Neuchâtel Xamax finally got the better of AC Bellinzona. The “red and black” took the measure of the Ticinese 2-1 Friday evening at the Stadio communale during the 33e day of the Challenge League football championship. They had picked up just one point – and scored just one goal in total – in the three previous head-to-head matches this season.
In Ticino, Uli Forte’s men put their heart into the work. If they didn’t steal anything, they made the difference with forceps, in the last five minutes of play, against a formation that was often curled up in defense and which speculated enormously on counter-attacks. Especially if it leads the score. And that was the case on Friday evening: “It’s a very difficult team to maneuver around. She is well organized defensively. We didn’t have a lot of chances. It didn’t want to go in,” explained Jesse Hautier, the man who equalized.
It was the Ticinese who opened the scoring with Trésor Samba shortly before the half-hour mark (26th) with a curling shot taken from sixteen meters. In the same position, Izer Aliu hit wood a few minutes later. Obviously, we said to ourselves that success was – once again – not on the Xamaxian side. This feeling was further reinforced after the break when the Neuchâtelois alerted the opposing goalkeeper several times without scoring. But if you insist, sometimes it pays off. In the last quarter of an hour, Uli Forte also took the risk of fielding four nominal attackers. And Neuchâtele) and Zachary Hadji (89th), who finally played a full match: “It feels really good. I’m starting to get some playing time. Little by little, I’m getting back into shape,” the player on loan from Stade Lausanne-Ouchy was pleased to point out.
In the Challenge League standings, with three days remaining, Neuchâtel /mne
