Trailing twice and far from their best, Servette FCCF had to work hard to overcome a fearless Yverdon side. The substitutions ultimately changed the course of the match and allowed the Grenat to win 3-2. Not perfect, but three points that matter.
Caught up in a demanding schedule, Servette FCCF chose to give several key players a rest on Wednesday evening. And it showed. Lacking inspiration and rhythm, the Geneva side endured a difficult first half against a Yverdon team that, for its part, showed absolutely no fear.
The Vaud side quickly took advantage of Servette’s mistakes. In the 12th minute, Le Franc opened the scoring and put the Grenat in an uncomfortable situation. Magdalena Sobal did bring the two teams level in the 23rd minute with a perfectly placed header, but that was not enough to truly wake up SFCCF.
More enterprising and, above all, more incisive, the Yverdon players even regained the lead just before half-time. In the 43rd minute, Sager, ideally positioned and completely alone in the box, gave the Geneva goalkeeper no chance. At half-time, Servette were logically trailing 2-1.
The return from the dressing room did not immediately change the course of the match. Still struggling, Cristian Toro’s players had to wait for the first substitutions to finally regain some momentum. The contribution from the bench made all the difference.
In the 67th minute, Paola Hernandez made an excellent recovery before Meriame Terchoun continued the move and set up Gloria Marinelli. The Italian did not hesitate: a powerful shot into the top corner and SFCCF were back at 2-2.
Five minutes later, Marinelli struck again. This time with a header, with a finish as skilful as it was surprising, catching everyone off guard. Within five minutes, the Grenat had completely turned the match around to take the lead for the first time that evening. A lead they would not relinquish.
At the final whistle, the victory is there, as is the comeback, but it is difficult to be completely satisfied with the performance. SFCCF know that they will have to show more in their upcoming matches. There is, however, an important lesson to take from it: even on a bad night, with a rotated starting eleven and inevitably heavy legs, this team found a way to win. And that is also how you recognise great teams.
The Servettiennes’ week with midweek fixtures will end this Saturday in Rapperswil at 6 p.m. Another difficult match awaits the Geneva side, whom everyone wants to beat.
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