Season 24 – SC Kriens – Swiss Challenge League
Media prediction was 8th, board and fans wanted safe mid-table.
With the eight new players here I knew we had a small window (2years actually, since they all signed 2year contracts) to get something going. This was the second year.
Speedy ST (top scorer) had already gone to league rivals Basel before the season started, then we suffered a major injury spell and we were running around 10th for the first half of the season.
Basel were already running away with the league so I relaxed and accepted that this team was going to be broken up.
In the January window three more of the eight were gone (one for a free at the end of the season), but at least now the scouts were finding decent lower-priced replacements.
We ended up having a good run-in, climbing steadily and playing good soccer to end up 5th. We were 14points off the playoff place and 25 behind Basel. Speedy ST was top league scorer.
I’ve been asking for facility improvement but that has been denied to now. The board have agreed to expand the stadium though (currently 2500 capacity).
Players in: 2 for $230k
Players out: 13 for $26m
League Position – 5th from 18
P34 W14 D12 L8 +24 5/18
Season 25 – SC Kriens – Swiss Challenge League
An incredible season, all in all. We started playing very well, and got to the mid-season break having lost only one game (to previous club YF Juventus, of course), 4 points behind leaders Luzern. We definitely had some luck in some games, perhaps banked from previous years.
We then lost the first three games after the break to allow Yverdon past us but then only lost to Luzern in a run-in that included beating Yverdon 2-1 away and then other challenger Lugano 3-1 at home after having a DC sent off at 1-1.
The final game saw us away to 8th-placed Delemont while only Lugano, 1point behind and playing 10th-placed Wil at home, could beat us to 2nd. In the end we won 4-0 in one of our more clinical performances (didn’t make too many chances, but took them) to clinch 2nd and a playoff game over two legs against the 2nd-last finisher in the Super League, St. Gallen.
The first leg at home went to expectation as they played better than us and led, only to try to sit on it and allow us into the game to get an equalizer.
The second leg was much more fun as somehow there was more space and we passed our way through them time and again. The final scoreline of 5-1 wasn’t quite fair but we definitely deserved the win and promotion to the Super League.
I think we’ll be OK next year … we will need some facility updates and I wonder if a stadium that holds 2500 all-standing is to Super League standard?
[Edit – there are 2500 seats being fitted inside the stadium now, but whether that’s additional capacity or replacing the terraces I don’t know. In the meantime (for all next season) we’re groundsharing with the Luzern U19s!]
League Position – 2nd from 18
Players in: 5 for $115k
Players out: 9 for $12.5m
P34 W18 D11 L5 +15 – (11points behind winners Luzern).
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