retired_manpk1

Saturday 23rd April 2005
Thun vs Vaduz
Super League, Game 28 of 36

(4-4-2): Germano Vailati; Ignas Dedura, Nenad Lalatovic (capt), Choi Jin-Chul, Ajibade Babalade; Benjamin Fischer, Igor Guzelov, Karim Kerkar, Fabio D’Elia; Þórarinn Brynjar Kristjánsson, Abel Augusto Lobatón. Substitutes: Manuel Zangger (gk), Bledar Fiqiri Mançaku, Valeiry Kryventsov, Eyal Almushnino, Tomas Votava

Thun are another stuggling side, and we’re going all out to beat them. Kerkar is welcomed back into the midfield to replace Kryventsov, whilst at the back Babalade replaces the suspended Stocklasa, and Dedura comes in at left back for Mkhwanaizi, who’s away on international duty.

We suffered an early setback when Lobatón had to come off, and his replacement, Mançaku, came closest to scoring early on; his shot well held by the goalkeeper. The only other effort on goal resulted in us taking the lead as Kristjánsson headed in from Lalatovic’s corner.

Kristjánsson and Mançaku both came within inches of doubling the lead early in the second half, and Thun showed that they are dangerous on the break when Rama forced Vailati into a good save. Midway through the half Kryventsov lifted the ball into the path of Kristjánsson who volleyed in a second from 25 yards out. Kristjánsson sent another effort just wide of the post, and late on Lalatovic was denied by an excellent save.

Thun 0-2 Vaduz
Goals: 17’ Kristjánsson (0-1), 68’ Kristjánsson (0-2)
Attendance: 6021
Substitutions: Mançaku for Lobatón (6’), Kryventsov for Fischer (66’), Votava for Dedura (74’)
Yellow Cards: Zanni, Milicevic (Thun), Dedura (Vaduz)
Red Cards: -
Man of the Match: Þórarinn Brynjar Kristjánsson 9

It was by no means a vintage performance today, but the win today has seen us jump up to a fantastic 2nd place in the table. With only eight games to go, it’s a fantastic achievement for us. But the real news was the injury to Abel Augusto Lobatón. He suffered shin splints early on in the game today, and the injury is likely to keep him out for two months.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts1st Basel 28 17 5 6 36 26 +10 562nd Vaduz 28 15 4 9 62 41 +21 493rd Grasshopper 28 15 4 9 47 34 +13 494th St. Gallen 28 13 8 7 46 34 +12 475th Concordia BS 28 11 7 10 48 41 +7 406th Servette 28 11 6 11 31 30 +1 397th Aarau 28 10 2 16 40 60 -20 328th Neuchâtel Xamax 28 7 8 13 38 45 -7 29---------------------------------------------------9th Thun 28 7 8 13 35 44 -9 29---------------------------------------------------10th Zürich 28 4 8 16 29 57 -28 20</pre>

retired_manpk1

Wednesday 27th April 2005
Vaduz vs Neuchâtel Xamax
Super League, Game 29 of 36

(4-4-2): Germano Vailati; Patrick Mkhwanaizi, Nenad Lalatovic, Choi Jin-Chul, Michael Stocklasa (capt); Benjamin Fischer, Igor Guzelov, Karim Kerkar, Fabio D’Elia; Þórarinn Brynjar Kristjánsson, Bledar Fiqiri Mançaku. Substitutes: Manuel Zangger (gk), Andy Smith, Valeriy Kryventsov, Eyal Almushnino, Ajibade Babalade

Neuchâtel Xamax have been on poor form recently, and with our excellent run of late, we’re confident of a good result. Mkhwanaizi and Stocklasa are both available again, meaning that Dedura and Babalade miss out. The other change sees Mançaku come in up front for the injured Lobatón.

The game didn’t really excite for much of the first half, but just past the half hour Mançaku pulled the box into the centre of the box and Kristjánsson was on hand to tap in. Kristjánsson struck a free kick just wide of the post, and that was about it.

