National coach Andy Schmid is delighted with the triumph at the Yellow Cup
Keystone
The Swiss handball team wins the Yellow Cup in Winterthur for the tenth time. Coach Andy Schmid’s team won the decisive game against North Macedonia 29:29.
As Switzerland and North Macedonia won the first two games, the duel was tantamount to a final. Due to the better goal difference, a draw was enough for the locals to win the tournament. That was the starting position.
At the break, it looked like a clear-cut affair. The Swiss led 18:13, but in the second half a thrilling game developed in front of an extremely atmospheric crowd with many fans of the Eastern Europeans. Samuel Zehnder missed the golden chance to make it 25:20 in the 45th minute after a counter-attack alone in front of North Macedonian keeper Martin Tomovski.
That almost took its revenge. In the 54th minute, the visitors went 27:26 ahead for the first time in the encounter. Then came Medhi Ben Romdhane’s big moment, as he put the Swiss side back in front with two goals to make it 28:27 (58′) and also made it 29:28 with 50 seconds remaining. North Macedonia did not manage more than 29:29 after that – the SHV team had previously lost seven times in a row against this opponent.
The locals started the game with great concentration and led 6:2 after nine minutes. Although the North Macedonians closed the gap to 10:11 (24′) after a weaker spell by the Swiss, the hosts immediately pulled away again, which was necessary.
The Swiss will now remain in Winterthur until Wednesday morning, when they fly to Oslo, where they will face the Faroe Islands in the first preliminary round match of the European Championship on January 16. Their other opponents are Slovenia (January 18) and Montenegro (January 20). The team seems to be ready.