Sunday’s match saw Servette HC line up against the formidable Luzerner SC who, like the lads from Servette were on equal points at the top of the points ladder. The match, played up in Lucerne, began in somewhat gloomy conditions with a drizzle of rain the only dampener on what would otherwise turn out to be a cracker of a match.

It was Lucerne who opened their account first, with a ball driven into the circle and an unfortunate Servette touch in the circle producing a 1-0 Lucerne lead after 15 minutes. After a back and forth further twenty minutes with both teams pushing forward and creating opportunities, it was Lucerne who struck again five minutes before half time, taking them to the break with a handy lead. At halftime, Pierre Coppin found the right words to give the boys from Servette some inspiration and ensure they came out firing after the break. Demanding more pressure and harder running (as loosely translated by the kiwi author), it was immediately effective.

SHC instantly applied more pressure and forced Lucerne into a number of errors and close calls in the circle. After a number of missed opportunities and penalty corners, it was veteran striker Matthieu Gisin on his birthday who struck the telling blow for the Servette boys. From a penalty corner, he beat two defenders and slotted the ball in the bottom left corner while diving through the defense.

With the renewed momentum it was all one way traffic in the second half, with Servette pushing forward continually and having a number of close shots on goal. Eventually, the pressure told for Lucerne, being dispossessed in their own half, followed by a  counter attack and superb reverse shot from wide out in the circle by Cedric Dincq, tying the scores up at 2-2. Despite the continual pressure, Servette could not crack the opposition defence again and the match ended in a 2-2 draw. 

In the compulsory shoot-out decider, the first two goals were slotted with ease by Arnaud Becuwe and Matthieu Gisin. Unfortunately the kiwi import made a mess of his one and produced the first miss of the shootout for Servette. Luckily, Greg "Poc" Bernet in goal for SHC made three heroic saves, leaving the final penalty to Tanguy Bachelle who, as cool and calm as you like, drew the keeper and tapped the ball past him into the bottom right corner. This capped off a fantastic fight-back for the Servette boys. 

The final result: Servette win on penalty shootout and take a well-deserved spot outright at the top of the table. 

Aller Servette! 

Steven O’Connor