HSC Kreuzlingen loses against GC Amicitia Zurich
As reported by the club HSC Kreuzlingen, Kreuzlingen made a decent impression despite the 24:33 defeat against GC Amicitia Zurich.
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“We knew that there would be a very difficult opening game for us in Zurich,” says head coach Heiko Grimm, looking back at HSC Kreuzlingen’s QHL/NLA premiere. “Our preparation was significantly shorter compared to the competition, which is due to the long last promotion season with the playoffs.”
It is therefore also clear that you still need some time before you can fully exploit your own potential. “Even if defeats never trigger feelings of happiness, I have also seen many positive approaches in my team. We are on the right track and will continue to improve. It just takes a little patience and, above all, calm blood!”
Groundbreaking phase of weakness
The start was probably successful for the climber. After just 35 seconds, Attila Kun scored the NLA goal premiere for Kreuzlingen with the first throw on the Zürcher Kasten. Until the second penalty hit by Drenit Tahirukaj to make it 5:5 after a good eight minutes of play, the guests were able to create a surprising game and prove their suitability for the NLA. From the run-up to the often-titled David versus Goliath comparison, there wasn’t really much to see until then.
In the further course, the reigning cup winner and European Cup participant steadily improved, whereas the people from Kreuzlingen always made mistakes that they really wanted to avoid. In addition, they shot too imprecisely, which in the meantime gave the strong Zurich keeper Paul Bar an outstanding defense rate of 69 percent.
The climber paid dearly for his mistakes. The Zurich team, in which ex-Kreuzlinger Adrian Blättler also played a key role, quickly pulled away with eight goals in the series to 13:5. Head coach Heiko Grimm’s team had to realize that physical presence and speed in the top division are hugely different from the second division.
In the final phase of this first half, the league newcomer from Lake Constance caught himself and acted at eye level again in terms of results. However, this did not change the comfortable 18:10 half-time lead of the clearly favored hosts.
Just one goal
At the beginning of the second half, Zurich received two penalties in a row, which the promoted team used to reduce the deficit to six goals. In the case of a numerical tie, the reigning cup winner continued to dominate the game, but showed more effort in the 6-0 defense against the now somewhat braver Thurgau than in the first half.
In the meantime, the outsider came back to five goals. That’s why GC coach Petr Hrachovec changed his guard. And in the pressed attacks, his king transfer, the 140-time Icelandic national player, World Cup and Champions League participant Olafur Gudmundsson, on the gas pedal. In this way, the people of Zurich were able to keep the HSCK at a distance.
Substitute ex-Zürich Nikola Marinovic showed in the final quarter of an hour at the age of six that he is still a top goalkeeper. Finally, GC Amicitia lived up to their role as favorites with a 33:24 home win, winning the second half by just one goal.
This circumstance should give the people of Kreuzling a lot of morale for the first home game on Sunday, September 4th, 2022, when the traditional club RTV 1879 Basel hand in their business card at 5 p.m. in the Egelseehalle.
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