Four minutes into the second half Fischer crossed for Mançaku to double the lead, and a few minutes later Guzelov saw a header parried by the goalkeeper. Midway through the second half Rey crossed for Samuel Ojong to pull a goal back, and seven minutes later Häberli’s corner was headed in by Liam Whaley to equalise. Late on D’Elia saw an effort tipped around the post, and from the resultant corner Kristjánsson’s header was saved.

Vaduz 2-2 Neuchâtel Xamax
Goals: 33’ Kristjánsson (1-0), 49’ Mançaku (2-0), 66’ Ojong (2-1), 73’ Whaley (2-2)
Attendance: 3312
Substitutions: Smith and Babalade for Mançaku and Choi Jin-Chul (64’), Kryventsov for Kerkar (75’)
Yellow Cards: Mkhwanaizi (Vaduz)
Red Cards: -
Man of the Match: Þórarinn Brynjar Kristjánsson 9

It’s a bit disappointing to only get a point today, especially given that we were 2-0 up. It’s not the best preparation for the trip to Basel at the weekend, and we’ll be without Patrick Mkhwanaizi for the game; he’s suspended having picked up his fourth booking of the season during the game today.

retired_manpk1

Saturday 30th April 2005
Basel vs Vaduz
Super League, Game 30 of 36

(4-4-2): Germano Vailati; Ignas Dedura, Nenad Lalatovic, Choi Jin-Chul, Michael Stocklasa (capt); Benjamin Fischer, Igor Guzelov, Karim Kerkar, Fabio D’Elia; Þórarinn Brynjar Kristjánsson, Bledar Fiqiri Mançaku. Substitutes: Manuel Zangger (gk), Andy Smith, Valeriy Kryventsov, Eyal Almushnino, Ajibade Babalade

Dedura is back in the line-up today to replace the suspended Mkhwanaizi as we travel to the champions-elect. We may well have thrashed them 5-0 last time out, but we can expect a backlash today.

Just thirteen minutes in David Degen lifted the ball in for Hakan Yakin to fire in across Vailati. Hakan Yakin shot just wide soon after, and at the other end D’Elia was denied by an excellent save. Vailati did well to keep out another Hakan Yakin effort, but just before the break he parried Rossi’s effort into the path of Hakan Yakin and we were 2-0 down.

The second period was a quiet affair, with only Hakan Yakin and Kristjánsson forcing a save each. But in the final minute David Degen’s shot was deflected into the path of Hakan Yakin who easily completed his hatrick.

Basel 3-0 Vaduz
Goals: 13’ H. Yakin (1-0), 42’ H. Yakin (2-0), 90’ H. Yakin (3-0)
Attendance: 25091
Substitutions: Smith and Almushnino for Mançaku and Dedura (62’), Babalade for Stocklasa (81’)
Yellow Cards: P. Degen (Basel), Stocklasa, Fischer (Vaduz)
Red Cards: -
Man of the Match: Hakan Yakin (Basel) 10

You can’t win them all, but with the defending that we did today, we can’t expect to really challenge. Maybe it’s just because Basel are a far superior side to any other in Switzerland.

retired_manpk1

Wednesday 4th May 2005
Vaduz vs Grasshopper
Super League, Game 31 of 36

(4-4-2): Germano Vailati; Patrick Mkhwanaizi, Nenad Lalatovic, Choi Jin-Chul, Michael Stocklasa (capt); Benjamin Fischer, Igor Guzelov, Karim Kerkar, Fabio D’Elia; Þórarinn Brynjar Kristjánsson, Bledar Fiqiri Mançaku. Substitutes: Manuel Zangger (gk), Andy Smith, Valeriy Kryventsov, Eyal Almushnino, Ajibade Babalade

It’s 3rd vs 2nd today, and if we win, we’ll leapfrog Grasshopper back into second place. They’ll give us a difficult game though, but we’re strengthened by the return of Mkhwanaizi, meaning that Dedura drops out of the squad.

Kristjánsson saw a header parried early on, and midway through the half Stefan Lichtsteiner was sent off when he caught Fischer with his elbow. Kristjánsson was then denied by a goalline clearance, and saw another effort saved. Guzelov was also denied, but it remained goalless at half time.

