Luzerner Happy with Fifth
17 Feb 2008
Luzerner SC were pleased with officially being fifth in Europe following their 4-7 win in their final game of the EuroHockey Indoor Club Champions Cup on Sunday.
The Swiss team beat Orient Lyngby of Denmark in a disjointed and scrappy game, but one that was played for pride rather than any prizes. Luzerner coach Peter Gerhard was happy with the result; he said: “We are very happy about what happened today, we are pleased to be fifth in Europe.
“The other teams like the Polish, the Spanish and the Scottish are not that far ahead of us now, so after this experience we can come back next time and hopefully improve our position. Next year we will be better for sure.”
The game started slowly, and was not the greatest display of hockey in the tournament but it was Luzerner that separated the teams with two quickly taken goals 30 seconds apart. The Danes quickly grabbed one back, but they still appeared to be on the back foot until a 12 minute strike from Andreas Hellstrand brought the teams level.
It was Orient who were trying to gain some composure and a grip on the match by slowing the game down with some deft passing between defensive players Emil Kousgaard and Frederic Mason. But it was Luzerner who went against the run of the game and scored with Thomas Gahwiller neatly rounding the goalkeeper to put them ahead by one goal with four minutes to half time.
There was a stalemate after the break, but then goal swapping resumed when Luzerner scored rapidly, followed by Orient who managed to claw their way back to one goal shy of the Swiss. This was short lived though, with Michael Casagrande and Daniel Koch linking up well to add Luzerner’s sixth goal which set Orient a big hill to climb with five minutes to go. In an effort to scale the hill, the Danes withdrew their keeper and threw on an extra stick. The added pressure earned them a penalty stroke, but it was too late for Orient to make a comeback, and Luzerner sealed the deal by a final goal from Casagrande.