PublishedSeptember 17, 2022, 11:38 PM
FootballTorture-proof NE Xamax
It is no longer defeats that the Neuchâtelois concede, but knockout blows that they receive. Still deprived of victory this season, they left the Swiss Cup in the 93rd place on Friday.
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- Florian Vaney, Neuchâtel
Ashvin Balaruban and his people will have to seek the resources of recovery from afar.
Claudio De Capitani/freshfocus
Neuchâtel Xamax is a prisoner of Murphy’s law. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. And at the worst time. From the empty goal missed by Ange Dakouri in the 89th against Yverdon (3-2 defeat) to the two autogoals scored against Stade Lausanne (2-1 defeat), passing through the elimination in the Swiss Cup ratified on Friday in the 93rd minute ( 2-1 defeat against Thun), the list is endless. She wants us to remember that the people of Neuchâtel lose two-thirds of their matches by a goal difference. And that fate seems to take malicious pleasure in making it as painful as possible.
It is a test of torture in the face of which the Rouge et Noir must not crack. We must resist the thought of his tomorrows without the Cup and the sight of this last line of the Challenge League standings (10th, 8 matches, 1 point). Easier said than done. The words seemed to hurt Fabio Saiz when he had to express the idea “that we hoped to shoot a big one in the next round, but that we will have to live without”. It would have been too much happiness all of a sudden. Then the neo-Thounois Dimitri Oberlin crossed a forest of Neuchâtel legs grouped together in their surface and Yannick Toure concluded the slalom. In the 93rd minute therefore. Icy heartbreak in the stands of La Maladière.
Jeff Saibene was no more resistant than his predecessor Andrea Binotto when going to tell the referee his frustration. Just as the second had been against Lausanne-Sport, the first received a red card for protest. “There was a fault just before the 2-1…”, he breathed a few minutes later without wanting to add to it. The curse that reigns over Neuchâtel leaves no one indifferent. But so many helpless people.
Life in black
The new Xamaxian coach will go so far as to say that it’s been a long time since his team showed such an attractive face. It is forgotten a little quickly that the red lantern of Challenge League lives the same day without end since the resumption. But basically, it says one thing above all: the results won. The addition of defeats ended up leading the Neuchâtelois towards a pessimistic view of everything they have achieved so far. Even though they are almost on par with their opponents every weekend. The first half hour against Thun was indigestible. For the next hour, Xamax was a serious contender for victory.
Create hope, glimpse the light and then realize that everything is falling apart. Again and again. It is not a listed instrument of torture. However, it will take a lot of courage for NE Xamax to get out of it.