Good Wil hunting

By Kadira Malkoc

"It is unimaginable what happened here," said Peter Stadelman, the general manager of FC St. Gallen after his side lost 11-3 at newly promoted Nationalliga A side FC Wil 1900 on Sunday.

Dream come true
While the 2000 Swiss champions are recovering from the nightmare, their neighbours from eastern Switzerland have seen their wildest dreams come true as they helped break a 40-year-old record. Nationalliga A has never seen so many goals in a single game and, incredibly, there had already been nine goals by half-time as Wil took a 6-3 lead into the break.

Record broken
In 1962 Servette FC set a league record when they won 11-2 against FC Grenchen and while other sides came close to equalling their achievement - Grasshopper-Club won 10-2 against FC Moutier in 1966 and FC Winterthur were 7-5 winners against Bellinzona in 1983 - it took until Sunday for the record to be broken.

Stadelman philosophical
Despite the defeat at the Bergholz stadium, Stadelman has taken a strangely positive slant on his struggling side's humiliation. "Maybe it was good that the loss was so high," he said. "Now everyone can finally see how things are at St. Gallen. If we do not sort out our finances we will not be able to get a licence."

No speculation
Stadelman refused to speculate on the future of his side's coach Thomas Staub, saying that St. Gallen need time to "digest the bitter loss and clear their heads", and the coach has received support from his opposite number at Wil, Heinz Peischl.

Peishcl stunned
"Not all is lost for St.Gallen," said Peischl, who was almost apologetic about his side's incredible achievement. "I have never seen anything like this before. It is somehow bitter. I simply don't want to say more about it."

'No partying'
Having won promotion in style, Wil are now within a few games of a place in the title play-offs, but Peischl is taking nothing for granted. "We are still not there and before we reach the play-offs there will be no partying," insisted the former Austrian international. "We played very well and we corrected our horrible goal difference."

Fine season
While the coach may be reluctant to celebrate, neutrals have been taking pleasure from Wil's achievements ever since they marked their entry into Nationalliga A with a 4-0 win against FC Aarau in their second game of the season.

'Bearing fruit'
"We did not take promotion for granted, sitting back and watching what comes next," explained Wil sports director Armando Müller, who has ensured that both sponsors and supporters feel welcome at the Bergholz stadium. "In the past years we have made significant efforts both in sports development and infrastructure. Now they are bearing fruit."

Good decisions
As they proved once more on Sunday, Wil are a dangerous side, with summer signings Bruno Sutter, Phillipe Montradon and Marc Zellweger adding strength to an already compact and organised squad. "In the years we spent in the second division our team grew together," said Müller. "New signings were carefully planned and our decisions proved to be very good."

Wil perspective
However, for all of their success, Müller is still determined that Wil retain their perspective. "We will not let the 11-3 victory against St. Gallen get into our heads," he said. "We have to work very hard to finish this season without disappointments."