FC Aarau
New demands in the Brügglifeld: Why rank 5 at the end of the season would be a disappointment
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The last place in the upper half of the table corresponded to the season goal at the beginning of the season – meanwhile this would be too little for good reasons. The focus at FC Aarau is on the barrage, whereby the offensive and defensive dropouts must be turned off on the way there.
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Shkelzen Gashi (right) always strives for the maximum – and that is the barrage qualification for FC Aarau in the remaining ten games. The return of the storm routineer has additionally strengthened the already accurate FCA offensive.
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Would fifth place in the final table, which FC Aarau occupies after 26 match days, mean a successful season? At the beginning of the season, the FCA camp would have given the answer “yes” – after all, President Philipp Bonorand, head of sport Sandro Burki and coach Stephan Keller declared a place in the top half of the table as their goal for the first season after the change.
And today, ten game days before the end? AZ spoke to various actors, the tenor is unmistakable: From today’s perspective, rank 5 would be a disappointment, too little. Rather, the Aarau are aiming for second place and thus qualification for the barrage games against the ninth place in the Super League.
To dream of the maximum, i.e. direct promotion, would be presumptuous: After the 1: 4 defeat against GC two weeks ago, the gap to the table leaders from Zurich has grown to twelve points – one in ten games and, given the stability of GC, no longer catchable Mortgage, at least not under normal circumstances.
But nothing speaks against the Barrage apart from the current five-point deficit on second-placed Thun. There is, for example, the record against the direct competitors: The Thuner has beaten the FCA in two out of three games. There have been three draws against Stade Lausanne-Ouchy (currently third). And today’s opponent Schaffhausen defeated Aarau away, before it set a bitter 1: 2 defeat in Brügglifeld despite playful dominance and a huge increase in chances, the decisive goal was only conceded in the 93rd minute.
Aarau-Schaffhausen already at 4 p.m.
Unusual play-on time on Easter Saturday in Brügglifeld: FC Aarau and FC Schaffhausen start their duel at 4 p.m. The reason is the live broadcast by the TV station “blue zoom” (freely receivable). The FCA game was brought forward so that “blue” can broadcast all Super League games from 6.15 pm without any Challenge League competition. As usual, fans and interested parties can also follow the action via the AZ live ticker.
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Why Aarau hasn’t long been a Barrage favorite
In terms of play, the team of coach Stephan Keller doesn’t have to hide from any opponent, together with Stade Lausanne-Ouchy, Aarau practices the most attractive football in the Challenge League. The offensive is the best in the league with 47 goals so far and was recently strengthened again with the return of Shkelzen Gashi after a long break from illness.
But as crazy as it sounds, there would have been a lot more goals. The lack of exploitation of chances and the (too) many dropouts on the defensive are the reasons why Aarau has not long been the crown favorite on the Barrage.
In the remaining ten games from today until May 22nd, it’s down to the nitty-gritty. You could also say: Now the season really begins. If the young Aarau team succeeds in shedding their naivety, exploiting the few scoring chances in tight games and reducing the individual dropouts in front of their own goal to a minimum, the door to the barrage and thus the chance of promotion is open to them. A win today against the equally ambitious Schaffhausen today in the Brügglifeld would be a good start.
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