Basel still unshaken at top of league table

Basel's George Koumantarakis shouts for joy after scoring against Lugano Keystone

Basel have reinforced their strong performance this season with a 2-1 away win against Lugano.

The victory in Ticino means the boys from Basel have held onto their number one position at the top of the league table and thanks to such a successful season they have booked their place in the championship round.

The first goal of the match came in the 13th minute when Basel’s George Koumantarakis slammed one into the back of the net. His goal was to prove the only one of the first half.

Basel’s second goal arrived six minutes before full time when Hakan Yakin slipped one past the Lugano keeper, giving his team a 2-0 advantage. But Lugano put up a last minute fight with a goal from Régis Rothenbühler in the 90th minute.

The Ticinese team are also through to the championship round, in which the top eight league teams will fight it out for the Swiss title.

Young Boys Bern vs Geneva Servette

In other Sunday action, Young Boys Bern lost to Geneva Servette 1-0.

In what was an uneventful 90 minutes, Servette’s Wilson Oruma scored the only goal of the match early in the first half, leaving the rest of the game fairly flat.

With their win, the Geneva-based side held onto their fourth position in the table and booked their place in the championship round.

The Boys from the capital remained static in seventh place and are now fighting off competition from FC Zurich, the Grasshoppers and Neuchâtel Xamax for their place in the championship round.

Grasshoppers vs FC Zurich

In front of nearly 12, 000 fans, the cross town rivals FC Zurich and the Zurich Grasshoppers drew 0-0.

Even though the match ended in a draw, aggregate scores forced the Grasshoppers down the table to sixth place while FC Zurich enjoyed a promotion to eighth position.

With two matches of the league now left, the two Zurich sides are fighting it out with the likes of Neuchâtel Xamax and Young Boys Bern for a place in the championship round.

Bottom feeders Lausanne and Lucerne are both in the relegation round where they will be joined by the two teams who fail to make it through to the championship round.

swissinfo with agencies