Grasshopper defended well for the rest of the game, and that meant that we were restricted to long-range efforts. Mançaku and Fischer both shot wide, and for Grasshopper Nuñez fired wide.

Vaduz 0-0 Grasshopper
Goals: -
Attendance: 3459
Substitutions: Zangger for Vailati (55’), Smith and Kryventsov for Mançaku and Kerkar (71’)
Yellow Cards: Mançaku (Vaduz)
Red Cards: 24’ Stefan Lichtsteiner (Grasshopper)
Man of the Match: Fabrice Borer (Grasshopper) 9

I’m a bit disappointed that we weren’t able to take advamtage of the sending off today, but Grasshopper did defend well, and at least we didn’t lose.

retired_manpk1

Saturday 7th May 2005
Vaduz vs St. Gallen
Super League, Game 32 of 36

(4-4-2): Germano Vailati; Ignas Dedura, Nenad Lalatovic (capt), Choi Jin-Chul, Ajibade Babalade; Benjamin Fischer, Igor Guzelov, Karim Kerkar, Fabio D’Elia; Þórarinn Brynjar Kristjánsson, Bledar Fiqiri Mançaku. Substitutes: Manuel Zangger (gk), Andy Smith, Valeriy Kryventsov, Eyal Almushnino, Tomas Votava

St. Gallen have given us a hard time this season, and we expect the same from them today. We’re hampered in defence today. Mkhwanaizi is away with Namibia, and Stocklasa picked up an injury in training. So that means that Dedura and Babalade fill the full back spots today.

We got off to a poor start as Barnetta’s deep corner was volleyed in by Pascal Castillo. Guzelov had a header well held by the goalkeeper, but at the other end Barnetta was denied by the post. Guzelov had another effort saved, but St. Gallen were far the better side during the half.

The second half was a poor affair, with very few chances at either end. Barnetta came closest, but his header was parried to safety by Vailati.

Vaduz 0-1 St. Gallen
Goals: 5’ Castillo (0-1)
Attendance: 3525
Substitutions: Kryventsov and Votava for Fischer and Babalade (70’)
Yellow Cards: D’Elia (Vaduz), Bättig, Sutter, Marazzi (St. Gallen)
Red Cards: -
Man of the Match: Daniel Imhof (St. Gallen) 8

I was disappointed that we didn’t really seem to want to get back into the game once we’d fallen behind, and seemed content to settle for 1-0. That’s just not acceptable in my books, and we have to improve by next week.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts1st Basel 32 19 5 8 41 29 +12 622nd Grasshopper 32 16 6 10 48 35 +13 543rd Vaduz 32 15 6 11 64 47 +17 514th St. Gallen 32 14 8 10 49 39 +10 505th Servette 32 14 7 11 36 30 +6 496th Concordia BS 32 13 8 11 56 49 +7 477th Aarau 32 12 3 17 45 66 -21 398th Thun 32 8 10 14 42 49 -7 34---------------------------------------------------9th Neuchâtel Xamax 32 8 10 14 45 53 -8 34---------------------------------------------------10th Zürich 32 5 9 18 33 62 -29 24</pre>

retired_sroch3032

Excellent story Binny :thup:

I just read it from start to your current position and I have to congratulate you with the results you have been gaining.

Who would have thought to see a scoreline of Vaduz 5-0 Basel

And I learnt something new today about the Swiss 2nd Division the way they do things is wierd

KUTGW

retired_manpk1

Thanks for the support Dark_Soccer. One of things that attracted me to Switzerland was the wierd points system - and that Vaduz were in the league


Saturday 14th May 2005
Vaduz vs Concordia BS
Super League, Game 33 of 36

(4-4-2): Germano Vailati; Patrick Mkhwanaizi, Nenad Lalatovic (capt), Choi Jin-Chul, Ajibade Babalade; Benjamin Fischer, Igor Guzelov, Karim Kerkar, Fabio D’Elia; Þórarinn Brynjar Kristjánsson, Bledar Fiqiri Mançaku. Substitutes: Manuel Zangger (gk), Andy Smith, Valeriy Kryventsov, Eyal Almushnino, Tomas Votava

We’re looking to get at least a goal today as we’ve failed to score in the last three matches. The only change to the side that lost against St. Gallen is the return of Mkhwanaizi to replace Dedura at left back.

