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Wednesday 7th April 2004 Schaffhausen vs Vaduz
Challenge League, Game 25 of 30
(4-4-2): David Khmelidze; Patrick Mkhwanaizi, Tomas Votava, Ajibade Babalade, Michael Stocklasa; Benjamin Fischer, Hamid Reza Estili (capt), Roger Stilz, Fabio D’Elia; Bledar Fiqiri Mançaku, Þórarinn Brynjar Kristjánsson. Substitutes: Germano Vailati (gk), Vaidotas Slekys, Jákup á Borg, Eyal Almushnino, Jérôme Walz
Schaffhausen are a good side, and we know that they’ll cause us a few problems. We’re unchanged from the side that survived the late scare at Agno at the weekend.
We started well, with both Kristjánsson and Mançaku coming close to scoring. At the other end Porcelli forced a good save, but on 21 we took the lead. Votava floated a long free kick forward, and Kristjánsson executed a perfect volley into the top corner. Porcelli was denied an immediate equaliser by a good save and we were handed an extra bit of help when Raphaël Kehrli was sent off for a second booking. We took advantage pretty swiftly, and added a second eight minutes before the break. D’Elia’s pass was met by a first time pass from Kristjánsson to Mançaku, and the Albanian neatly rounded the goalkeeper and scored.
Schaffhausen started brightly early in the second half, with Toure forcing Khmeldize to save and Óskarsson firing wide. But we had the better of the latter part of the game. Stilz sending a free kick wide, and Babalade was denied from a header.
Schaffhausen 0-2 Vaduz
Goals: 21’ Kristjánsson (0-1), 37’ Mançaku (0-2)
Attendance: 3607
Substitutions: Slekys and Borg for Fischer and Mançaku (75’)
Yellow Cards: Sessa, Sereinig (Schaffhausen), Mançaku (Vaduz)
Red Cards: 29’ Raphaël Kehrli (Schaffhausen)
Man of the Match: Þórarinn Brynjar Kristjánsson 9
That was an excellent result for us today, although we were helped by the sending off. We’ll have to do with Bledar Mançaku in the return game next week. He’s suspended having been booked for the fourth time this season.
Friday 16th April 2004 Vaduz vs Schaffhausen
Challenge League, Game 26 of 30
(4-4-2): David Khmelidze; Pascal Thüler, Tomas Votava, Ajibade Babalade, Michael Stocklasa; Benjamin Fischer, Hamid Reza Estili (capt), Valeriy Kryventsov, Fabio D’Elia; Vaidotas Slekys, Þórarinn Brynjar Kristjánsson. Substitutes: Germano Vailati (gk), Jákup á Borg, Roger Stilz, Eyal Almushnino, Jérôme Walz
We’ve got a few problems today. Slekys comes in up front for the suspended Mançaku, and Thüler comes in at left back for Mkhwanaizi who is now out for the rest of the season with an injury. One good point sees the return of Kryventsov into the midfield, relegating Stilz to the bench
We got off to a terrible start as Porcelli broke quickly and chipped the ball in for Orri Freyr Óskarsson to round Khmelidze and slot the ball home. After that though we were in control, but just couldn’t find the net. Kristjánsson and Estili were both denied by excellent saves, and the goalkeeper did the same again to keep out first Slekys and then Kristjánsson. D’Elia couldn’t do much better either, he skied an effort over the bar.
Things got worse after the break as Khmelidze parried Óskarsson’s effort into the path of Carmine Vicenconte who couldn’t miss. Vicenconte almost got another soon after as Schaffhausen tried to wrap up the game, but we got our act together and started to come forward. Borg was denied by another save, and Kryventsov saw an effort scrape the crossbar. Porcelli fired over late on, but it wasn’t to matter as Óskarsson scored at the second attempt from Dubach’s cross in the dying seconds.
Vaduz 0-3 Schaffhausen (2-3)
Goals: 3’ Óskarsson (0-1), 46’ Vicenconte (0-2), 90’ Óskarsson (0-3)
Attendance: 3148
Substitutions: Borg and Walz for Fischer and Babalade (70’), Stilz for D’Elia (79’)
Yellow Cards: Estili (Vaduz), Aydin, Toure (Schaffhausen)
Red Cards: -
Man of the Match: Orri Freyr Óskarsson (Schaffhausen) 10
I’m absolutely furious – and on two counts. Firstly, we were dreadful today, and I can’t really complain about the result. But I do think that the game should have gone to penalties because the linesman had clearly flagged for offside in the build up to the third goal. The pressure is no seriously on, but we’ve got to face Chiasso next. Although they’re involved in a relegation fight we really need to take all eight points off them to keep up our promotion or play-off hopes.
