St Gallen edge into second place on league ladder
St Gallen moved into second place in the Swiss football championship behind Basel on Sunday. Grasshoppers Zurich and Geneva Servette failed to live up to their reputations of favourites for the title.
The one-nil away victory against Aarau was the 11th straight match without losing for St Gallen. At the Brügglifeld, the team seemed to have recovered from its European Cup match win against Bundesliga side Freiburg.
In Aarau, St Gallen’s victory came after the home side’s under-21 international defender, Mario Eggimann, scored against his team in the 58th minute.
Grasshoppers collapsed at home against Sion, losing 0-3. The loss comes just a few days after the Zurich side beat Dutch team FC Twente 4-1 at the Hardturm.
Richard Nunez, who scored a hat trick against the Dutch, was totally out of form, and local keeper Stephan Huber failed to react on the first goal. Samuel Ojong and Julien Poueys with a double were the scorers for Sion.
Playing in Lugano, Servette passed up a chance to keep up with St Gallen. In an even-sided match, the Geneva team managed a one-all draw, with new recruit Robert levelling the score in the 58th minute. Lugano’s Argentinean Julio Rossi had drawn first blood after half an hours play.
Basel had cemented its top place on the leader board on Saturday with a 2-1 home victory against Zurich. Young Boys of Berne enjoyed an easy 5-1 victory over Lucerne, while Neuchâtel Xamax beat Lausanne 2-1.
Basel with 30 points is now two ahead of St Gallen, and four ahead of Young Boys and Servette. Lucerne and Lausanne are now respectively second-last and last with 11 and nine points.
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