Updated
Teddy Okou responded in extremis to Raphaël Nuzzolo on Friday at La Maladière (1-1). Alexandre Badibanga and Sébastien Fontbonne made the pair on the Neuchâtel bench.
- by
- Florian Vaney
(Neuchâtel)
No winner between Fabio Saiz’s Xamax (left) and Alban Ajdini’s SLO.
Urs Lindt/freshfocus
The last time we saw a French-speaking team having to do without their coach for an official match, we found them on the pitch unrecognizable, with five goals in their luggage at the end of the day. A memory of a certain Sion II – Yverdon Sport who came back when Andrea Binotto was announced absent on Friday evening. The main coach of Neuchâtel sick, it is to the duo Alexandre Badibanga – Sébastien Fontbonne that returned the mission of guiding Xamax against Stade-Lausanne. Without five potential starters…
Willingly or by force, the people of Neuchâtel had to rely on their youth. Which is never obvious at La Maladière. A succession which has rather scored points against an SLO still below the standards expected of it (and which it has set itself). We insist a little, but the Stadistes, without ever being overtaken by their opponents, only too rarely raise the crowds. On Friday, the moments to ignite were rare. And when the last gesture was there, an offside came to remove the winning bicycle from Sofyan Chader.
The first places are moving away
We must be clear: Stade deserved the point he ended up getting Still, the defeat that took shape for a long time could have penalized a certain heaviness in the collective movements. And when creativity is lacking, individual shortcomings and inaccuracies appear dark. On the only goal xamaxien, it is Christopher Routis who fails in his obligations.
To tell the truth, we understand a thousand times what could have happened in the head of the former Servettien. No doubt he considered two possibilities, after being caught in the back by Raphaël Nuzzolo. Either the red and black fox’s strike ended in the bottom and there was no point in continuing its effort, or it passed by and its job was just as much finished. Except that there remained a third possibility, highly unlikely: a ricochet off the post. Routis stopped, Nuzzolo believed in it and no one was there to prevent him from pushing the ball deep. A goal that owes a lot, a lot, to the brilliant opening of Burak Alili.
It took a favorable counter for the Lausanne residents to snatch a point, thanks to the third appearance of winter defector Teddy Okou (88th). It was minus one. The fight continues, but the first two places are moving away.
Stade de la Maladière, 3024 spectators. Referee: Anojen Kanagasingam.
Goals: 40th Nuzzolo 1-0; 88e Okou 1-1.
Xamax: Guivarch; Beloko, Epitaux, Berisha, Gomes; Marchand (75th Kasongo), Hammerich (24th Alili), Gazzetta (75th Rodriguez), Saiz; Nuzzolo (92nd Djuric), Surdez (46th Lahiouel). Coaches: Sébastien Fontbonne and Alexandre Badibanga.
SLO: Hammel; Pos, Hajrulahu, Routis; Ajdini (69th Hadzi), Abdullah, Bamba (69th Labeau), Hefti (85th Asllani); Chadri, Qarri (69th Chamber); Hadji (85e Okou). Entrepreneur: Meho Kodro.
Warnings: Bamba (30th, hard game), Chader (36th, altercation), Nuzzolo (36th, altercation), Kasongo (77th, hard game), Pos (84th, hard game), Saiz (91st, hard game).