Joël Monteiro is the man of the match in Winterthur: The 25-year-old scored three times in Young Boys’ 4:1 victory. Silvere Ganvoula also found the net. After their first win of this Super League season, the Bern team jumped to 9th place in the standings.
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Before the kickoff, Patrick Rahmen emphasizes the importance of three points against Winterthur. “Only with victories can we free ourselves from this situation,” says the YB coach, “I am convinced: We will get out of this.”
At Schützenwiese, Loris Benito returns to the team. The captain, who made his comeback after a long injury layoff in the cup round of sixteen against Vevey, is now also available for the league for the first time. Alongside Benito, three other players are in the starting lineup compared to the match against Aston Villa on Tuesday: Abdu Conté, Meschack Elia, and Darian Males.
YB has the chance to take the lead after 21 minutes. However, Joël Monteiro sees his shot saved by goalkeeper Stefanos Kapino. Two minutes later, Randy Schneider has the opportunity to score 1:0 for FCW, but Benito clears the dangerous situation.
After that, the Bern team gradually takes control of the game and breaks through the opponent’s defense in the 32nd minute. Zachary Athekame halts a Winterthur attack, Darian Males takes over the ball and sets up Monteiro. This time he outsmarts Kapino and scores for the first time this Super League season.
The second half begins very turbulently. First, Winterthur equalizes through Labinot Bajrami, who takes a precise pass from Schneider and beats David von Ballmoos (47th minute). But the Bern team responds immediately and impressively. Once again, Males is the provider, and once again, it is Monteiro who finishes successfully. With a deflected shot, he gives YB a 2:1 lead. And it gets even better shortly after. Filip Ugrinic sends Athekame through with a perfectly timed pass, and Silvere Ganvoula converts his equally perfect cross to make it 3:1 (56th minute).
YB then manages their lead against Winterthur, who come close to scoring through Boubacar Fofana (78th minute). However, David von Ballmoos saves the situation. Seven minutes later, Joël Monteiro seals the deal: with his third goal of the afternoon, he makes it 4:1. This marks the first victory of this Super League season. Thanks to the three points, Patrick Rahmen’s team leaves the bottom of the table and moves up to 9th place.
“The success is a small relief,” says captain Loris Benito, looking back especially at their reaction to the 1:1 after the break: “Our 2:1 was incredibly important. Now we want to carry that energy into the next game.” Darian Males sums up contentedly: “Matches at Schützenwiese are never straightforward. We showed a good match and acted efficiently and concentrated, except for the short phase after the break.” And coach Patrick Rahmen summarizes: “Finally, we have this first win in the Super League. We deserved it because we made progress in our gameplay and delivered an overall good performance.”
YB’s next game is on Saturday with a home match against Grasshoppers (8:30 PM).
Alan Virginius, goal scorer Joël Monteiro, Silvere Ganvoula, and Mohamed Ali Camara celebrate after the goal to make it 4:1. (Photo: freshfocus)
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