The Mobiliar Unihockey Cup (Swiss Cup) Finals took place over the weekend at Sporthalle Wankdorf in Bern, Switzerland. Both the Women’s and Men’s final were exciting affairs witnessed by a full, loud and passionate crowd. Zug United were crowned Swiss Cup champions on the Women’s side with Floorball Köniz lifting the trophy in the Men’s competition.
Women’s Final
The Women’s Cup final was contested between Unihockey Berner Oberland and Zug United. Both teams qualified for the playoffs from the league this season with Berner Oberland finishing in 6th this season whilst Zug finished 3rd. Coming into the final however, Zug had won the last 3 meetings between the two teams.For the majority of the players on both sides it was the first cup final of their career, which was noticeable at the beginning: Nerves were at play in the opening stages of the cup final.
The first and second period were both very close with Zug taking multiple leads just for Berner Oberland to strike back and equalise making it 3-3 after 40 minutes on the clock. The first 6 and a half minutes of the third period decided the game however with a 3 goal blitz from Zug to storm into a lead and never look back despite a spirited fight late in the third from Berner Oberland. Zug United managed their lead in the third with the help of a spirited defensive effort. Swiss Superstar Isabelle Gerig was named player of the match for Zug after scoring twice and again showed her quality and talent helping her side to become Swiss Cup champions with a final score of 6-4 to Zug United.
“At the beginning it was difficult to get into the game. I think for both. They came relatively early with strong pressing. We had trouble with that, but I think in the end we ran the ball well and scored the important goals. That was decisive,” says Isabelle Gerig of Zug. For Christelle Köstinger of Berner Oberland, the disappointment was great: “Already the whole week, each of us was convinced that we would win. We came here with this attitude and that’s why it hurts so much. We knew that many fans would come. When we came in and even now I have goose bumps. Such a green wall, so many people who are for BEO. Unfortunately it didn’t work out, but we tried.”
Men’s Final
The Men’s Cup final was fought between League leaders Grasshopper Club Zürich and Floorball Köniz. This was the battle of 1st vs 2nd from the Swiss league season with both teams having an extremely strong 2022/23 season. From the previous 3 meetings Grasshoppers led their H2H by 2 wins to 1 over Köniz.
The two teams felt each other out at the start: They started rather cautiously, with both goalkeepers being tested early on. Chances were created on both sides, although none was (yet) converted into a goal. A collision in the 14th minute between field players and GC keeper Cyril Haldemann injured the goalkeeper and he was replaced by Michael Haenle. The first period ended goalless with both sides looking to fully implement their tactics fully. After the break Zürich came out stronger and got the opening goal before Köniz leveled it back up with the 2nd period ending level at 1 goal each. Again like the Women’s final the 3rd period was when the goals and action exploded with Köniz getting 3 goals in 5 minutes to go up 5-2. A Zürich fightback left the game with just 1 goal between the teams and only 4 minutes to go before two late goals by Manuel Engel sealed the victory and Swiss cup for Floorball Köniz with the final score being 7-4.
Floorball Köniz wins the Swiss Cup title for the fourth time and can take back the trophy they last won in 2016. “We didn’t let it bother us that we didn’t make the good chances. This was one of the success factors,” player of the game for Floorball Köniz, Pascal Michel said.
