Grasshopper Club Zürich - Servette HC --- 1:0
Grasshopper’s start round II of the Swiss NLA Championship with a win and an important 3 points as they edged past Servette.
Imanuel Poulastrou scored the only goal of the game, and his third of his season, as he slotted calmly home late in the first half. Servette came close to levelling after the break but the Genevan’s chances were expertly stopped by Philipp “the Wall” Nitsch. Grasshoppers find themselves second in the table and will be looking to build upon a largely satisfactory first half of the season in a bid to reach consecutive Final Four’s in June 2023.
The Zurich club set themselves up well and managed to contain Servette for much of the start of the game and had the first chance of the match – with Luca Frank shooting narrowly wide. However, after a handful of missed chances, Grasshoppers found the game's only goal as man of the match Roman Richner’s through ball found the stick of Imanuel Poulastrou who slotted home neatly between the legs of the opposing Goalkeeper. It had been a comfortable first half but the balance shifted after the break and Servette nearly found a way back into the match. Philip Nitsch was forced into a difficult stop to deny the Genevans best sight of goal after a fast counter.
Ultimately, it was a single moment of quality that handed the three points to the Hoppers, but they were made to struggle for their spoils and will want to improve if they are to continue their perfect start to round II.
GC players:
Philip Nitsch, Robert Keitel, Joel Plambeck, Constantin Scheuer, Fabian Steiner, Luca Frank, Lucas Harte, Lucho Ferrario,
Immanuel Poulastrou, Oliver Haberthür, Roman Richner, Benjamin Eddy, Artur von Ruffer, Lukas Gebhard, Pascal Gremlich,
Jochen Klages
Goals: Immanuel Poulastrou
Coach: Franco Romani