Xamax 1 – FC Luzern 1

It is not every day you get the chance to visit a palindrome. Given the local penchant for symmetry it should not be surprising then that the score also turned out to be palindromic.

This particular palindrome plays its home game in a giant shopping center. They also play it on an horrendous artificial turf. It truly looked as 22 Bambis running around on a gigantic wet pool table. There were very few sliding tackles and the players seemed to hold off at any situation where they were at risk of falling over, it was a bit like watching an indoor game. I just wish some FIFA bureaucrat finally showed some initiative and banned this surface, this is not football.

It took FC Luzern, today in an ‘interesting’ all yellow kit, the entire first half to get used to it. We were in fact quite lucky to be level at half time.

Xamax had quite a few half-chances in the first half, some coming after a fast turn of play where a Luzern player misread the ball movement on the flat surface. Diarra who seemed to cope OK with the surface stopped several dangerous passes from Xamax and Zibung was solid in goal throughout the first 45. Xamax’s best chance in the first half came after a counter attack in the 20′ minute when Ideye Brown rather clumsily headed over an excellent cross.

The same Brown was later booked after doing a Doumbia in the Luzern area. Good to see another referee taking a stand against diving.

Xamax’s bad behavior continued in the second half when Lustenberger got a nasty elbow in the face, this went unpunished during the game so hopefully its something that the Swiss FA can look into and take action on. Clear red card offense.

Just after the slightly inept Xamax keeper manages to give the ball away the home team regains possession and counters. Luzern are very passive and a combination of FCL ball-watching and the unfamiliar surface allows Xamax to take the ball all the way to a one on one with Dave Zibung who saves a clear goal. Not sure how much of it was luck but a great save non the less. Only minutes later Zibung makes a run out of the goal to deal with a cross. Brown reaches the ball before him and skilfully lobs it into the empty goal.

From the goal onwards Luzern starts to dominate. Yakin has a very good chance that he misses, but it doesn’t really matter as the linesman had his flag (incorrectly) raised anyway.

Ten minutes from time Paiva (who had just come on for Ianu) heads a Yakin corner into the back of the net. The Portuguese runs straight to the away fans to celebrate, its obvious how much the goal means to him and hopefully will soon get as used to his fantastic goal celebration as we were last season.

A couple of late chances for Xamax makes for nervous watching but Luzern holds on this time and the game ends 1-1.

An away draw against a team higher up in the table is not a bad result, especially if we take into account the unfair home advantage you get from playing on the artificial pitch. I would even go as far as saying that we would probably have won this game if it had been played on grass.

It was also a good sign that we managed to bounce back from the events against Basel on Sunday. Next on the program is another plastic pitch at Wankdorf where we will play free-scoring YB (they put 7 behind a sorry Bellinzona), a draw there would also be a good result.