Swiss Cup: St.Gallen embarrasses itself in Bellinzona – Lausanne beats Winterthur

FC St.Gallen is the only team to fail in the last 16 of the Swiss Cup against a lower-ranked team. The European Cup participants lost 1:0 in Bellinzona, with Lausanne and Etoile Carouge also advancing alongside the Ticino side.

St.Gallen’s exit is not only surprising because of the league difference, but also because Bellinzona has been in a form slump for weeks. The 1-0 win against St.Gallen was the Ticino side’s first victory since the end of September. In the eight games in the Challenge League in between, they only managed four points.

AC Bellinzona scored the golden goal ten minutes after the break when the ever-dangerous Rilind Nivokazi broke through in midfield and set up Caleb Chukwuemeka. The latter won his duel with St.Gallen keeper Lawrence Ati Zigi with aplomb. The hosts also had other good opportunities. Nivokazi only hit the post before the break and later had a good chance to make it 2-0.

What FC St.Gallen produced was frighteningly little given the predicament they found themselves in after the 0:1 at the latest. There was no sign of an assault on the Bellinzona goal. Here and there a blocked shot, there and then a solo effort from Christian Witzig. All in all, Grünweiss showed too little to earn a place in the last eight. Just like last year (in the round of 16 against Delémont), St.Gallen failed against a lower-ranked team.

Lausanne unchallenged in Winterthur

Lausanne-Sport had no problems and confirmed their good form. The Vaud team won 3:0 in Winterthur. Antoine Bernede and Alvyn Sanches, who scored his eighth goal of the season and third in the Cup, ensured a deserved and reassuring 2:0 lead at the break. It was only after this that FC Winterthur improved and had one or two chances to score before Fousseni Diabaté made things clear with Lausanne’s third goal in the 85th minute. Winterthur won the last clash between the two teams in the championship a month ago. It remains Zurich’s only win from the last eight games.

Aarau lose Challenge League duel

The only round of 16 tie between two clubs from the second-highest league was decided by a single action. Bruno Caslei, the number 10 from Etoile Carouge, made the most of a corner in the 70th minute, took the ball technically perfectly from the air, dribbled free and scored with a precise low shot. The corner kick was taken by Vincent Rüfli, soon to be 37, who won the cup with FC Sion in 2015.

Etoile Carouge, who are also ahead of FC Aarau in the Challenge League, have reached the quarter-finals for the second time in the last 27 years. The Geneva side, coached by Adrian Ursea, returned to the Challenge League this season. They had previously played in lower leagues for twelve years.

Super League clubs Lugano, Basel, YB and Zurich, as well as Promotion League leaders Biel, had already qualified for the quarter-finals.

The Cup round of 16 at a glance

• 96.

  End of match, Bellinzona – St.Gallen 1:0
  

  That’s it! Not much more from St.Gallen in stoppage time. The team from eastern Switzerland deserved to lose 1-0 to a defensively defiant Ticino side who deserved to progress to the quarter-finals.

• 89.

  Four minutes of added time
  

• 88.

  
  

  Slowly but surely, time is running out for FC St.Gallen. The Espen try hard, but lack ideas and simply lack quality in their attacking play. At the other end of the pitch, Bellinzona are doing a great job defensively, with the Ticino side repeatedly causing unnecessary St.Gallen fouls that disrupt the flow of the game.

• 80.

  
  

  Maassen makes another substitution and brings on Mambimbi for Cisse. Meanwhile, Vallci is almost begging for his second yellow card. The FCSG defender commits foul after foul, but has so far managed to avoid his second caution.

• 75.

  
  

  For the first time since conceding the goal, FC St.Gallen have something of a pressure phase. First it’s Cisse, who gets stuck in the Ticino defense with his shot, shortly afterwards Witzig’s shot doesn’t make it through to the goal either.

• 70.

  Zigi prevents a 2-goal deficit for St.Gallen
  

  After a disastrous misplaced pass from Stevanovic, another single pass undermines the entire St.Gallen defense. But in a one-on-one with Nivokazi, St.Gallen goalie Zigi remains the winner – he stops the shot with his head!

• 62.

  Triple substitution St.Gallen
  

  Enrico Maassen reacts to the deficit and brings on Stevanovic, Ruiz and Csoboth for Quintillà, Konietzke and Toma.

• 59.

  
  

  Witzig almost scores the equalizer. The St.Gallen man makes a nice run down the left flank, but his shot narrowly misses the far post.

• 55.

  Chukwuemeka gives Bellinzona the lead
  

  This should not really happen to St.Gallen. A beautiful but simple through-ball from Nivokazi undermines the entire St.Gallen defense, allowing Chukwumeka to run at Zigi. The finish into the far corner is on target – 1:0 for Bellinzona.

• 50.

  
  

  A Bellinzona free kick from a half-left position flies dangerously into the penalty area. Nivokazi is unguarded there and gets a header, but puts it over the goal.

• 43.

  
  

  Christian Witzig gets on the end of a superb pass from Lukas Görtler in the Bellinzona penalty area. Enzler is able to save the shot. The score remains 0:0.

• 38.

  
  

  Bellinzona goalkeeper Simon Enzler starts a dangerous dribble in his own penalty area. Cisse immediately goes for the ball and takes it from him – but then the whistle blows. Referee Lukas Fähndrich judges the action as an offensive foul. FCSG coach Enrico Maassen does not agree at all, complains loudly and is shown a yellow card.

• 30.

  
  

  A Bellinzona free kick causes trouble in the St.Gallen penalty area and somehow ends up with Gorga. However, Okoroji just manages to block the shot.

• 18.

  Bellinzona hit the post
  

  The game is now picking up pace. Shortly after Cisse’s top chance, St.Gallen can suddenly thank the aluminum that they are not behind. Bellinzona striker Nivokazi shook off Ambrosious, took a shot from an acute angle and hammered the ball against the post. Zigi would have been beaten.

• 15.

  Top chance for St.Gallen
  

  After a long pass, Cisse manages to hold off two Ticino defenders and suddenly finds himself alone in front of Enzler. However, the St.Gallen striker does not shoot, but tries to run around the Bellinzona goalie, which fails miserably. The score remains 0:0.

• 15.

  
  

  Apart from a single, harmless St.Gallen corner, AC Bellinzona have not conceded anything here. The eastern Swiss are making an effort, but so far lack the necessary precision in their passing.

• 5.

  
  

  First shot of the game: Quintilla tries from a good 20 meters, but the ball is deflected by teammate Görtler and ends up in front of Bellinzona keeper Enzler’s feet.

• #

  This is how FCSG start the game
  

• #

  The AC Bellinzona line-up