We were under pressure for much of the first half as we struggled to get a grip on the game. Bockaj had two good efforts to put Concordia ahead, and Biancavilla sent an effort just past the post, but somehow we survived to go in 0-0 at the break.

The second half was a torrid affair, with neither side coming close. But six minutes from time Mançaku headed the ball onto Kryventsov who knocked the ball wide to Kristjánsson and the Icelander fired in from the edge of the box. We could have added a second in the last few minutes, but Kerkar and Mançaku were denied by the goalkeeper, and Kristjánsson shot over.

Vaduz 1-0 Concordia BS
Goals: 84’ Kristjánsson (1-0)
Attendance: 3331
Substitutions: Kryventsov and Votava for D’Elia and Babalade (66’)
Yellow Cards: Zentar, Cardoso (Concordia BS)
Red Cards: -
Man of the Match: Karim Kerkar 9

A win is a win, and with our recent form, I’m happy to take it. The performance wasn’t brilliant, but it doesn’t really matter at this stage of the season.

retired_manpk1

Wednesday 18th May 2005
Zürich vs Vaduz
Super League, Game 34 of 36

(4-4-2): Germano Vailati; Patrick Mkhwanaizi, Nenad Lalatovic (capt), Choi Jin-Chul, Ajibade Babalade; Baldwin Bazuaye, Igor Guzelov, Karim Kerkar, Fabio D’Elia; Þórarinn Brynjar Kristjánsson, Bledar Fiqiri Mançaku. Substitutes: Manuel Zangger (gk), Andy Smith, Valeriy Kryventsov, Eyal Almushnino, Tomas Votava

Zürich will almost certainly be relegated today if they lose today, but we’re not going to make it easy for them. The only change to the side sees Baldwin Bazuaye come in on the left wing due to an injury to Benjamin Fischer.

We were dealt an early blow when Patrick Mkhwanaizi was sent off after just 16 minutes for a hacking down an attacker on his way to goal. Thankfully, Vailati saved the resultant free kick from Abdi. We were holding out well, and just before the break Bazuaye crossed for Mançaku to get to the ball ahead of the goalkeeper and put us ahead. We were almost pegged back immediately, but Vailati did well to parry Diogo’s effort.

Mançaku saw an effort parried to safety by the goalkeeper, and after a poor period of play D’Elia’s cross was volleyed in by Kristjánsson to double the lead. A minute later through Gygaz played in André Muff to pull a goal back, and Keita fired over as Zürich looked for an equaliser. Kerkar was denied by an excellent save, and in the dying minutes we were relieved to see Nef fire over.

Zürich 1-2 Vaduz
Goals: 44’ Mançaku (0-1), 72’ Kristjánsson (0-2), 73’ Muff (1-2)
Attendance: 6207
Substitutions: Kryventsov, Almushnino and Votava for Bazuaye, D’Elia and Guzelov (74’)
Yellow Cards: Dal Santo, Muff (Zürich), Babalade, Bazuaye, Mançaku (Vaduz)
Red Cards: 16’ Patrick Mkhwanaizi (Vaduz)
Man of the Match: Davide Calla (Zürich) 8

We did really well today, especially considering that we were down to ten men for most of the game. The result means that Zürich are relegated, and keeps us in the hunt for second place. Mkhwanaizi will serve a one-match ban following his sending off, and Mançaku will also be banned having been booked today for the fourth time this season.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts1st C Basel 34 20 5 9 46 34 +12 652nd Vaduz 34 17 6 11 67 48 +19 573rd Grasshopper 34 16 8 10 49 36 +13 564th Servette 34 16 7 11 40 30 +10 555th St. Gallen 34 14 8 12 49 43 +6 506th Concordia BS 34 13 8 13 56 52 +4 477th Aarau 34 13 4 17 48 68 -20 438th Neuchâtel Xamax 34 10 10 14 48 53 -5 40-----------------------------------------------------9th Thun 34 8 10 16 44 53 -9 34-----------------------------------------------------10th R Zürich 34 5 10 19 35 65 -30 25</pre>

