Grasshoppers breathe a sigh of relief in the relegation battle

(sda) As unfortunate as things have been for Grasshoppers in recent matches, the crucial match against Yverdon got off to a particularly favorable start. Despite Grasshoppers' poor performance in their recent defeats to Winterthur and FC Zurich, they were given an easy time by a similarly poor-form Yverdon, winless for the eighth time in a duel between the league's two weakest offenses. From the fifth minute, Grasshoppers played with a numerical advantage. From the seventh minute, they led, and the score was 3-0 at halftime.

Yverdon's Ronaldo Tavares managed the feat of being booked twice in the first five minutes. Shortly thereafter, Sonny Kittel put the home team on the road to victory with a 1-0 lead. In the following 30 minutes, Grasshoppers again faltered considerably. But suddenly, Kittel doubled the lead with a stunning 2-0 in the 40th minute, and a deflected long-range shot from Dirk Abels made it 3-0 before halftime.

Kittel benefited from assists from Adama Bojang and Nikolas Muci for the opening goal in the 5th minute. This also reflected the return of embattled coach Tomas Oral's confidence in the two most accurate strikers. Surprisingly, the two were left out of the starting lineup against FC Zurich.

In the final ten minutes, Leart Kabashi and Nestor Irankunda also scored for GC for the first time. Instead of facing their second direct relegation in six years with a fourth consecutive defeat, the record champions now have it in their own hands to secure their place in the league in the final two rounds of play. Level on points with Winterthur, GC is now back in tenth place. Newly bottom-placed Yverdon is one point behind, and on Saturday, Grasshoppers' relegation rivals will face off against each other.