Matchday 26 review

The relegation picture changed little from last week, given all of the bottom four (Mondercange, Marisca Mersch, Schifflange and Fola Esch) lost their respective games this time, allowing Racing Union and US Mondorf to widen the gap between mid-table and survival hopefuls with confident wins.

Mondercange, for one, can count themselves unlucky after a penalty awarded to Wiltz 71 set the final score of 2-1. While it is giving Wiltz some breathing space for the near future, FCM missed an excellent opportunity to keep their opponents close – or even overtake them.

The two newly-promoted teams, though, were even worse off. Schifflange and Marisca were both set to salvage a point each against Jeunesse Esch and Strassen respectively, when the clock hit 90 minutes. At some point, both teams had enjoyed leads before their opponents equalised.

The 90+4th minute was the one that could well end up haunting both sets of players and fans in the coming days, as that was the time Jeunesse and Strassen both found the net, at precisely the same time. The cherry on top was another Jeunesse goal less than a minute later, to further spoil Schifflange’s already dreadful goal difference.

These losses worked somewhat into Fola’s hands, who had lost their own game against Racing, but can still stay close to the pack, with clinching a relegation playoff place a more realistic target than ever throughout the season.

With so many questions unanswered, everything is in place for some thrilling bottom-half encounters in the remaining four weeks.

Äddi, Martino!

In a shocking turn of events on Tuesday, Racing Union Luxembourg manager Marco Martino has announced his resignation from the club, alongside two of his staff members (cousin Massimo Martino and Abdeljalil Kella).

The news came only two days after the club’s most recent match, a 2-1 win over Fola Esch, which all but guarantees end-of-season safety for the Sky Blues, achieving their primary target for 2023/24 on the pitch. The decision from the manager might be related to the appointment of Fahrudin Kuduzović as the new general manager at the helm only days ago. Whether it is the result of any escalating conflicts between the two sides has not been officially confirmed.

Martino and his staff did a satisfactory job with Racing since their arrival in July. Having to cope with several key players being sold and the new signings mainly strengthening the age groups teams instead of the senior setup clearly left the head coach at a handicap when compared to many of their competitors in the BGL Ligue, but it is safe to say they have made the most of the circumstances.

At the team with the second-youngest average age in the division (22.8; Fola lead the charts with 21.9), it was always a challenging prospect to maintain the board’s lofty ambitions and return the club to its former heights. A fifth position in the autumn season was a sign of good things to come, before they ended up selling their top scorer, Edvin Muratović, and releasing their first-choice goalkeeper, Killian Le Roy, in January.

The team’s chances of closing in on the top four took a substantial hit thanks to those financially necessitated decisions, and the effects were clear for all to see: a few particularly ugly losses left RFCUL languishing above the relegation zone. Their results have improved since, but they are still floundering between the top half and the safety line.

Martino was the youngest head coach in this season’s National Division field, at 29 years old. What the next step in his coaching career will be has not been disclosed, but having proven himself at top-flight level now, he will not be short of suitors in the summer.

Wëllkomm, Beetebuerg!

Only six clubs have confirmed their place in the 2024/25 BGL Ligue already. The top five of the current field – and Sporting Club Bettembourg.

After precisely half a century spent in the lower leagues, Bettembourg have now ensured promotion with four games to go. They are also six points above second-placed Rodange 91, so securing the title looks only a matter of time with their current form.

SCB have spent most of these gruelling fifty years in the third division, after suffering relegation from the Ehrenpromotion in 1997. The COVID-19 affected 2020 season was then halted when they were on top of their regional league, resulting in a surprise promotion.

The club have built really steadily ever since. Finishes of 10th and 6th were followed up by a podium last season, the third place yielding them the opportunity to contest for a place at the top table. Despite taking the lead twice that day, a late comeback saved Käerjéng their place in the division, at the expense of the Blue-and-Whites, who look like they have learnt from their mistake, and are not putting their promotion hopes in any other club’s hands.

This will be the third time they compete at the top level of Luxembourgish football, after attempts in 1947/48 and 1972/73 both resulted in direct relegations. They will have one of the smallest budgets in next year’s edition, too, and with their current squad, their ambitions cannot reach far beyond their previous targets at this level.

Getting promoted in style (i.e. with a trophy to show for it) could give the whole team and staff a mental boost for next season, and if they can keep the current roster together, they have the potential to overachieve. A few additions, though, would go a long way towards giving them a more stable platform than the previous two times they graced the BGL Ligue.

Next up:

Four teams will be in action at the Luxembourgish Cup semi-finals today (Wednesday), as Strassen host Swift Hesperange and Progrès Niederkorn travel to Mondorf. The next league gameweek will be played on Sunday in its entirety.

As always, the games’ live commentaries, highlights and full video footage are all available on RTL.lu’s Live Arena hub.