GC lose the basement duel against Winterthur and are now only three points clear of the bottom of the table. Abrashi sounds the alarm, coach Oral demands a reaction from his team. Meanwhile, the bottom team draws hope.
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- Winterthur secure an important win in the relegation battle. The 1-0 win at GC in the final qualifying round brings the bottom team within three points of both GC and Yverdon.
- The Hoppers were hugely disappointed. "A very bitter defeat that shouldn't happen to us," says Amir Abrashi.
- The mood at Winterthur is of course very different. Uli Forte says: "We took a very decisive step today."
A hard-fought duel at the Letzigrund ended in a 1-0 win for FC Winterthur on Saturday evening. Winti were not necessarily the better team, but showed much more bite than the Grasshoppers, who also missed a penalty in the final phase in the person of Giotto Morandi.
"A very bitter defeat that shouldn't happen to us. Especially not against a direct rival," said GC captain Amir Abrashi, who only came on as a substitute shortly before the end, on blue Sport after the game. "It was a weak performance from us. We didn't put enough energy into it, which is why we didn't deserve anything today."
The Hoppers' relegation worries are growing again after GC recently notched up two wins in a row. "We have to deal with where we are at the moment. Red alert, definitely!" said Abrashi. "We have to make sure we get out of it as quickly as possible and show a different GC in two weeks' time."
GC coach Tomas Oral also says: "We have to show a different face in the last few games." The coach can't really explain why his team wasn't really ready on Saturday evening. "The defeat really hurts," said Oral.
Forte is looking forward to the final spurt of the season: "It's going to be really hot"
The mood at Winterthur is of course completely different. "We took a very decisive step today," says coach Uli Forte. "We have to use the drive we have now. But we haven't achieved anything yet, we're still in last place."
The teams now get a few days' break before things really get down to business in the final five matchdays in two weeks' time. Forte is already looking forward to the "final games" in the relegation group: "Now it's almost all head-to-head matches. It's going to be really hot now."