LUCERNE. Samuel Essende scored in the 92nd minute and Young Boys left Lucerne with a 3-2 win that keeps them the nearest challenger to Lugano. Sion, away at Vaduz, won 4-0 and stayed third. Grasshoppers and Lausanne-Sport drew 1-1. Lugano, who lead on 34 points, do not play until Sunday afternoon.
Bern had the harder night of the two wins. Young Boys led twice in Lucerne and were pulled back twice. A third equaliser for the home side was ruled out for offside, and Essende, the league’s leading scorer, settled it at the end. The half-time score was 1-1. The full-time score leaves Young Boys on 28 points from 13 games, six behind Lugano, who have played one game fewer. A week ago Zurich won 5-3 at the Wankdorf, Young Boys’ first defeat of the season. Saturday was the reply, and it was a reply that arrived in the last act.
Sion were out of sight by half-time
Vaduz 0, Sion 4, and 0-3 at the break. Rilind Nivokazi, in for the injured Winsley Boteli, scored twice. Sion move to 26 points from 13 games, with a goal difference of plus 11, and remain the other club that can talk about the top of the table without sounding hopeful. Vaduz stay on 10 points from 13, level with Grasshoppers and well clear of Lausanne-Sport, who have 6 from 12 after the draw.
The Grasshoppers result keeps both clubs where the table already had them in spirit: mid-to-low, and short of a statement. Zurich, fourth on 20 points from 12 games, are the side with a Sunday appointment that could change that band. Servette, sixth on 16, are the hosts.
What Sunday can still do to the table
Three matches are left in the round. St Gallen against Lugano is at 14:00. Thun against Basel, and Servette against Zurich, are both at 16:30. Lugano’s lead is six points with a game in hand over Young Boys only if you read the table before Sunday’s kick-off. A home win for St Gallen, who have 19 points, would cut the lead and hand the chasers a Sunday evening they did not have on Saturday night. A Lugano win would put the title conversation back in one city.
The current order, with Sunday still to come, runs Lugano 34, Young Boys 28, Sion 26, Zurich 20, St Gallen 19, Servette 16, Basel 14, Thun 13, Lucerne 13, Grasshoppers 10, Vaduz 10, Lausanne-Sport 6. Goal tallies tell a second story. Lugano have scored 36 and conceded 10. Young Boys have scored 41 and conceded 25. Sion have scored 29 and conceded 18. The league leader is the meanest defence. The club in second is the busiest attack, and it needed a 92nd-minute goal to stay that close.
Essende’s winner is the line that will travel. Nivokazi’s brace is the line that should travel with it. Lugano’s afternoon in St Gallen is the match that decides whether Saturday rearranged the race or only confirmed it.