St. Gallen beat Servette 2-1 as Karlsson's late goal comes too late

A quick start for St. Gallen

St. Gallen made the better start. Jesper Karlsson had Servette's first chance in the 4th minute, but his effort from a tight angle was held by Lawrence Ati Zigi. Two minutes later the home side scored, as Chima Okoroji crossed from the right and Carlo Boukhalfa turned the ball into the far corner with the outside of his right foot. Sources date the goal to the 6th minute, and it gave the Espen a lead that stood until the second half.

Servette loses its top scorer early

Servette lost its leading scorer almost straight away. Kingstone Mutandwa was hurt in a challenge and taken off on a stretcher, which 20 Minuten places in the 10th minute. RTS described a knee injury that looked serious. He later returned to the bench on crutches. NZZ reported that he had scored seven times in the previous six weeks, so the loss weakened Servette's attack considerably.

A stop-start second half and a penalty

Play slowed after the early goal, with frequent fouls and stoppages. Referee Mirel Turkes booked Marco Burch and Houboulang Mendes after 18 minutes, and 20 Minuten reports that Burch will miss the next match through suspension. Servette had more of the ball but few clear openings, and Karlsson's effort in the 34th minute was deflected to a corner by Zigi. After the break Tiemoko Ouattara's long-range shot was saved by Zigi in the 52nd minute, and Bradley Mazikou's handball in the box led to a penalty. Lukas Görtler, the St. Gallen captain, converted it to make it 2-0, at the 64th or 65th minute depending on the report. Boukhalfa and substitute Joel Ruiz also went close for the home side.

Karlsson replies late

The visitors' only real reply came in the 82nd minute. Marco Burch chipped the ball into Karlsson's path and the Swede drove it into the far corner, his first Super League goal according to NZZ. Servette then pushed forward and created several dangerous moments, including Pedro Naressi's overhead attempt and a shot by Steve Rouiller that St. Gallen struggled to hold off. Karlsson himself fired wide in stoppage time, and the match ended 2-1.

Table implications and next games

St. Gallen's second successive home win came at the Berit Sitterstadion. Servette had won three league games in a row and had been unbeaten since the international break, according to RTS, so this defeat ends that run. RTS also noted that Servette could miss out on seventh place on Sunday if Basel beat leader Lugano. Next, St. Gallen host Lugano on Sunday, 8 November in the early afternoon, while Servette host FC Zürich at 16:30.

Same-round draw at the bottom of the table

At the Letzigrund, Grasshoppers and Vaduz drew 2-2 in a game watched by 4,283 spectators according to watson. Vaduz took the lead twice, through Liridon Berisha in the 15th minute and Juan Cabrera in the 64th, and Grasshoppers equalised through Manex Guibelalde and then Lee Young-Jun in the 88th minute. Vaduz took its first points away from home this season. Both sides have 10 points, four ahead of Lausanne-Sport, who sit last with six.