FC Luzern qualified for the Swiss Cup Semi-Finals on Wednesday evening, as they beat BSC Young Boys 4-0 at the Swissporarena.
After YB missed a chance early on, Luzern hit them on the break to take a shock lead inside five minutes. Pascal Schürpf slotted home for the hosts, finishing off in style to score his seventh goal of the season.
Both sides had strong penalty appeals turned down, with the referee showing no intention of awarding a penalty either way. YB had a number of big opportunities to equalise, with Nicolas Moumi Ngamaleu and Jean-Pierre Nsame coming close on several occasions.
Blessing Eleke could’ve given Luzern a comfortable lead going into half time as he cut inside, but his shot was too close to David Van Balmoos in goal as FCL went in with a slim one-goal lead.
In the 62nd minute Schürpf doubled Luzern’s lead with his second of the game, as he guided Christian Schneuwly’s cross into the bottom corner. The hosts made it 3-0 minutes later, as a free kick from Christian Schneuwly went all the way through and found the back of the net.
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Luzern got their fourth in the 75th minute thanks to a beautiful strike from Ruben Vargas, as he brought the ball down perfectly on the edge of the box and guided it into the top corner. It was a fantastic performance from FCL, who reached their fourth semi-final in six years.
Luzern join Basel, Zürich and Thun to make up an all-Super League semi-final, after they all secured their berth last week. They will play Thun for a place in the final, with the match to be played in late April.
Man of the Match
With two goals and a lethal performance up front, Luzern striker Pascal Schürpf was the man of the night at the Swissporarena. The Swiss forward scored his seventh and eighth goals of the season in a wonderful performance, as he helped the Super League side into the last four of the cup.
Honourable mentions also go to Christian Schneuwly, Blessing Eleke and Ruben Vargas, who all produced solid performances against the Swiss champions.
Luzern were lethal and clinical, and produced a wonderful performance to earn a deserved place in the semi-final. On the other hand YB were underwhelming and lacklustre, with a performance far from the quality we have seen this season.
Luzern will be delighted with their victory, as they look to win the Swiss Cup for the first time in 27 years. YB will be disappointed not to reach back to back finals, but can now well and truly focus on the Super League, where they sit 19 points clear at the top.
Nevertheless it was Luzern’s night, as they produced one of their performances of the season in an emphatic display at the Swissporarena. They will relish their semi-final tie, and can now well and truly dream of reaching the final on 19 May.
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