No unbeaten or winless teams remain

FC Differdange already confirmed their status as autumn champions last month, and now they had the chance to head into the spring season as Invincibles, barring a loss at Stade Achille Hammerel against an in-form Racing Union Luxembourg chasing a podium finish.
 
The leaders started strongly and took the game to their opponents, even in the absence of top scorer Jorginho. The Portuguese striker was left out of the matchday squad while being in negotiations with a professional club abroad (suspected by several sources to be Kairat Almaty from Kazakhstan).
 
A lack of firepower up front was thus inevitable, but for long spells in the first half, it looked as though the moment of breakthrough would eventually present itself. Contrastingly, it was Racing attacker Yann Mabella who broke the deadlock shortly into the second half, with his close-range shot slipping into the net past goalkeeper Felipe.
 
This prompted a change in approach from FCD, who played with previously unseen urgency, and a more attacking formation after the introductions of winger Adham El Idrissi and centre-forward Andreas Buch in the last half-hour. The Reds kept going at their opponents, but always came up just short in front of goal, clearly lacking individual quality inside the box. Their defending was watertight throughout the remainder of the game, but that proved insufficient. The unbeaten streak was over, after 16 domestic fixtures (15 wins, one draw).
 
Differdange will nonetheless find themselves seven points above second-placed Dudelange in the table, after their main competitors failed to take advantage of FCD’s slip-up, falling to a 1-1 draw against Jeunesse Esch. As a result, Racing Union are now joint-second, only bettered by F91 on goal difference.

Progrès vs Swift rearranged… and then cancelled

The situation around Swift Hesper has eased little since last week’s infamous last-minute forfeit against US Mondorf. The team were supposed to play Progrès Niederkorn this weekend, with their lives on the line: another failure to show up on the pitch would automatically condemn the club to immediate disqualification, and relegation to the second tier.
 
Staff and players both refused to disclose much about the ongoing state of affairs, but the silence of all parties felt all the more deafening every single day. Rumours circulated in the country’s football circles about Swift playing the under-18s’ team in order to avoid rebellious senior players preventing the club from stepping foot on the turf in Niederkorn.
 
On Friday, it was announced that the match would be relocated to nearby Oberkorn, where Differdange usually play their home matches, due to drainage problems at Stade Jos Haupert.
 
It turns out Niederkorn’s pitch was not the only one deemed unfit for a sporting event on Sunday, as the match got postponed on the day of the game. According to the Luxembourgish Federation of Football (FLF), mild showers have ruined the surface of Differdange’s ground, making it dangerous and unsafe for both sets of players to go ahead with the schedule as originally planned. Progrès voiced their displeasure at the turn of events on social media without refusing to disclose details about the situation.
 
Considering last week’s problematic weather conditions, a night’s rain would be nothing out of the ordinary to manage for either team. They have played in snow and thick fog in the past few weeks. The sudden circumstances of the rescheduling of the fixture, paired with a lingering uncertainty over Hesper’s outstanding player salaries, presents a bleak picture.
 
The new date for the game has been announced to be Wednesday, 11 December, as the FLF urged clubs to conclude the entire autumn season before the beginning of the winter transfer window on 1 January, 2025.
 
Through luck or other unidentifiable reasons, Swift managed to gain an additional three days to settle on a plan. The 18 names on last week’s match sheet are widely expected to be dropped from the plans altogether after suing the club earlier this week. Whether manager Emmanuel da Costa can find another 18 players among the seniors to contest the game with, is another question.
 
Whatever happens on Wednesday, Hesper fans will not worry too much about the composition of the line-up. The final scoreline, too, is of secondary importance. For now, the whole club should unite to avoid a disastrous exclusion from the National Division.

Mondercange grab first win

The longest winless streak of the division has also finally ended, with FC Mondercange securing a first victory in 2024/25, thanks to a late surge in Mondorf-les-Bains.
 
Mondorf were expected to continue their ruthless form of late and establish themselves as the “best of the rest”; instead, their mistakes in front of goal were in plain sight from the first moments after kick-off.
 
Attackers Mirza Hasanbegović and Billel Abdelkadous were both playing well below their best, and their disappointing finishing called for a change as soon as possible. David Zitelli trusted his attack, though, which proved to be a mistake on this occasion.
 
Dwayn Holter’s red card left the Angry Goats in a delicate spot with less than a quarter of an hour left and the final touch still letting them down in the opponents’ box. In the end, it was FCM who capitalised on the changed scenery, and quickly turned their numerical superiority into a win, with goals coming from Ladji Touré and Johnny Amadei.
 
After their nine-minute brace, all Mondercange needed to do was stay remotely organised at the back without making any silly mistakes, and they delivered just that, bringing home three valuable points from the Southeast.
 
Mondorf are now losing ground to direct competitors UNA Strassen with this surprising loss, sitting comfortably in seventh place. Meanwhile their latest opponents are still rooted to the bottom of the table with one win, one draw and 13 losses over the course of the season so far. The relegation play-off places are currently four points away.
 

Around the pitches

Hostert won a bottom-half derby in Pétange last week as they dismantled UTP by a 2-0 scoreline. Kenan Avdusinović is back in the race for top scorer after two consecutive matches of scoring following his injury. Union have now been winless for seven games in a row and find themselves in 10th. Hostert have escaped the relegation zone with their win, and are now 12th.
 
F91 Dudelange managed the game perfectly against Jeunesse Esch, before a late equaliser from Mickaël Garos completely outdid their gameplan. The hosts’ patient approach with the ball and a possession-based football worked for the first 88 minutes, but the two teams ended up sharing the points. F91 thus remain second, while Jeunesse are slowly finding their rhythm and are climbing up the table. They are already in the top half, with 20 points from 14 games.
 
Wiltz 71 fought their way out of the relegation play-off zone with an emphatic 3-1 victory at home against Rodange 91. Victor Gorny’s penalty was sandwiched between two efforts from Nawfel Saïdi to secure a crucial three points without two Luxembourg internationals Ralph Schon and Chris Philipps, who were both injured. Rodange are winless under new manager Mehdi El Alaoui and are one point away from direct relegation.
 
UNA Strassen’s rise under Stefano Bensi continues with another impressive performance and a 4-1 win against a sharp Victoria Rosport team. This was the first time they have conceded a goal under the new head coach’s reign, while they have scored 21 in those four games. They are fifth, five points from the podium, while Rosport are sitting safely in ninth.
 
SC Bettembourg have tasted victory for the first time since October, by defeating struggling Fola Esch. The Eschers’ goalkeeper Emmanuel Cabral suffered a serious head injury in the early stages while clashing with midfielder Romário after a free kick. Romário headed the ball into the net but both players were forced to come off afterwards. Following the lengthy delay, SCB scored another to seal a two-goal win and inch closer to safety.

What next?

Wednesday, 11 December, is the assigned date for all previously postponed games.
 
Rodange are travelling to Hostert for a relegation six-pointer, while the Escher derby provides a chance for Fola to end 2024 on a high at Jeunesse’s home. Swift Hesperange will have to face Progrès Niederkorn, while their previously cancelled match against Mondorf has been written down as a 3-0 forfeit and will not be replayed