The Rouge et Noir traveled to the Stade de la Pontaise this Friday to try to get back on track. With three defeats in a row, Uli Forte’s players did not arrive in the best conditions before this meeting since several players had to miss out. Indeed, in addition to Epitaux and Demhasaj being suspended, Xamax saw its list of injured players grow with the withdrawals of Furrer and Fontana. Given these absences, the coach aligned his formation in a 4-3-3 with Brillani Soro in the axis of defense, the return of Gonçalves on the right flank and the presence of Kone up front, supported by Ramizi and Onyekachi .
Wearing their Red and Black outfit, our Xamaxiens started this game on the right foot by getting the first shot on target in the 4th minute on a too centered header from Samir Ramizi, receiving a good cross from Gonçalves. For more than twenty minutes, the two teams fell into a long round of observation giving rise to very little emotion. But the players of Neuchâtel On a new burst from Onyekachi who overtook Malula, the Xamaxiens obtained a penalty. The former Yverdon-Sport central defender hooked the foot of the Nigerian winger. Kenan Fatkic, like a good captain, came to transform the offering by placing the ball perfectly flush with the post to give the Rouge et Noir the advantage at half-time.
This first part of the game gave rise to a bitter fight. Dominated in terms of possession of the ball, the Xamaxiens however did not concede any shots on target. The second half started again on the same basis as the first. The Stadistes often remained in possession of the ball without managing to put in difficulty a Neuchâtel rearguard which seemed to be doing its job.
Unfortunately, in the 63rd minute, Garcia perfectly placed in orbit equalized with a very well placed left shot. A hard blow for Neuchâtel Things got lively and the Xamax coach brought in Touati as well as the ghost Hautier. We found the two players on a breaking action initiated by the first named who launched the former Yverdon player whose cross ended at the feet of Saiz. Unfortunately, Vachoux pulled out all the stops to prevent the Xamaxiens from taking a two-goal lead. A goal that would have been good since the last twenty minutes were going to be difficult. The Stadistes first thought of equalizing in the 74th minute when Omeragic misdirected a shot and Fargues was able to push the ball deep. Fortunately, Hajrim Qovanaj intervened and whistled the Lausanne number eight offside. Dalibor Stevanovic’s players tried by all means to get around the compact block installed in front of Edin Omeragic’s cage.
Despite the unbearable final minutes, the Rouge et Noir held on and got back on track perfectly before tackling the last two games of this first phase of the championship against Stade Nyonnais and FC Aarau. This success also allows them to temporarily regain third place in the ranking while awaiting the duel between Thun and Aarau.
Swiss
