Ambrì beat Lugano 5-3 in the first derby of the season (cross-border guide)

Context

In brief

• Ambrì beats Lugano 5-3 at Cornèr Arena.
• The derby is decided by three goals in the middle period.
• The blue-and-whites remain second with 11 points in 6 games.
• Lugano is last with 5 points in 4 games.

Key facts

• Result: Lugano-Ambrì 3-5
• Venue: Cornèr Arena
• Date: 26 September 2026
• Period scores: 2-2, 1-3, 0-0
• Attendance: 6'733
• Ambrì: 11 points in 6 games
• Lugano: 5 points in 4 games
• Referees: Kaukokari, Lemelin, Stalder, Urfer

On 26 September 2026, the first derby of the season went to Ambrì, who managed to conquer Lugano's Cornèr Arena with a score of 5-3. The blue-and-whites built their success on a performance marked by heart, determination and above all discipline, at the end of an entertaining match full of changes in momentum.

Lugano, on the other hand, ended the evening with a negative balance. The black-and-white team was described as lacking clarity and being too imprecise, especially when Ambrì found space to strike. The result also confirmed the different directions taken by the two teams in this early stage of the season.

The opening minutes

The home team took the lead after just one minute and 56 seconds. Alessio Bertaggia capitalized on a defensive error by HCAP and put Lugano 1-0 up, immediately giving the derby the expected pace.

Ambrì's response came just over a minute later, on the power play. At 3'16'' Järventie equalized in the power play, finding an angle deemed impossible. For the forward, it was his fourth goal in two games and his fifth in the last three games mentioned in the report.

At 7'31'' Lugano moved ahead again. Thürkauf turned a great pass from Shore in the slot into a goal, with Alatalo listed in the play-by-play for the 5-on-4. Ambrì, however, continued to stay in the game and found the evening's second equalizer at 18'15''.

The 2-2 goal was scored by Tommaso De Luca with an angled wrist shot, again during a power play. In the first period, the two teams therefore scored twice each, leaving the contest open and setting up the subsequent change in the match's pace.

Operational details

The middle period shifted the balance of the derby in Ambrì's favor. In the first part of the period, it was the blue-and-whites who created the best chances, particularly through Järventie and Borradori. Lugano nevertheless managed to strike first, capitalizing on Shore's airborne deflection of a shot by Zanetti.

The new black-and-white lead lasted just 37 seconds. Borradori scored the third equalizer of the evening thanks to an incisive, perfectly timed pass from Heed, bringing the score back to 3-3. The exchange of goals thus prolonged the series of swings that had characterized the derby from the outset.

The decisive goals

Between 35' and 37' Ambrì scored twice. At 34'55'' Joly made it 4-3 after a move set up by Kodytek. At 36'44'' the fifth goal also arrived, with Lukas Landry firing the puck past Schlegel at the end of a fine combination with his brother Manix Landry.

The Leventina side's lead was considered deserved based on what was seen in the middle period. In that period, Lugano showed up very little in front of Wüthrich, while Ambrì took advantage of the Under-Ceneri side's excessive defensive looseness to pull away for good.

In the third period, Mitell's team tried to close the gap. Lugano attempted to make use of the greater freshness of its players, but Heed and his teammates defended with great discipline. Ambrì thus completed its mission without conceding any further goals: the final period score was in fact 0-0.

The victory adds to the Leventina side's excellent start to the season, as they did not pay the price for the fatigue of the match played the previous day against the Lions. Lugano, on the other hand, had rested on Friday, but continued its inconsistent form at the start of the championship.

With the three points won at the Cornèr Arena, Ambrì defended second place and reached 11 points in 6 matches. Lugano remained at the bottom of the standings with 5 points in 4 games, despite having played two fewer matches than Kloten and Langnau.

Key points

The match report sets the final result at 3-5, with partial scores of 2-2, 1-3, and 0-0. There were 6,733 spectators present at the Cornèr Arena. The listed referees are Kaukokari and Lemelin, with Stalder and Urfer completing the officiating crew reported in the scoresheet.

The team scoresheet

For Lugano, the report lists Schlegel; M. Müller and Thomson; B. Zanetti and Aebischer; J. Peltonen and Alatalo; Canonica, Sanford and Fazzini; Olsson, Thürkauf and Kupari; Lycksell, Shore and Innala; Bertaggia, Tanner and M. Zanetti. Among the black-and-white players mentioned during the match are the scorers Bertaggia, Thürkauf and Shore, as well as the men involved in the decisive actions of the first and second periods.

The Ambrì lineup included Wüthrich; Worge and Heed; Pezzullo and D. Wüthrich; I. Dotti and Z. Dotti; Häfliger; Järventie, Schnarr and De Luca; Müller, Kodytek and Joly; Borradori, Heim and Muggli; L. Landry, M. Landry, Bosson and Kostner. The scoresheet thus brings together the players who participated in the white-and-blue victory, including Järventie, De Luca, Borradori, Joly and the Landry brothers, who scored the goals for Ambrì.

In the other matches of the evening, Zurich achieved its sixth full seasonal success in six matches played, beating Kloten 3-2 in the derby. Rappi earned two points in Porrentruy, prevailing 5-4 in overtime.

Davos defeated Lausanne with a score of 4-2. Fribourg, on the other hand, overcame Langnau in overtime, closing the challenge at 4-3. These are the other results reported alongside the Cornèr Arena derby as part of the championship evening.

Source: tio.ch