Geneva prevailed on the Schützenwiese thanks to a goal from Timothé Cognat in the 88th minute. In the final they will face FC Lugano.
In the end, Servette has the upper hand in Winterthur and moves into the cup final.
Christian Merz / Keystone
(sda) Servette is in the cup final for the first time since 2001. A goal from Timothé Cognat in the 88th minute was enough for Geneva in Winterthur. The Frenchman came to the ball completely unchallenged in the penalty area after a flat cross from Keigo Tsunemoto and gave Marvin Keller no chance to defend in the Winterthur goal.
All in all, it was a rather fortunate success for the guests from Geneva. Coach René Weiler’s highly gifted team owed a lot. The Grenats only managed to please in the quarter of an hour before the break. Striker Takuma Nishimura narrowly missed the opening goal after a cross. In addition, Souleymane Diaby practically cleared Bendeguz Bolla, who was ready to shoot, with the half-time whistle.
The home team owned the starting phase in both halves. Time and again it was the agile Sayfallah Ltaief who posed problems for the Geneva backline and especially Tsunemoto. But neither he nor Matteo Di Giusto wanted to score. Winterthur’s number 10 had the best opportunity in the first half. After a wonderful pass from Randy Schneider, he finished freely in the penalty area. However, his shot had neither the pressure nor the precision necessary to pose serious problems for Jérémy Frick in the Servette goal.
After Winterthur’s pressure phase at the beginning of the second half, there were only a few scenes in the goal area on both sides. In none of them was it really dangerous. When everyone was already expecting extra time, Cognat struck.
For Servette it was the first win in the fourth meeting with Winterthur this season. The Grenats qualified for the cup final for the first time since 2001. At that time they also won the title thanks to a 3-0 win over Yverdon. FC Lugano, who defeated FC Sion 2-0 on Saturday evening, awaits in the final on June 2nd in Bern’s Wankdorf Stadium. The people of Geneva still have a score to settle with the people of Ticino. Last year, Servette lost to Lugano in the semi-finals 3:5 after a penalty shootout.