An own goal and two standing balls lead to defeat in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Europa League: YB had to admit defeat to Sporting 1:3. Filip Ugrinic scored the goal for the hosts shortly before half-time.
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There is a tingling atmosphere that is reminiscent of the Champions League evenings in autumn. And in Wankdorf, which was sold out with 31,500 spectators, a game developed that fits this setting with its intensity. It quickly becomes clear what caliber the Young Boys are dealing with.
Sporting, leaders in the Portuguese championship, set a high rhythm and kept the local defense busy. YB defends itself as best it can, tries to keep the danger away from its own goal and still manages to set accents on the offensive. Lukasz Lakomy checks goalie Antonio Adán in the 12th minute.
But Sporting remains dangerous and unyielding. And after half an hour, Rúben Amorim’s team finally takes the lead. However, the creation is unfortunate for YB. After a cross from Marcus Edwards, Aurèle Amenda deflects it into her own goal. And eight minutes later Sporting increased. David von Ballmoos stops Edwards as he breaks through so that the French referee Benoît Bastien points to the penalty point. Viktor Gyökeres takes over the execution, and Sporting’s big figure in attack keeps his nerve.
However, YB is not discouraged. Shortly before the break, Filip Ugrinic scored the celebrated 1:2. And finally the supposed balance falls. Supposedly because Cedric Itten’s goal was disallowed in stoppage time in the first half because of an offside position.
At the start of the second half, Ugrinic is no longer there. The tireless midfielder sustained an injury while shooting for goal when Eduardo Quaresma tried to stop him from shooting. Cheikh Niasse joins the team for Ugrinic. And as soon as the game started again, Sporting restored their two-goal lead. Pedro Gonçalves does the preparatory work with a free kick, Gonçalo Inácio finishes with his head to make it 3-1.
After an hour there was a big cheer in Wankdorf, not because of a goal, but because of a substitution. Because it is the moment when Meschack Elia steps onto the pitch – the Congolese had only returned to Bern from the Africa Cup the day before and is now expected to provide new momentum in the offensive for the remaining half hour. In addition to him, coach Raphael Wicky is sending two other new strikers onto the pitch: Joël Monteiro and Silvere Ganvoula.
YB is aiming to put itself in a better position for the second leg next Thursday in Lisbon. But the Portuguese not only have concentrated offensive power, they also know how good defense works. They admit little to YB.
In the 87th minute, the Bernese team seemed to come close again. Darian Males sets up Ganvoula, who pushes the ball over the line. However, this goal was also canceled due to offside. And the Young Boys only finish the game with ten men. Mohamed Ali Camara was shown a yellow-red card in the 88th minute after a foul.
“We knew how strong our opponent was,” says David von Ballmoos, “and we also knew that we needed the perfect game if we wanted to achieve a positive result against Sporting. Unfortunately it wasn’t perfect. We made one or two mistakes too many.” But the goalie also adds: “Our performance certainly wasn’t that bad.” Resignation is not in order before the second encounter with Sporting CP. In any case, Sandro Lauper notes: “We want to show what we can do in Lisbon.”
YB continues first in the Credit Suisse Super League with a home game. On Sunday, newly promoted Stade Lausanne Ouchy will be guests at Wankdorf (2:15 p.m.).
Lukas Lakomy stood out with a few shots. (Photo: Thomas Hodel)
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