
Leaders Lugano threaten to stumble against bottom club Winterthur. But after trailing 2-0 at the break, the Ticino side turned the game around to win 3-2.
It was the 93rd minute when Lugano were awarded another free kick. Georgios Koutsias was lurking in the penalty area and he turned the ball around and put it into the net with the tip of his foot. It was a fine finish to a strong comeback by the Ticino side, who thus cemented their top position in the table.
However, it had initially looked different at the Schützenwiese. Winterthur looked more alert and more efficient in the first half. Frenchman Antoine Baroan gave FCW the lead and doubled it from the penalty spot shortly before the break. The team, coached by Uli Forte since the winter, seemed to be on course to catch up with Yverdon with their fourth win of the season.
But Mattia Croci-Torti did not allow this to happen. Just as the Lugano coach rumbled on the touchline during the game, he probably also shook up his team in the dressing room, which was without the suspended team leader Renato Steffen. In the second half, substitute Yanis Cimignani was particularly impressive, scoring twice in the space of nine minutes to level the scores. He even had a hat-trick on his feet in the 75th minute, but failed to hit the crossbar. Chicago loanee Koutsias thus became the match winner, earning Lugano three extremely important points at the last moment.
Winterthur - Lugano 2:3 (2:0)
SR San. - Goals: 7. Baroan (Di Giusto) 1:0. 36. Baroan (penalty) 2:0. 52. Cimignani (Zanotti) 2:1. 63. Cimignani (Valenzuela) 2:2. 93. Koutsias (Cimignani) 2:3.
Winterthur: Kapino; Sidler, Arnold, Lüthi, Schättin; Schneider (91. Lekaj), Zuffi; Di Giusto (82. Gomis), Frei (72. Durrer), Ulrich (82. Diaby); Baroan (72. Bajrami).
Lugano: Saipi; Zanotti, Papadopoulos (46. Mai), Hajdari, Valenzuela; Mahmoud, Grgic (46. Cimignani), Bislimi; Bottani (82. Aliseda), Vladi (72. Koutsias), Daniel Dos Santos (76. Mahou).
Remarks: Cautions: 45 Papadopoulos, 48 Bislimi, 58 Zuffi.