Again you were better than your opponent in phases, but again there was a defeat. FC Winterthur is also defeated by Servette Geneva, this time 0-1. It’s the third loss in a row. Here are five points that stand out.

The great men

Servette is known for its flanks. Above all, Miroslav Stevanovic served his teammates with high balls again and again. That’s another reason why Bruno Berner put his faith in the big men in the centre. In addition to Yannick Schmid and Granit Lekaj, Roy Gelmi is a third, great, trained central defender. All three are well over 180 centimeters gross.

Berner also relied on a strong player in midfield. Eris Abedini replaced Thibault Corbaz. After all, Abedini is 189 centimeters gross – that’s 12 centimeters more than Corbaz.

The personal coaching

He may not be one of the greats, but he lives relentlessly up and down the page: Souleymane Diaby. In the first half he always had to run through his coach’s coaching zone. And Berner takes advantage of this. He was giving Diaby keyed instructions without a break. «‹Souly› there, ‹Souly› here». «Back», «forward», «to the middle», «close the room» and do the whole thing again. But it’s half. The spheres of influence of the Geneva offensive were successfully limited. Diaby, who is actually known for his offensive excursions, helped to stabilize the defense and played better than in the second half under Berner’s direct guidance.

the crash

It was a moment of shock for FCW, for the around 4,500 fans in the stadium and also for the Servette players. FCW goalie Timothy Fayulu came out of his goal so determined to intercept the high ball that you had to think: That was a criticism of the goalie team after the Lugano game. Fayulu paid no heed to friend or foe and caught Yannick Schmid head-on. The Winterthur central defender was obviously not prepared for a clash. He lay motionless. After a long period of care, he was able to leave the field on his own two feet. But he wasn’t quite himself during the break either, he was said to have sat apathetically in his place. A final diagnosis is still pending.

The tactical flexibility

4-2-3-1, 4-1-4-1, 3-5-2 or 3-4-3. FCW has already played various systems this season. This tactical flexibility is wanted by the coaching team and not due to desperation. It’s not a “what else could we do” action, but a strength that FCW wants to develop under Berner. The standard formation remains the 4-2-3-1 with the double six. With this diversity, the FCW will “surprise” the opponent and be a bit unpredictable for them.

What is striking is how well the defensive players in particular implement these tactical guidelines. After Schmid’s absence, full-back Tobias Schättin came on for him. Lekaj moved into the middle of the back three and Schättin played on the outside. He fitted perfectly into the good Winterthur defence.

the cheering

The scene is actually not worth mentioning. Roy Gelmi ran off a counterattack from Geneva when the score was 0-0. The ball landed in goal, goal kick for FCW. Actually a dozen situations. But Eris Abedini celebrated Gelmi as if he had scored. The scene showed that the team is still alive despite the negative trend.

In addition, FCW managed to remain relatively stable after conceding a goal compared to the defeats against St. Gallen and Lugano. They lost the thread against St. Gallen, against Lugano they conceded three goals within 11 minutes.