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The Swiss scored a few goals worth seeing against Slovakia. At the origin of the success was the box play.
4 wins from the first 4 games – Switzerland last managed this feat at the World Cup 3 years ago. However, things could have turned out differently against the Slovaks. 9 small penalties and a 5-minute penalty made sure that the Nati felt outnumbered for half the game.
“We knew it was going to be tough. But the fact that we were in the cool box so often made the whole thing even harder, »said national team coach Patrick Fischer, summarizing what was happening in the Helsinki Ice Hall. Fischer will also be aware that you don’t usually win a tight game with so many penalties.
The lack of discipline not only resulted in no goals against the Slovaks, but even a shorthander. After Christoph Bertschy went to the penalty box after just 20 seconds, Denis Malgin scored with a man down for the early Swiss lead. The ZSC striker was responsible for the first Swiss goal for the third time at this World Cup.
We trust our strikers to do something good and we don’t have to rush back. We have this basic trust
Doesn’t fit against other teams
Nico Hischier’s goal was also important, as he extended the Swiss lead to two goals for the first time with the 4:2 shortly after a Slovakian shot into the crossbar. But even the captain couldn’t avoid addressing the (too) many penalties of the Nati.
“We have a great penalty kill. But we also know that it could be dangerous against other teams if we take so many penalties,” the Valaisan is aware. Especially when the next opponent is called Canada.
After the hard-fought victory against the Slovaks, Christian Marti spoke of willpower. “Towards the end, the boys held out the ‘grind’ in the box play,” said the ZSC defender, who supposedly scored his first World Cup goal.
The goal to make it 2-1 was first attributed to Marti. After the end of the game, however, he no longer appeared in the scorer list. Rather, the goal was attributed to Dominik Egli, who had deducted from the blue line. “Did I touch the pane? I don’t want to brag here and then I didn’t even touch her,” said Marti, who probably had a premonition in the interview after the game.
It is no coincidence that he stayed in the slot as a defender. It is already part of their game philosophy that you turn on the defense in attack. “We trust our strikers to do something good and we don’t have to rush back. We have this basic trust,” says Marti.