Friday 23rd April 2004 Vaduz vs Chiasso
Challenge League, Game 27 of 30
(4-4-2): David Khmelidze; Pascal Thüler, Tomas Votava, Ajibade Babalade, Michael Stocklasa; Benjamin Fischer, Hamid Reza Estili (capt), Valeriy Kryventsov, Fabio D’Elia; Bledar Fiqiri Mançaku, Þórarinn Brynjar Kristjánsson. Substitutes: Germano Vailati (gk), Vaidotas Slekys, Roger Stilz, Marius Zarn, Jérôme Walz
Today is a must-win game for us, even if Chiasso are fighting against relegation. The only change to the side from the debacle from last week is Mançaku back in for Slekys.
From our first real attack, we scored. Estili took his time to get his cross in from the left, but when he did, Kristjánsson rose to head home. Kristjánsson was denied by an excellent save soon after, and Kryventsov then went close twice. On 22, Mançaku lifted the ball into the box, and Kristjánsson somehow managed to lob the ball over the goalkeeper and into the net. Kristjánsson looked odds-on to get his hatrick soon afterwards, but the goalkeeper pulled off a terrific save to deny the Icelandic international. Just before the break we had Benjamin Fischer, when the winger decided to elbow Di Nicolantonio.
Chaisso tried to take advantage of the extra man early in the second half, but Khmeldize was equal to both Viola and Kohler. We closed the game out after that, although both Kryventsov and Viola had opportunities to add to the scoresheet.
Vaduz 2-0 Chiasso
Goals: 13’ Kristjánsson (1-0), 22’ Kristjánsson (2-0)
Attendance: 3174
Substitutions: Slekys and Walz for Mançaku and Estili (65’), Stilz for Babalade (80’)
Yellow Cards: Votava (Vaduz), Bayrak, Kohler (Chiasso)
Red Cards: 44’ Benjamin Fischer (Vaduz)
Man of the Match: Þórarinn Brynjar Kristjánsson 10
Benjamin Fischer let the side down today with his sending off, and the Swiss FA have decided that his season is over, banning him for the last three games of the season. We’ll also be without David Khmelidze who sustained a neck injury during the game and will be out for a few weeks.
We’ve got a few changes to the side today, but we’re still expecting to get a win – we don’t have too much choice. Germano Vailati makes his debut in goal, and Walz and Bazuaye come into the side, replacing the injured Stocklasa and the suspended Fischer.
The first half was terrible, and it took until ten minutes before the break for either side to have a shot. That came from Viola that Vailati did well to keep out, and the Chiasso striker then fired over the bar.
We were much improved after the break, and D’Elia first came close to scoring. The goal came on the hour as Valeriy Kryventsov fired in from Votava’s long ball forward, and Kristjánsson soon shot over. Vailati produced an excellent save to turn over Gobbi’s effort, but Kryventsov and Slekys both shot straight at the goalkeeper as we missed opportunities to wrap up the game.
Chiasso 0-1 Vaduz (0-3)
Goals: 59’ Kryventsov (0-1)
Attendance: 4475
Substitutions: Slekys and Almushnino for Kristjánsson and Estili (69’), Bezhenar for Babalade (80’)
Yellow Cards: Gobbi (Chiasso)
Red Cards: -
Man of the Match: Valeriy Kryventsov 10
In the end, we got the result that we desired. Automatic promotion is now between ourselves and Concordia, but we could still be caught by either Schaffhausen or Luzern for the second spot. A win in our penultimate game, away at Delémont, will ensure at least a top-two finish, so we know what we have to do.
Delémont aren’t going to do much this season, but that doesn’t mean that we can take them lightly. Khmelidze and Stocklasa are fit enough to return, relegating Vailati and Walz back to the bench.
The early exchanges were fast and furious, with both sides looking to score. The goalkeepers had to be alert to keep out Rezzonico and Mançaku, and later on Semeraro and Viceconte. Kristjánsson fired over late on and another great save denied Mançaku.
Damien and Kristjánsson both came close to breaking the deadlock early in the second half, but on the hour Slaven Savic latched onto a loose ball and sent the ball into the back of the net. Kristjánsson and Kryventsov both missed the target whilst Rezzonico fired over. Slekys fired wide as we failed to get anything out of the game.
