- FC Luzern only managed a 2-2 draw against Hibernian Edinburgh in the second leg of the 3rd qualifying round of the Conference League and were eliminated after a 1-3 loss a week ago.
- Goals for the home team will be scored by Jakub Kadak and Kemal Ademi.
- Lucerne fails for the ninth time in a row when attempting to reach a group stage in the European Cup.
For six minutes, the Swissporarena in Lucerne was like a madhouse: When “Joker” Kemal Ademi hit the ball in the 67th minute to make it 2-1, FCL was just one goal away from going into extra time. The crowd pushed Mario Frick’s team forward, Sofyan Chader fired a long-range shot just wide of the left post (71′).
But then Marco Burch stopped in the 73rd minute when Elié Youan allegedly fouled a Scottish counterattack. The French served Martin Boyle, who pushed in to make it 2-2. The euphoria in the audience evaporated as quickly as it came.
Shot early backlog
It was not apparent in the early stages of the game that the home side could still dream of the playoffs. Youan gave the guests a 1-0 lead after an individual performance in the 10th minute, making the overall score 4-1. Burch was also involved in this goal – he deflected the ball slightly, but probably not decisively.
The offensive duo Lars Villiger/Jakub Kadak, who were new in the starting XI compared to the first leg, ensured the quick 1: 1: After a strong save by the Scottish keeper David Marshall, Villiger got the ball on the baseline in the 16th minute and passed it Centre, where Kadak – already a goalscorer in the last two Super League games – was spot on.
Lucerne close to victory
The FCL then showed a flawless fighting performance and also scored goals against defensive Scots. Pius Dorn (double chance/35th), Kadak (blocked/59th) and Ademi, who came on at the break (header/65th), were initially denied success.
Even after the turbulent six-minute high with Ademis 2-1 and Boyles 2-2, Lucerne did more for the game and deserved the win. A possible handball by Hibernian defender Lewis Stevenson was not penalized (80′), Teddy Okou, who came on for Kadak, failed with his header in added time to keeper Marshall.
The black qualifying series of the FCL
With the out, the Lucerne team lost a highlight: opponents in the playoffs would have been Aston Villa. The FCL did not make it into a European Cup group phase at the 9th attempt in a row. For the 2nd time after 2014 (Johnstone), the central Swiss were eliminated by a Scottish club.