Lausanne and Basel qualify for UEFA Cup tournament

Stéphane Gobet (far right) scoring Lausanne's winning goal Keystone

Lausanne and Basel have qualified for the UEFA Cup football tournament following Thursday's wins. Lausanne beat the Irish side, Cork City, 1-0, winning 2-0 on aggregate, while Basel hammered Folgore San Marino 7-0.

It is the third time Lausanne will be included in the first round line-up of the UEFA Cup, after their second leg away win against Cork. Lausanne had, however, come to Ireland with a 1-0 home win under their belts.

The only goal of the match was scored by the 20-year-old defender, Stéphane Gobet, in the 61st minute. He was able to get his head on the end of a well-placed corner kick by the Frenchman, Hellebuyck.

After the match Lausanne’s manager, Pierre-André Schürmann, said: “The most important thing is that we’re now in the first round. However, it has to be said that we didn’t play well.”

Lausanne were put under a great deal of pressure in the first half. Their goalkeeper did well to save two shots on goal from Morley and Herrick.

Basel, meanwhile, also have reason to celebrate their effortless 7-0 home win against Folgore San Marino. It is the first time in 20 years that Basel have secured their ticket to the main round of the UEFA Cup.

Basel already had a 5-1 away win in their pockets when the visitors from southern Europe arrived. Basel finished the first half of the match with a resounding 5-0.

Basel’s goals came from Magro and Tholot, who scored two each, and from Muff, Cantaluppi and Koumantarakis.

The 7-0 win gave Basel their best ever UEFA Cup game result in a total of 36 such appearances.

On Friday, the fixtures for the UEFA Cup will be drawn which will involve a total of four Swiss clubs after Thursday’s wins: Lausanne, Basel, St Gallen and FC Zurich.

swissinfo with agencies