Yverdon can no longer do it. This is the third consecutive defeat at home for the Nord-Vaudois. This Saturday, they lost 0-1 against Lucerne.
The evening began with great fanfare in the stands. Kop 14, the Yverdon supporters group, was in fact celebrating its third anniversary. The ultras therefore put on a pyrotechnic show when the players appeared on the field.
It was probably the most memorable moment of the first half. Because this start to the meeting was rather flat on the ground. Lucerne was the most present team. After 45 minutes, the statistics showed 60% ball possession for the Germans. The FCL which, in this period of time, also made 10 shots against 2 for the Yverdonnois.
The Lucerne therefore created a few chances, but he seriously lacked precision in front of goal to take the advantage. They still came close to opening the scoring in the 32nd minute with Thibault Klidje at the far post. This was without counting the rescue of Paul Bernardoni.
Yverdon finally proved dangerous in the 41st, thanks to a shot from Mauro Rodrigues. But the Lucerne goalkeeper said no. Two minutes later, Boris Cespedes recovered a very good ball. The No. 10 from North Vaud sent him forward, Hugo Komano launched into a big sprint and then crossed. Unfortunately there was no one in front of the cage to turn this into a real opportunity.
It was finally at the start of the second half, from the penalty spot, that Lucerne scored the only goal of the match. Donat Rrudhani had no trouble transforming.
Lucerne came close to consolidating their advantage a quarter of an hour later. But Klidje’s shot went close to the post. And despite a few Yverdon attempts to put pressure in front of goal, Alessandro Mangiarratti’s men were unable to change the score.
Individual work
“We lost a match that we shouldn’t have lost because it wasn’t a match that worried us too much,” said the Yverdon coach after the match. Although he still praises his “fairly organized” defense, he admits “that we were not very good with the ball, each player must produce more individually.”
On the players’ side, there is of course disappointment and frustration which reigns.
If we look at the statistics, the Yverdonnois ultimately shot 6 times and among these 6 shots, only one was on target. How to explain this?
“There’s still work to do.” We have heard this phrase often since the start of the season. Yes, a few months ago, we could understand that with an almost completely overhauled workforce, there were automatisms to be found. But after 4 months of the championship, what is still a problem with this Yverdon team? According to Hugo Komano, it is not the team that should be questioned, but each player “looking in the mirror tonight.”
The coach is of the same opinion. “It bothers me a little that we concede a goal because we lose a ball halfway up the field on a counterattack and then we cause the penalty,” he admits. I’m not judging the decision to award the penalty, it’s more the situation when you lose the ball. We must not lose it and put more quality into what we do.”
If there is still something positive to take from this evening, it is that there was only one goal conceded in two matches. “We collect less than last year, but there is something missing up front,” adds Alessandro Mangiarratti. We lost a lot of goals without Mahious, Carlos or Liziero. These are players that we have not yet managed to replace.”
Yverdon has no time to dwell on this evening. On Wednesday, the Nord-Vaudois host Lugano for the round of 16 of the Swiss Cup. Before traveling to Zurich on Saturday to face Grasshopper.
