Servette HC 2 - Grasshopper Club Zürich --- 1:2
On the second day of our weekend trip to Geneva, the opposition read Servette HC again. This time round, however, we were up against their flair-filled second team and as shown in their game on the day before against Luzerner SC, no easy task whatsoever.
After a rather humbling performance on Saturday by GC, the group was eager to show an instant reaction on Sunday, ensuring three points were in the bag on our way back to Zürich later that day. The already thin staked GC squad had to accommodate the absence of striker Lars Bamberg who picked up a nasty injury in Saturday's game. We all wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see our number 13 net in goals for the Hoppers again very soon.
The story of Sunday's game is told rather quickly. GC dominated ball possession and managed to string together some neat passes thanks to a demanding performance by Roman Richner in midfield, whilst the locals sat back and showed defensive resilience. Neither team covered itself in glory during the 70 minutes, nevertheless, the men from Zürich managed to make the net bulge twice on an overcast afternoon in the Romandie. Although, late in the final quarter of the game, Servette found a way past GC's last man, it proved to be just a sidenote to the game. The men in blue and white secured a 2:1 win over Servette HC 2.
After a weekend of mixed emotions and results, we take away some key learnings for the group and look ahead to the final game of the first NLA Masters round. Important steps towards our goals have been made to keep developing the team.
Special mentions to our debutant Crispin Lohm, two solid performances to kick off your GC first men’s team career!
Finally, a massive thank you to all our traveling fans for their unconditional support!
GC Players:
Philip Nitsch, Robert Keitel, Joel Plambeck, Fabian Steiner, Luca Frank, Lucas Harte, Imanuel, Patrick Krüsi, Oliver Haberthür, Roman Richner, Artur von Ruffer, Lukas Egloff, Crispin Lohm
Goals: Lucas Harte, Artur von Ruffer
Coach: Franco Romani