The Liechtensteinians won the promotion / relegation jump-off. They are back in the top flight, three years after leaving it.
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Mohamed Coulibaly scored twice on Monday night in the return leg.
KEYSTONE
For FC Thun, the 2019-2020 season, which was once again one of all dangers, ended in the Challenge League. Lbernese club is indeed condemned to leave a Swiss elite in which he had managed to maintain himself for ten years. In Oberland, the consequences of this relegation could prove catastrophic, even likely to jeopardize the survival of the club. A year after the Brügglifeld miracle that saw Xamax erase a four-goal liability in the second leg against Aarau, Thun failed to repeat a “Neuchâtel-style” rescue.
After a calamitous first part of the season, the Stockhorn Arena club had nevertheless signed a magnificent recovery since the resumption of the championship, narrowly failing to grab eighth place synonymous with maintaining its duel at a distance with FC Sion. Its failure is all the more dramatic.
If his return to a Super League he left three years ago annoys more than one by twitching many thinking heads, Vaduz has stolen nothing on the field. Like the duo Cicek-Coulibaly which caused the worst torments to the former Super League resident. By the time they joined Lausanne, which they had beaten twice this season, at the highest level, Mario Frick’s proteges proved that they deserved their place.
Faivre’s error
If no one, since the incredible outcome of June 2019, no longer risks delivering the slightest prognosis, the tension was palpable when Mr. Jaccottet released the 22 actors in the arena. While Mario Frick had not made any changes, contenting himself with starting goalkeeper Büchel, who had relayed Ospelt, who was injured in the first leg, there were four changes in the Bernese roster – Joss, Bertone, Breitenmoser and Bandé replacing Glarner, Fatkic, Tosetti and Rapp. After a few inconsequential alerts, Vaduz was going to have the good fortune to open the mark following a mistake from Faivre. On a fairly harmless strike from the excellent Cicek, the Neuchâtel goalkeeper could only relax the ball in the feet of Sutter whose small center found Coulibaly.
From that moment, Thun’s task, already complicated at the start, turned into an almost impossible mission. But, carried by the encouragement of his audience, he did not give up: on a corner from Bertone, Stillhart placed a header that Büchel, surprised at the far post, could only block behind his line. The goalkeeper made up for it by being the author of two monstrous parades in stoppage time, on a strike from Hasler first (45th +1) then by saving his foot in front of Karlen (45th + 2). The notion of marked success on the outside did not enter into consideration in these dams, still remained for Thun a handicap of two goals to go up at the break. For his part, Vaduz could blame himself for not having better exploited one or the other of the cons he had spared himself.
Like a relegated
Because as soon as the restart Thun could make up half of its delay, following a sumptuous strike from Bertone ending its race in the skylight. Betrayed by their goalkeeper, the Bernese would however concede the equalizer a few moments later when the unfortunate Faivre let slip a shot from Coulibaly which had escaped all the defense.
Match folded? Yes because after a failure of Munsy, missing the goal of 3-2 and hope on the hour mark, this devil of Cicek buried the last Bernese chances of maintaining by exploiting a service of his friend Coulibaly and a Stillhart slip. Thoune then began to play like the delegate he was, the too late successes of Munsy and Rapp only heightening his regrets. At the stroke of 20h07, a page has turned. At the last whistle of the 2019-2020 championship, the joy of Liechtenstein and the great happiness of the promoted contrasted with the distress of a whole club, of a whole region..
Thoune – Vaduz 4-3 (1-1)
Stockhorn Arena, 1000 spectators. Referee: M. Jaccottet.
Buts: 19e Coulibaly 0-1, 41e Stillhart 1-1, 47e Bertone 2-1, 51e Coulibaly 2-2, 69e Cisek 2-3, 87e Munsy 3-3, 94e Rapp 4-3.
Thun: Faivre; Joss (53rd Tosetti), Havenaar (71st N. Sutter), Stillhart, Hefti; Bertone; Hasler, Karlen; Breitenmoser (67th Rapp), Munsy, Bandé (53rd Ahmed). Coach: Mr. Schneider.
Vaduz: Büchel; Rahimi, Schmid, Simani; Dorn, Lüchinger, Wieser (69e Prokopic), Schwizer (77e Djokic); Cicek (77e N. Frick); Coulibaly (69e Milinceanu), M. Sutter (55e Gasser). Entraîneur: M. Frick.
Notes: Thoune without Kablan, Bigler, Hediger, Castroman, Salanovic (injured), nor Ziswiler, Rodrigues, Roth, Vasic, Chihadeh (not summoned). Vaduz without Gajic (injured). 25th: Coulibaly’s goal canceled for offside. Expulsion: 90th Lüchinger (2nd yellow card). Avertissements: 24e Dorn, 25e Cicek, 27e Hasler, 31e Schwizer, 64e Lüchinger.
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