League

Pieterlen
Spectators: 7435 (Terracing: 5885, Seating: 1500, VIP seats: 50) Ingolf Thoma started the match with the kick off in front of an excited audience. A collision led to irie boys getting a freekick after 3 minutes play. Jago Zulle hit a great ball. If Tony Sauerberg had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 4th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Burkhard Niederberger didn't succeed to prevent the ball from going into goal when Grashoppers Club Zürich's Tony Sauerberg shot an unexpected shot in the crossbar's under edge and made 0-1 in the ordered_time% minute. Renatus Holmann received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 9th minute. Burkhard Niederberger tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. If Renatus Holmann had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 11th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After 14 minutes, Benoit Picca mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Grashoppers Club Zürich and the irie boys players grew even worse after the yellow card. When Mathias Künzli fell near the penalty area in the 18th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Grashoppers Club Zürich's protests and gave Mathias Künzli a yellow card for diving instead. Mathias Künzli kicked well hit freekick during the 18th minute of the match. Mike Büchel kicked well hit freekick during the 24th minute of the match. Patrick Gerner shot from long distance in the 25th minute, but Markus Waltispühl was prepared and stopped the ball at the left post. Joe Osterhagen kicked well hit freekick during the 29th minute of the match. In the 34th minute, Tony Sauerberg ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Burkhard Niederberger was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-2. In the 39th minute of the match Axel Conti shot from a long distance. The ball could have gone into the goal to the right of the goalkeeper, but Burkhard Niederberger showed his good shape when he easily got hold of the ball. When Bernie Pierucci came up free with the goalie in the 43rd minute, the irie boys fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Bernie Pierucci couldn't finish the play. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Ingolf Thoma in the 45th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Markus Waltispühl saved Grashoppers Club Zürich from getting behind. After a defensive mix-up in Grashoppers Club Zürich's zone, Bernie Pierucci stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Markus Waltispühl came out of the goal and Bernie Pierucci tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play.

The audience was convinced that Renatus Holmann's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Burkhard Niederberger was relentless in the 52nd minute of the game. Tony Sauerberg sent away a hard shot on goal in the 54th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. The audience thought a goal was coming when Tony Sauerberg got free with Burkhard Niederberger in the 57th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. If Ingolf Thoma had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 58th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Tony Sauerberg made a well adjusted shot against goal in the 59thth minute coming free in front of the goal, but Burkhard Niederberger would not let the ball come through at any expense and made a nice save by the left post. After a rather tough play, irie boys's Stephen Huber got a free kick in the 60th minute. 65 minutes into the match, Ingolf Thoma had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Markus Waltispühl. Grashoppers Club Zürich's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Ingolf Thoma was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 1-2. Tony Sauerberg fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 70th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Burkhard Niederberger having to interfere. After having played for 74 minutes, Renatus Holmann managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Grashoppers Club Zürich's supporters crossed their fingers, but Renatus Holmann was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Renatus Holmann in the 77th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Burkhard Niederberger prevented the ball from getting in the gole. An unexpectedly hard shot by Renatus Holmann in the 79th minute of play forced irie boys's goalkeeper Burkhard Niederberger to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. When Grashoppers Club Zürich's Renatus Holmann in 83 game minutes managed to cut through with the ball in front of the goal, only having to shoot. Burkhard Niederberger guarding the goal like a pit bull was extremely focused and managed to reach the ball just by the crossbar before it went in. After having played for 86 minutes, Renatus Holmann managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Grashoppers Club Zürich's supporters crossed their fingers, but Renatus Holmann was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Burkhard Niederberger took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Renatus Holmann, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. When the match had gone on for 95 minutes, Tony Sauerberg put it in 1-3 from a short distance just to the right of Burkhard Niederberger. The Grashoppers Club Zürich supporters could be heard counting down the last seconds of the match. They errupted in celebration when the whistle blew, knowing Grashoppers Club Zürich would go home with victory in their luggage after a match that easily could have ended differently.