Weekly League and Cup action review

F91 take revenge

F91 Dudelange are currently 3 points below league leaders Swift Hesper in the table, and have won four out of their last five games heading into next Sunday’s head-to-head encounter, which looks nothing less than a championship final given the circumstances.

The only occasion they did drop points on was against Union Titus Pétange lost month, when Kempes Tekiela’s winner sent a 10-man F91 team home disappointed. Union had been flying high since that game too, going on to get 10 out of their 12 available points since. Now the two teams met in the cup too, in what seemed to be by far the toughest match-up and the cruellest draw for both teams.

Tekiela did continue where he had left off against Dudelange, scoring a first-half brace to get his team in the best position possible. The former Borussia Dortmund academy graduate has now netted 8 goals in his last 6 games over the past one month, a sensational return with some vital moments when the team lacked other key players, such as Artur Abreu or Kai Merk in attack.

His efforts, however, proved insufficient on the day. Indicative of Dudelange’s scoring power and a well-organised, menacing attack is the fact their three goals were distributed among the three most prolific scorers at the club: strikers Samir Hadji and João Magno, and instinctive attacking midfielder Dejvid Sinani. With their help, F91 remained in total control of the game and were already ahead by half-time, with the scoreline unchanged for the remainder of the match.

Union’s fans might be slightly downcast after their team’s failure to progress to the quarter-finals, as the cup would have produced a perfect opportunity for them to book their place in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League. That not being an option anymore, they have to fight for a podium place in the league to be given a chance to compete internationally. In the event of F91 or Progrès Niedercorn winning the cup, a fourth place might also be adequate in order to grant a European spot.

Rosport hit Fola twice

Ever since the league resumed after its lengthy winter break in February, Stefano Bensi’s Fola Esch have looked to be in the right hands. Some crucial wins against fellow relegation contenders meant the Eschers’ head is above the water right now, but they could fall back to the relegation playoff places anytime unless further improvement and points come.

Their league game against Victoria Rosport could have been seen as a perfect opportunity to climb up the table by gaining valuable points against a direct rival in in-form Rosport, whose free-scoring attack has been causing havoc against other lower-positioned opponents lately.

This occasion proved to be no different either. Rosport strolled to a comfortable three-goal win over Fola, with the goals coming from winter signing Oege-Sietse van Lingen and technically gifted winger Ernesto Carratala-Jiménez. They have both enjoyed a great month, helping their team score a combined 17 goals over their past 5 league games and in the process, all but confirm Rosport’s place for BGL Ligue’s 2023/24 season.

Beating an opponent once is good enough for most, but recording two wins in two different competitions in the same venue without conceding – Rosport did that, too. Important to note that the cup tie was far from a smooth ride and Fola Esch deserve credit for coming up with a tactic that limited Rosport’s advances in attack to a much better extent than it had done only three days before. Their downfall would be conceding an 89th minute penalty, which was tucked away by Johannes Steinbach, who effectively sealed the game already. If anyone had doubts about that, they were also crushed by a last nail in Fola’s coffin, as the recklessly outrushing goalkeeper’s mistake was exploited well by a curled effort from Eric Brandenburger into an open net.

Survival in the league and progress in the cup – Rosport have well and truly turned their season around at last

Marisca Mersch run riot

The only tie in the Coupe de Luxembourg between two lower-league sides were 2021/22’s dreadfully relegated FC Luxembourg City (then called Hamm Benfica) lining up against one of the Ehrenpromotioun’s major promotion candidates Marisca Mersch. Marisca are three points off the automatic promotion places with six games to go. If their position remains unchanged, they will have to play BGL Ligue’s 14th-placed club in the playoff as their last chance to step up.

If their last-16 cup game is anything to go by, they are not likely to experience many difficulties in achieving their goal. What started as the battle of the underdogs soon turned out to be something more resembling a rout, as Marisca kept racking up the goals. In the end, they grabbed three each half to complete a resounding 6-0 victory, and enter the quarter-final stage full of confidence and motivation.

Hesper’s double chances over

Swift Hesper saw their hopes of ending the season with a rare league and cup double diminished after a cup knockout by FC Differdange by a 1-0 scoreline. FCD scored in the late stages to go through and cause a major upset in the competition, having lost to Hesper by four goals in the league only two weeks ago.

This heroic performance was preceded by a rampant display in the league, where they bounced back from two consecutive 0-4 losses by an emphatic 8-0 win over Käerjéng on Saturday. Differdange are still lacking consistency under interim manager Hélder Dias, but that has been a frequent theme throughout a turbulent 2022/23 for the club. The cup represents their last chance to pull together and ride this current wave. After beating Hesper, no obstacle is too hard for them.

Coupe de Luxembourg’s quarter final field:

Racing Union Luxembourg, FC Differdange, F91 Dudelange, Progrès Niedercorn, Victoria Rosport, Wiltz 71, Marisca Mersch, US Mondorf

The draw for the quarter-finals is going to be held on Monday, 17 April.