Xamax held in check again

Xamax held in check again

Neuchâtel Xamax will have to wait a little longer for their first win of the season. The "red and blacks" were held to a draw by Zurich (1-1).
In their second match at the new Maladière, the Neuchâtel side shared the spoils with defending champions Zurich (1-1) in front of 7,760 spectators. Trapped in their own half for the first twenty-five minutes, the «red» and «black» only looked dangerous from set-pieces, notably a free-kick from Brazilian Everson.

They even had a great chance when Bah crossed for Rossi, who missed, only to be beaten to the far post by Merenda. The start of the second half was more evenly matched by the opening goal.

Everson, unmarked at his near post, headed home a corner kick from the unmarked Szlykowicz. The joy was short-lived for the newcomers, however, as Zurich equalised five minutes later, also from a corner kick, taking advantage of a poor clearance by Zuberbühler.

As effective as Zubi is as captain and motivator, his culpable hesitations in his own six yards could harm President Bernasconi's club.

The Romans could have taken all three points had Leoni not deflected Bah's late shot against the crossbar.
«Lustrigol» strikes early
At the end of a hard-fought game, which saw a player from each team leave the pitch prematurely, Lucerne and Young Boys finished back to back (2-2).
Lustrinelli broke the deadlock early on.

Hakan Yakin followed suit shortly afterwards. A slalom through the defence and a powerful shot from Chiumiento gave the Lucerne side the lead shortly before tea. Finally, another deflected free-kick from Hakan Yakin gave the Bernese a point from their away game.