Delémont 1-0 Vaduz
Goals: 59’ Savic (1-0)
Attendance: 3035
Substitutions: Slekys and Almushnino for Mançaku and Estili (62’), Walz for Stocklasa (77’)
Yellow Cards: Damien, Raffaele (Delémont)
Red Cards: -
Man of the Match: Elvir Melunovic (Delémont) 10
We didn’t play too badly today, but we were woeful in front of goal and it cost us. Thankfully though other results went our way, and we’re almost at the play-off berth.
Last week was a real disappointment, but we can still pip Concordia to the championship, if things go for us today. We do though have to win, and we’re unchanged.
Kristjánsson missed a glorious opportunity early on and Semeraro fired wide at the other end. But soon Melunovic managed to squeeze the ball into the box for Slaven Savic to run onto and score, and five minutes later Semeraro headed the ball into the path of Manuel Sommer who doubled the lead. Mançaku was denied by an excellent save soon after and Khmelidze did well to deny Savic.
The second half was also quite a bore, with only Kryventsov coming close to getting a goal back.
Vaduz 0-2 Delémont (0-3)
Goals: 13’ Savic (0-1), 18’ Sommer (0-2)
Attendance: 3082
Substitutions: Slekys, Almushnino and Walz for Kristjánsson, Estili and Votava (64’)
Yellow Cards: Stocklasa, Votava, Mançaku (Vaduz)
Red Cards: -
Man of the Match: Aschwin Josefzoon (Delémont) 9
It’s a very disappointing end to the season, but results mean that we’ve got through to the play-off. We’ll face Young Boys of Bern in a two-legged affair, with the first leg away next weekend.
The season comes down to these two games, and we’ve got to have the upper hand given that Young Boys finished second bottom of the top flight. Walz comes in for the crocked Votava, and Fischer returns from suspension to replace Bazuaye on the left wing.
We started brilliantly, Mançaku picking out Kristjánsson with a reverse pass, and the Icelander sent the ball under the goalkeeper and into the net. Eseosa forced a save from Khmelidze soon after whilst at the other end Kristjánsson and Estili were denied by good saves. Young Boys equalised on 19 minutes as Gaetano Giallanza scored with a diving header from Eseosa’s cross. Fischer cracked a free kick just wide of the post and Häberli was denied by a good save.
Things were quiet early on in the second half, but when Kristjánsson’s shot was parried, Mançaku sent the loose ball wide of the post. Fifteen minutes from time we retook the lead as Fischer crossed and Kristjánsson lobbed the ball over the goalkeeper and into the net from the edge of the box. Three minutes later we added a third. Fischer’s cross was put back into the box by Zarn. The goalkeeper kept out Slekys’ diving header, but Kristjánsson was on hand to nip in and complete his hatrick. Late on Khmeldize kept our lead intact with two saves from Giallanza and another from Marazzi.
Young Boys 1-3 Vaduz
Goals: 2’ Kristjánsson (0-1), 19’ Giallanza (1-1), 75’ Kristjánsson (1-2), 78’ Kristjánsson (1-3)
Attendance: 11560
Substitutions: Slekys and Zarn for Mançaku and D’Elia (70’)
Yellow Cards: Eugster, Knez, Rochet (Young Boys), D’Elia (Vaduz)
Red Cards: -
Man of the Match: Þórarinn Brynjar Kristjánsson 10
That was a really fantastic performance from us, and we’ve given ourselves every possibility of winning promotion. But we can’t rest on our laurels just yet; there’s another 90 minutes to play.
Tuesday 1st June 2004 Vaduz [3] vs Young Boys [1]
Super League, Playoff, Second Leg
(4-4-2): David Khmelidze; Pascal Thüler, Tomas Votava, Ajibade Babalade, Micahel Stocklasa; Benjamin Fischer, Hamid Reza Estili (capt), Valeriy Kryventsov, Fabio D’Elia; Bledar Fiqiri Mançaku, Þórarinn Brynjar Kristjánsson. Substitutes: Germano Vailati (gk), Vaidotas Slekys, Roger Stilz, Eyal Almushnino, Baldwin Bazuaye, Marius Zarn, Jérôme Walz
We’ve got a decent headstart today, but we can’t afford to be complacent, and it’s the strongest side available to us that plays. That means that Votava comes back into the side after injury to replace Walz.
We got off to a perfect start as Valeriy Kryventsov cracked home a free kick into the top corner in just the second minute. Fifteen minutes later Kristjánsson crossed for Mançaku to head home, and we were cruising towards the Super League.
Young Boys just seemed to give up hope, and we prodded occasionally. Kryventsov fired wide from a free kick and Kristjánsson was denied by a good save, but apart from that the game just meandered to its end.
