Estonia international Patrik Kristal made his Swiss Super League debut on Wednesday evening as defending champions FC Thun suffered a 2-4 home defeat against Servette, whose goal was guarded by Lithuania international Edvinas Gertmonas.
Of the three Baltic players involved, only Gertmonas started the rearranged Round 4 fixture. The 30-year-old Lithuanian goalkeeper made his sixth league appearance of the season, while Estonia internationals Mattias Käit and 18-year-old Kristal began on the bench for Thun. Kristal joined the Swiss champions on loan from German side 1. FC Köln during the final days of the transfer window.
Servette made the stronger start and had established a two-goal advantage by the 29th minute, although Thun managed to reduce the deficit before half-time. Käit was introduced at the start of the second half, making his fifth appearance since returning from injury. The midfielder has started only once during that spell after being a regular during Thun’s historic title-winning campaign last season, when he made 29 league appearances and scored twice.
Thun completed their comeback in the 54th minute to make it 2-2 and later thought they had taken the lead, only for the goal to be disallowed following a VAR review. Servette regained their advantage in the 65th minute before wrapping up the victory late on, with former Chelsea forward David Datro Fofana scoring their fourth goal.
There was still a memorable moment for Kristal in the 77th minute as the 18-year-old came off the bench to make his first competitive appearance for Thun and his Swiss Super League debut. The attacking midfielder had spent the previous two seasons in the Köln system, primarily representing the German club’s reserve side, before making the move to Switzerland.
All three Baltic internationals now head into the extended international break. Kristal and Käit will join up with Estonia, while Gertmonas will link up with Lithuania for the start of the new UEFA Nations League campaign. Thun enter the break in 10th place with seven points from eight matches, while Servette sit fifth with 10 points from the same number of games.
