Legend:
The smile of the “Joker”
Substitute Blaz Kramer brings the FCZ on course.
Claudio De Capitani/freshfocus
The Young Boys knew that if they wanted to maintain their mini-chance of getting back into the fight for the title, they needed a home win over FC Zurich. Accordingly, the reigning champion shifted up a gear after just under an hour – and was immediately rewarded: Meschack Elia prevailed in the aerial duel against Fidan Aliti, Jordan Siebatcheu headed in to make it 1-0 (62nd).
But Fedayi San put an abrupt end to the jubilation. The referee rated Elias getting in as a dangerous game. Everything back to zero.
And so, 12 minutes later, 31,000 spectators in Wankdorf witnessed how lucky the people of Zurich were once again. They saw how the path to success was once again based on straightforward counterattacks and coach André Breitenreiter had substituted the win:
- 74 minutes: Ousmane Doumbia gets the ball in his own half. With a laser pass he launches “Joker” Blaz Kramer. He simply leaves Cédric Zesiger standing and catches David von Ballmoos between the legs.
- 79 minutes: Again, Doumbia is the starting point of a counterattack. He sends the edgy, omnipresent Wilfried Gnonto. This makes the YB defense appear extremely stiff at the hips. After his pass, Kramer still gets caught by Von Ballmoos, but Antonio Marchesano, who came on 9 minutes earlier, hit the rebound with his 12th goal of the season.
Within just under 20 minutes, the champions from Bern went from a supposed 1-0 lead to a 0-2 deficit. The Young Boys reacted largely with resignation. Just seconds before the final whistle, Vincent Sierro scored the consolation goal. The FCZ, on the other hand, immediately found their way back to winning after the defeat against St. Gallen. Although the game shares were larger on the Bernese side, the guests were often dangerous with fast counterattacks.
YB and the buried dreams
Gnonto could have scored for the Zurich lead immediately after the change of sides. However, he failed because of Von Ballmoos. The 18-year-old super talent will be able to cope, after 90 minutes FCZ’s first win in Bern was on the scoreboard for almost 8 years.
YB, on the other hand, has to finally bury their dreams of the title after 4 games without a win. The gap to the leaders is already 17 points. Also ugly for the Bernese: their hospital has increased by one player. Youngster Fabian Rieder injured his ankle while tackling. In addition, Sandro Lauper will miss the next game with a yellow card.
Here’s how to proceed
After the national break, both teams continue with exciting tasks in the league. The Young Boys have to travel to Basel on Sunday April 3rd. FC Zurich welcomes the Grasshoppers to Letzigrund the day before. The Zurich Derby is then the SRF live game.