retired_manpk1

Saturday 21st May 2005
Servette vs Vaduz
Super League, Game 35 of 36

(4-4-2): Germano Vailati; Ignas Dedura, Nenad Lalatovic (capt), Choi Jin-Chul, Ajibade Babalade; Baldwin Bazuaye, Igor Guzelov, Karim Kerkar, Fabio D’Elia; Þórarinn Brynjar Kristjánsson, Andy Smith. Substitutes: Manuel Zangger (gk), Daniele Polverino, Valeriy Kryventsov, Eyal Almushnino, Tomas Votava

Servette are still in with a chance of finishing second this season, and if we lose today, they will overtake us. We’re hampered by the loss due to suspension of Mkhwanaizi and Mançaku, and that gives Dedura and Smith a chance to shine.

Servette put us under a lot of pressure during the early part of the game. Minavand forced Vailati to save, and Obradovic and HÃ*tlon both came within inches of scoring. On 17 they did take the lead, Minavand lifting the ball into the box for Goran Obradovic to fire in. We woke up after that, and Kristjánsson was denied by two excellent saves, one off the line.

Our break came just past the hour as we were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box and Karim Kerkar fired in an equaliser into the top corner. Smith then saw an effort tipped over the bar, but on 72 Kristjánsson headed in a second from Bazuaye’s corner. Smith fired over late on, but we were good for our victory.

Servette 1-2 Vaduz
Goals: 17’ Obradovic (1-0), 63’ Kerkar (1-1), 72’ Kristjánsson (1-2)
Attendance: 8345
Substitutions: Almushnino and Votava for Guzelov and Babalade (69’), Kryventsov for D’Elia (77’)
Yellow Cards: Babalade, Dedura (Vaduz)
Red Cards: -
Man of the Match: Þórarinn Brynjar Kristjánsson 9

I sometimes feel that we need to be woken up into playing. That certainly happened today, and although we got away with it on this occasion, it has cost us in the past. Maybe I’m a perfectionist, but that means that there’s always room for improvement.

retired_manpk1

Sunday 29th May 2005
Vaduz vs Aarau
Super League, Game 36 of 36

(4-4-2): Germano Vailati; Patrick Mkhwanaizi, Nenad Lalatovic, Choi Jin-Chul, Michael Stocklasa (capt); Rolf Fleischer, Igor Guzelov, Karim Kerkar, Fabio D’Elia; Þórarinn Brynjar Kristjánsson, Bledar Fiqiri Mançaku. Substitutes: Manuel Zangger (gk), Andy Smith, Valeriy Kryventsov, Eyal Almushnino, Ajibade Babalade

The final game of the season sees us needing just a point at home to Aarau, but we can’t take that attitude, and will be all out to win. Mkhwanaizi and Mançaku are back from suspension to replace Dedura and Smith, and Stocklasa is fit enough to take his place ahead of Babalade. Rolf Fleischer is given a debut on the left wing because Bazuaye has a slight knock.

Mançaku and Kristjánsson both shot wide as we tried to get ahead, and at the other end Vailati was called into action to deny Schultz. Kristjánsson was denied by another save late on, but we had to settle for 0-0 at half time.

Four minutes into the second half we found ourselves down to ten men after Choi Jin-Chul was sent off for his second bookable offence, and Aarau took advantage just four minutes later as Alain Schultz pounced to score after his first effort had been parried by Vailati. We responded immediately. Stocklasa flicked the ball on and Mançaku found Kristjánsson with an excellent pass and he volleyed in an equaliser. Mançaku came closest to winning the game after that, but his effort skied the bar. In the final few minutes Aarau had Stéphane Frei sent off after the substitute elbowed Mançaku.