Vaduz 2-0 Young Boys (5-1)
Goals: 2’ Kryventsov (1-0), 17’ Mançaku (2-0)
Attendance: 3531
Substitutions: Almushnino and Walz for Estili and Babalade (62’), Slekys for Fischer (77’)
Yellow Cards: Hodel (Young Boys)
Red Cards: -
Man of the Match: Michael Stocklasa 9
That was just about a perfect performance from us. The early goals helped to settle us, and we could just bask in the knowledge that we would be playing top-flight Swiss football next season.
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Name Apps Gls Asts MoM Av RAlmushnino, E 0 (6) 0 0 0 6.67Babalade, A 13 0 0 0 6.69Bazuaye, B 4 (4) 0 1 0 6.38Bezhenar, S 16 (2) 0 1 0 6.61Borg, J 0 (4) 1 0 0 6.75D'Elia, F 30 0 4 1 7.00Estili, H 32 0 1 0 6.81Fischer, B 30 4 3 1 7.43Khmelidze, D 33 0 0 1 7.12Kristjánsson, Þ 34 27 12 9 7.68Kryventsov, V 30 3 4 2 7.67Mançaku, B 31 8 10 0 6.68Mkhwanaizi, P 20 0 2 2 7.50Polverino, D 0 (3) 0 0 0 6.67Polverino, M 2 (6) 0 0 1 7.00Slekys, V 3 (27) 6 2 0 6.73Stilz, R 4 (15) 0 1 1 6.63Stocklasa, M 32 0 1 4 7.38Thüler, P 12 (3) 0 2 1 6.93Vailati, G 1 0 0 0 8.00Votava, T 28 1 4 0 6.96Walz, J 15 (17) 1 1 2 7.16Zangger, M - - - - ----Zarn, M 4 (8) 0 0 0 6.58</pre>
It’s been a long, hard season, and ultimately it also proved to be successful. There is certainly room for improvement in the squad, and I would expect a few new faces before the new season. It was now surprise that the fans voted Þórarinn Brynjar Kristjánsson as their player of the year. He was the only player to start every game, and also ended top goalscorer, top assister, and got the most Man of the Match awards.
Retirment: Vaidotas Slekys Retirment: Pascal Thüler Retirment: Sergiy Bezhenar
None of these players made too much of an impact during the season, but all have played their part in the success of the team and we wish them the best for the future. By the end of the season none of them were first team material, so we should be able to cope without them.
Transfer signing: Ignas Dedura, 26, D L, Latvian (9 caps), £30,000 from Skonto Transfer signing: Nenad Lalatovic, 26, D LC, Serbian (1 cap), £275,000 from Shakhtar Transfer signing: Andy Smith, 23, S C, Northern Ireland (4 caps), £80,000 from Glentoran Transfer signing: Karim Kerkar, 27, AM RC, Algerian (8 caps), £70,000 from Al Qadisiya (QAT) Transfer signing: Siaka Bamba, 28, AM/F R, Ivorian (3 caps), Free from Greuther Fürth Transfer signing: Igor Guzelov, 28, D/DM C, Macedonian (18 caps, 2 goals), Free from Shakhtar
I’m really pleased with my work in the transfer market, and now I just have to hope that they can gel in with the players already at the club. I smashed our transfer record to bring in Lalatovic, and he’ll prove to be crucial in the defence this season I’m sure. Dedura, Smith and Bamba all provide excellent cover in their respective positions, whilst Kerkar and Guzelov will be vying for first team action in the coming campaign.
We had a welcome addition to the squad in the form of 20-year-old midfielder Kristof Hörrlein who came through the youth ranks this summer. He’ll train with the first team, but he has more chance of breaking through into the national side than our first team. :eek:
We took an early preseason tour around our home country. We fell behind early on at Triesen, but goals from Mançaku and Kryventsov turned our fortunes around and we ended up victorious by 2-1. Kristjánsson scored a fantastic hatrick as we blew Eschen/Mauren away 3-0, but fell to defeat against Ruggell. Guzelov and Kryventsov scored our goals as we were chasing a game that ended 3-2 to the home side. The second part of our preseason was a trip to Luxembourg. Our first game was against Jeunesse Esch, and goals either side of half time from Mançaku and Smith gave us a comfortable 2-1 victory. But we saved our best till last, thrashing Avenir Beggen 5-0. D’Elia, Mançaku and Kerkar had us 3-0 up within the first ten minutes, and Kristjánsson added a brace around the hour mark. It was a good workout for us, but we know that we’re in for a long hard slog this season.
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