The fourth matchday of the BGL Ligue brought much of what we already got used to in the opening fixtures, but some clubs have bucked the trends. Let’s see what the teams had in store for us this time around!
A solitary 0-0 draw against Jeunesse Esch remains the only indication of any normality and sanity around Union Titus Pétange – their other three games have ended in a 0-4 loss and victories of 6-0 and 4-0 respectively. Besides their unimaginable home record, it perfectly describes this transitioning team, under a new manager and owner.
Before the season, UTP’s drastic financial restrictions made it impossible to keep some of the flag-bearers of the past few seasons, including Artur Abreu, Marian Sarr and manager Yannick Kakoko. While they did well to restore some quality in attacking areas, it wasn’t the case in the other departments and some also held concerns over the new head coach, Filipe Ribeiro, and his suitability to his new role.
Ribeiro’s only managerial experience to date was a single season in charge of Alisontia Steinsel, which ended in a mid-table finish largely in line with the club’s pre-season plans but with no remarkable overachievement. His arrival now seems to be working, as the squad he inherited (and lately bolstered with a few arrivals) is getting to grips with his methods faster than expected.
Versatile midfielder Valentin Steinmetz described Ribeiro as a similar coach to Kakoko in terms of tactical preferences and footballing philosophy when speaking to the club’s official in-house channel last week. That seamless transition is working wonders for UTP, as their thumping of Mondercange was duly followed by another rout on Sunday – the victims being last year’s Éirepromotioun champions Bettembourg this time.
French forward Valentin Fuss is having a successful season so far, with 5 goal contributions to his name in the first 4 games. His previous contract expired at the end of June, and it took until the final days of his agreement to put pen to paper on an extension at the club. He’s now partnered up front by Florik Shala, who showed some impressive displays for Strassen last season but was still vying for more consistency. His three goals over the first month can help him achieve that tremendously.
The pair dovetailed for UTP’s first goal this Sunday, before Steinmetz took centre stage with two assists. Later, Fuss made it a brace for himself while even goalkeeper André Barrela chipped in with an assist for winger Ali Dalil.
We have seen teams start a season in seemingly perfect shape before losing their mojo and even straying close to relegation. However, early signs indicate that Ribeiro’s tweaks are sustainable enough to keep the Pétangeois safe this year despite their shoestring budget.
Could this be Racing’s year?
Once Union announced they would not be succeeding in their attempt to extend Kakoko’s contract, many wondered where he might end up. The most mooted destination was the professional world, perhaps in his homeland Germany.
It struck many by surprise to see capital club Racing Luxembourg announce Kakoko’s signature in the summer. After a few years of emphasising youth on and off the pitch, it seems like the cash is finally in place for RFCUL to build on those foundations and strengthen the team with a few proven successes.
Yann Mabella and António Pina Gomes arrived from Germany and Belgium respectively, to enhance Kakoko’s attacking options. Both have enjoyed fruitful spells in the Grand Duchy before. So did Henri Dupays, who returns to the country on loan from Ligue 2 club Amiens after a year in Pétange. The young Frenchman can also be deployed in a number of positions, much like the two strikers.
The final two pieces of the puzzle were Moussa Seydi and Néstor Monge, both coming from some of Racing’s fiercest BGL Ligue rivals in Hesper and Differdange. Romain Ruffier’s homecoming as a player/sporting director meant the replacement of Hugo do Rego in goal was also conducted swiftly.
All signs pointed in a positive direction looking at the deals the club made over the transfer window, and the results have followed a similar pattern. RFCUL remain one of only four teams to record an unbeaten month this season, alongside Niederkorn, Hesperange and leaders Differdange. While the other three were widely tipped as title favourites, Racing held top-half ambitions.
Overtaking any of the established top four is no small task. UNA Strassen can also count on the UEFA prize money from the summer to stake a claim for a fifth place at the top tables. Whether Racing can defy all odds and go for a European place is not necessarily the real question here. If they can stay dangerous and sharp all the way until May, the domestic cup also offers them a chance to show off against the elite in a one-off battle. And whisper it quietly, but Racing have fared well at such battles lately.
Wiltz 71 cannot turn the tide
Conceding 10 goals (2.5 per game) and scoring 4 in your first four outings would normally tell you you have some major issues to sort out in your defence, even if there seems to be no problems on the attacking front.
There is one big caveat to the above: Wiltz scored all their four games in their chaotic first-round 4-3 win over newly-promoted Hostert, and have let in 7 without a response since. Worse still, the only area they can confidently call themselves stronger than others in terms of names, is the backline, with Luxembourg internationals Ralph Schon and Kévin Malget proving instrumental to the team’s solid defensive foundations in recent seasons. A third Red Lion, Chris Philipps, also plays as a holding midfielder and often succeeds at keeping the opposition at bay. Not this season.
Last year’s slump was the first sustained underperformance in David Vandenbroeck’s tenure at the helm since he was appointed in October 2021. While the manager failed to stop the rot in the spring, the team limped to an 11th-place finish, thanks to some truly horrible season endings to some of the teams below them on the table.
To David’s (and the fans’) despair, the same old story continued all over again when the first ball was kicked on 4 August. While the first obstacle was dealt with, humiliating losses to UNA Strassen and Racing Luxembourg set the tone for the new low the Northerners hit last week, when they fell to a 1-0 defeat against Fola Esch.
Both Fola’s squad and their finances lag far behind everyone in the division, and would hardly be competitive enough for the second division, let alone the top flight. However, Stefano Bensi’s team have mastered how to pick their moments and turn those cagey draws against fellow sloppy teams into the narrow wins they need to eke out a relegation play-off at the very least.
And now, Wiltz have become one of those victims. Their attacking edge left much to be desired despite having Nawfel Saïdi and Benjamin Romeyns, two talented and prolific strikers on the pitch from kick-off. Nothing seemed to go the Éislek team’s way yet again, and Pape Diakhité rubbed salt in the wound by scoring the decider from Evann Mendes’ assist shortly before the final whistle.
Beating Hostert was the sort of result Wiltz are expected to achieve if they are to meet their primary objective for 2024/25, which is a calm season away from relegation trouble. However, losing to a rag-tag Fola team and failing to score a single goal for 282 minutes and counting are not the steps needed to ensure that aim.