Vaduz 1-1 Aarau
Goals: 53’ Schultz (0-1), 55’ Kristjánsson (1-1)
Attendance: 3524
Substitutions: Kryventsov and Almushnino for Fleicher and D’Elia (74’), Babalade for Stocklasa (80’)
Yellow Cards: Mkhwanaizi, Choi Jin-Chul (Vaduz), Friedli, Bieli (Aarau)
Red Cards: 49’ Choi Jin-Chul (Vaduz), 87’ Stéphane Frei (Aarau)
Man of the Match: Carlos Varela (Aarau) 9

In the end a draw is all that we required, and when we were reduced to 10 men, it’s probably the best that we could have hoped for. Choi Jin-Chul will be banned for the first game of next season following his indiscretions this afternoon.
Thun had to face Solothurn in the playoff, but they won the first leg 4-0 and saw off the challenge in the second leg with a 0-0 draw.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts1st C Basel 36 21 6 9 50 36 +14 692nd Vaduz 36 18 7 11 70 50 +20 613rd Grasshopper 36 17 9 10 54 38 +16 604th Servette 36 17 7 12 43 33 +10 585th St. Gallen 36 16 8 12 52 43 +9 566th Concordia BS 36 13 9 14 57 55 +2 487th Aarau 36 14 5 17 52 71 -19 478th Neuchâtel Xamax 36 10 11 15 52 58 -6 41-----------------------------------------------------9th Thun 36 8 10 18 45 58 -13 34-----------------------------------------------------10th R Zürich 36 5 10 21 36 69 -33 25</pre>
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Name Apps Cln Conc MoM Av RKhmelidze, D 6 0 14 0 6.33Vailati, G 32 9 39 0 6.94Zangger, M 0 (1) 1 0 0 7.00Name Apps Gls Asts MoM Av RAlmushnino, E 4 (22) 0 2 1 6.85Babalade, A 24 (7) 0 0 0 6.19Bamba, S 2 (9) 1 1 0 6.91Bazuaye, B 14 (1) 2 3 1 7.13Borg, J 0 (1) 1 0 0 7.00Choi Jin-Chul 18 0 0 0 6.33D'Elia, F 36 2 10 0 7.14Dedura, I 5 (1) 0 0 0 6.33Fischer, B 23 2 11 2 7.04Fleischer, R 1 0 0 0 7.00Guzelov, I 34 0 3 0 7.12Hörrlein, K - - - - ----Katemann, H - - - - ----Kerkar, K 23 (4) 1 5 3 7.33Kristjánsson, Þ 38 34 12 11 8.18Kryventsov, V 15 (18) 2 4 0 7.24Lalatovic, N 37 1 3 1 7.32Lobatón, A 10 11 3 2 7.90Mançaku, B 27 (6) 14 8 2 6.79Mkhwanaizi, P 32 0 2 1 7.06Oulmadane, K - - - - ----Polverino, D - - - - ----Polverino, M 1 0 0 0 9.00Smith, A 1 (14) 1 0 0 6.53Stilz, R 0 (2) 0 0 0 6.50Stocklasa, M 26 0 2 0 6.69Votava, T 4 (10) 0 1 0 6.14Walz, J 5 (9) 0 0 0 6.43Zarn, M - - - - ----</pre>
It’s been a really fantastic second half to the season, and that form has somehow seen us finish second, only eight points behind the champions Basel. The arrival of Abel Augusto Lobatón seems to have been the catalyst, but it was the form of Þórarinn Brynjar Kristjánsson that was really crucial for us. He scored in the region of 20 goals in the last 18 games, and has now established himself as a starter for Iceland. It’s no surprise that he finished Top Goalscorer in the division – and a haul of 34 from 36 games is quite amazing. It was also no surprise that the Vaduz fans voted him as their Player of the Year.

Retirment: Valeriy Kryventsov
Valeriy has been an extremely useful player for us over the last two years, and it’s a shame to see him hanging up his boots. But it gives a chance to Roger Stilz to try and stake his place in the side.

Transfer signing: Jorge Silva, 33, GK, Portuguese (1 cap), Free from Braga
Despite scoring hatfuls of goals, I have been concerned about the number of goals that we’ve shipped at the other end. Jorge Silva has had a tough time of it over recent years, but he’s still a very capable goalkeeper, and his experience should give some confidence to the defence ahead of him.