The first men Team of GC could finally taste last saturday the brand new hockey pitch with an official match. The spring Hockey season started at Hardhof with a postponed autumm match against Basel, with a successfull result for GC’s interests, as it turned 2:1 for the locals.
The conditions of the match were unbeatable, as GC still had no points on the table and the opponent was a direct rival just above us. The fans could also see many new faces on the field, as during the winter the team got reinforced with new players as well as the new trainer Frank Zenker, who brought 18 men to the match.
The match started excellently, with most of the possession and initiative for the locals, who started with a high gear and full conviction on the victory. The fruits of this intensity came very early, with a goal from the midfielder Comas, who after a vertical pass from Roloff could connect a flat ball to the left of the goalkeeper, who came out too late. First clear chance and first goal. GC could keep most of the intensity and the control of the match during the whole first quarter, while Basel could not do other than run behind the ball. The first Penalty corner came, but the Basel’s defense could stop the flat shot of Richner on the line.
The first break didn’t help much, as in the second quarter it was visible that the determination was not that high and slowly the team adapted to the minor intensity of the opponent. That was actually the theme of the rest of the quarter and the match, with a big inaccuracy on passes. The superiority of the local was still clear in some actions, like a break in the left side from Fabian which Comas couldn’t bring to the net.
The same lack of intensity could be seen on the third quarter, with the same imprecision and inusual dangerous situations on the defense. The fans could take a breath when Fabi reached a Penalty stroke for GC, after trying to dribble the goalkeeper and getting knocked down by him. A clear action who finished Roloff, as he scored the punishment and the 2:0 for the locals. Later Landtwing could have quite finished the match if he had scored a nice reverse shot, which was nicely saved by the goalkeeper. The situation turned upside-down some minutes later, when Basler scored a Penalty corner on a second try, after many rebounds from the GC’s defenders. It was 2:1, and still a quarter to be played...
The last 17 minutes were not of a nice play, with both teams without strength and trying to get as quick as possible the rival’s area. A great performance from GC’s goalkeeper Starsich in the defense of a couple of Penalty corners was providential, and so could resist the team until the last whistle. The level of the play went in decrescendo during the whole match, but the team could get three very deserved points after all.