From Reichenberger's point of view, the motto heading into the final third was clear: score a goal as soon as possible and thus start the big comeback. But as in the previous two periods, it was Zug United who succeeded first in the third period. Manuel Stubb used a counterattack in the 44th minute to make the score 6:2.
Less than two minutes later, things got worse for Winterthur: Albin Sjögren scored from a tight angle to make it 7-2 in Zug's favour. It was the Swede's impressive third goal of the evening – and the initial decider in the cup final.
Big cheers at Zug, disappointment at HCR
In the remaining 14 minutes, HCR threw everything forward again and replaced the goalkeeper with a sixth field player. It paid off quickly: Johan Larsson scored in the 48th minute to make it 3:7, and Nikola Bischofberger and Larsson quickly reduced the score to 5:7 with 5 minutes left.
But the Reichenbergers had only a spark of hope. Two goals into an empty net by Severin Nigg and Mikko Kailiala in the 59th minute finally sealed Zug's victory. After the final siren sounded, all dams were broken for the central Swiss team. They also won their third duel of the season with Winterthur and celebrated their second cup win in the club's history. Meanwhile, HCR have to wait for their first title since 1996.
The beginning of lightning Zug
From Zog's perspective, the evening had already started promisingly. In the second minute, Tobias Flötsch made it 1-0 in Zug's favor after Sjögren's preparatory work. HCR, who were overwhelmingly superior at times, were unable to equalize despite numerous chances in the starting third.
Zug also scored an early goal in the second half. In the 24th minute, Linus Arnold took advantage of a rebound to make the score 2-0. Rychenberg broke the spell after about 3 minutes and scored through Layvin Konrad. However, Zog had three answers ready. First Arnold made it 3-1 again, before Sjogren showed his brilliance with two goals:
- Minute 29: The Swede is played with the ball bouncing into the slot. He apparently hit the left crossbar with a direct shot.
- Minute 33: With the majority, Sjögren gets to the ball on the left side, and slowly pushes the ball forward until he accurately shoots the ball into the corner for a score of 5:1.
The Rychenbergers then tried to get the momentum back on their side – and they managed to do so in the 35th minute when Noah Bontiner was fouled in front of goal and awarded a penalty kick. Tobias Studer took on the task and did it amazingly well. Through the so-called “Zorro” – see for yourself in the video – he invited Zug goalkeeper Nils Schallen and reduced the score to 2:5.
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