Young Boys may have laid the first milestone for a recovery. At the very least, he offered himself a welcome breath of fresh air during this time of crisis. Thanks to a reassuring performance, the reigning champion picked up three crucial points against FC Basel (3-2) this Wednesday, during the 12th day of the Super League.
Under the leadership of interim Joël Magnin for the fourth outing in a row, the Yellow and Black were able to recover after finding themselves behind against the run of play. Anton Kade opened the scoring on one of the rare Basel offensives in the first period (19th), taking advantage of a ball released by David Von Ballmoos on a strike from Kevin Carlos.
In the other area, Marwin Hitz pulled out all the stops twice, in a one-on-one with Meshack Elia (7th) then a curling shot from Filip Ugrinic on the edge of 16.5 meters (27th). He remained vigilant, again, in front of Lukasz Lakomy who had tried from afar (43rd). A first try from Ugrinic left him stunned but the ball crashed into his square (14th).
Basel also hit the board, in the second half, on a header from Bénie Traoré (54th). More biting after returning from the locker room, the visitors insisted on scoring the break goal and it was when the break point seemed close that YB came back together. At the end of a triangle game including Joël Monteiro and Elia, Ugrinic took Hitz on the wrong foot (64th).
St. Gallen is no longer moving forward
After a great start to the season (four victories in the first five days), Saint-Gall is struggling to find its rhythm. Held in check at home by bottom side Winterthur this Wednesday evening (2-2), the Brodeurs played a seventh match without success in the Super League.
The visitors opened the scoring through Matteo Di Giusto in the 20th minute. Saint-Gall equalized just before the break thanks to Bastien Toma (45th + 2) and took control after the hour mark, thanks to Chadrac Akolo (65th). A short-lived lead, since Labinot Bajrami reset the counters five minutes later (70th).
In slow motion for more than a month, Saint-Gall occupies 7th place in the standings with 16 points. Winterthur, for its part, remains last (8 points).
While we were heading towards a sharing of points, Mohamed Dräger made Wankdorf roar with pleasure by diverting a cross from Lewin Blum (81st) into his net. The Bernese struck a third time at the end of a lightning comeback, concluded by a new own goal, this time signed by Adrian Barisic (87th).
For his 100th appearance in the Super League, Xherdan Shaqiri delivered a caviar for Dominik Schmid on a free kick, which the latter made profitable with a header placed under the bar (89th). The suspense was reignited and Basel pushed until the end to equalize, without succeeding.
YB is not out of the woods and remains stuck at the bottom of the ranking (10th). But he is now four points ahead of his two pursuers and can afford to look forward. Basel, for its part, misses the opportunity to temporarily seize 2nd place. Fabio Celestini’s team, which had three consecutive victories, is 4th, five lengths behind leader Zurich.
Young Boys – Bâle 3-2 (0-1)
Wankdorf. 30,024 spectators.
Buts: 19e Baths; 64e Ugrinic 1-1; 81e Dräger csc 2-1; 87e Barisic csc 3-1; 89e Schmid 3-2.
Young Boys: Von Ballmoos; Hadjam, Benito, Lauper, Blum; Imeri (59th Virginius), Lakomy, Ugrinic, Monteiro; Elia (80th Colley), Ganvoula (59th Itten). Coach: Joel Magnin.
Basel: Heat; Schmid, Vouilloz, Barisic, Mendes (76th Dräger); Avdullahu, Baron (64e Leroy); Traoré (64e Soticek), Shaqiri, Kade; Carlos (76th Ajeti). Coach: Fabio Celestini.
Warnings: 25e Blum; 26th Vouilloz; 35e Kade; 68e Shaqiri; 69e Virginius; 70th Mendes; 81st Leroy.
Notes: Young Boys without Camara, Chaiwa, Conte, Janko, Pfeiffer, Zoukrou and Conté (injured); Bale without Adjetey, Comas, Rüegg, Sigua, van Breemen (injured) and Kololli (coach’s choice).
