. These cannot be shown to the referee on the pitch. “I believed that and made the decision accordingly,” the 30-year-old explained. The 30-year-old had to rely on the judgment of the video assistant because, as he said, he could not make a clear decision based on the images available.

He was the center of attention in the second half: referee Johannes von Mandach.Image: trapezoid

Lucerne focused on a solid defense against GC after conceding nine goals in their first four games. That works. Although the visiting team had more possession of the ball, it lacked penetration and necessary qualities. And their performance before losing 0-1 was simply naive. That's why Grasshoppers are still just one point ahead of bottom-placed Winterthur.

Lucerne – Grasshopper 2:0 (1:0)
11,779 viewers. SR of Mandach.
tear: 8. Winkler (Velliger) 1:0. 59. Rudhani (penalty kick) 2:0.
Lucerne: Lorez; Dorn, Jaquez, Knezevic, Siganiks; Rudhani (61. Ortig), Stankovic, Winkler, Spadanuda (79. Villiger (61. Kadák; 69. Owusu), Grbic (79. Klidje).
grasshopper: Hamel; Abel, Pascozzi, Secco, Persson; Ndenge, Choinière (65. Kittel); Bojang (76. Verón Lupi), Morandi, Mucci; Li Yingjun (76. Schulpf).
Comment: 56. Hamel saved Grbic’s penalty kick.
warn: 30. Ndenge, 45. Choinière, 64. Abels, 73. Paskotsi, 79. Ciganiks, 92. Knezevic.

Lugano – Yverdon 2:0

Lugano fulfilled his hot role confidently and dominated his opponents. However, there was also an element of luck in Renato Steffen's 1-0 win (36'). First, Yverdon's Mauro Rodriguez slipped in his own half, allowing the Bianconeri to gain possession. Mohamed Tijani then blocked Steffen's shot and goalkeeper Paolo Bernardoni had to let the ball pass between his legs. Ignacio Aliceda (72nd) had a great game at 2-0. Like Stephan, the Argentine also scored for the fourth time in this tournament.

Yverdon had little ability against Lugano and only scored one goal for the home team. This week the Vaud team lost 0-3 at home to Lausanne Sporting, but they are still satisfied with the result. The first meeting between the two teams this season also ended 2-0, with Yverdon winning.

Lugano – Yverdon 2:0 (1:0)
2961 spectators. SR Turk.
tear: 36. Stephen (Fraddy) 1:0. 72. Aliceda (Zanotti) 2:0.
Lugano: Seppi; Papadopoulos, Mai, Elvafi, Martin Marquez (75. Valenzuela); Grgic (64. Doumbia), Mahmoud; Mahou (64. Zanotti), Steffen, Aliseda (81 . Przybylko); Vladi (75. Botany).
Yverdon: Bernardoni; Sauthier (85. Kakuri), Gunnarsson (75. Hautier), Christian Marques, Tijani (75. Alves), Le Pogam; Aké, Gnakpa, Céspedes (85. Sylla), Mauro Rodrigues ( 64. Ntelo); command.
warn: 31. Tijani, 53. Mahu, 74. Sotir.

Lausanne – Servetus 1:0

Lausanne is the current Super League team. Head coach Ludovic Magnin's side celebrated their fourth consecutive clean sheet with a 1-0 victory over Servette in an entertaining game.

Servetus could have replaced FC Zurich as leaders again with a trio. However, this prospect seemed to paralyze Geneva even more; for a long time anyway, Lausanne was clearly the better team in front of 11,274 spectators at the stadium. Noe Toussaint scored the game's only goal from the penalty spot in the 17th minute after Geneva defender Steve Ruyel stepped on the foot of the spinning Alvin Sanchez.

Servetus lost to Lausanne, missing out on a chance to take first place.Image: trapezoid

As a result, the Vaud team, which was significantly stronger in the duel, got several good opportunities to expand the score to 2-0. For example, in the 30th minute, after Fosseini Diabate took a corner kick, Duson did not hit the ball correctly in the best position. Sanchez would have scored in the 75th minute when Gaël Ondoua blocked a shot from Sanchez.

In the end, the inefficiency didn't pay off. For a long time, Servetus' contribution was too little. It was not until the end that the guests resisted and failed. In the 85th minute, Ondua's header went slightly wide of the goal. In the 92nd minute, Ruyel missed a good chance with his header when he was unmarked. Previously, Geneva had only had two harmless shots on Lausanne goalkeeper Carlo Letica's goal.

For Lausanne, it was the second win in the last nine games against Servetus, who suffered their first title defeat after five wins and three draws.

Lausanne Sporting – Servetus 1:0 (1:0)
11,274 spectators. SR Fähndrich.
Thor: 17. Duson (penalty kick) 1:0.
Lausanne Sports: Ethics; Mouanga, Sow, Dussenne, Poaty (76. Polster); Sanchez (87. Pafundi), Roche, Bernede (59. Coindreddy); Okur, Aghi Dini (76. Sene), Diabate (59. De la Fuente).
napkin: Mall; Changmoto, Ruyère, Severin, Magnin; Ondua, brother-in-law; Von Moss (57th, Keyan Barrera), Stevanovic (84th) Simbacoli), Kutesa; Crivelli (76.Guillemenot).
warn: 16. Ruyère, 77. Muhanga. (National Institutes of Health/National Security Agency)

table

For the first time since Yossi Tapora took over, SCB produced two outstanding performances within 24 hours and won in extra time for the first time this season. At the end of this development…the next SCB Championship celebration.

On September 1, 2023, Jussi Tapola suffered an embarrassment in the Bern Hockey Province, starting a long and arduous journey to the rainbow of glory. His first game against a National League team was in front of nearly 1,000 fans at Wislepark in Walb (where the “Blue Bähnli” is located), a 2:3 loss to the SCL Tigers. He created a metaphor (a visual language) that he has used ever since: “All the tools, but no toolbox.” (“All the tools, but no toolbox”).