NLA-Handball
TSV St.Otmar competes against Kadetten Schaffhausen – and has nothing to lose
The St. Gallen National League A handball players will be visiting the triple winners in Schaffhausen on Saturday evening with a reduced squad. And they will meet their former player Ariel Pietrasik.
Ariel Pietrasik was still playing for St.Otmar two years ago, now for St.Gallen’s competitor Kadetten Schaffhausen.
After three rounds in the NLA, certain teams are already under pressure. Like the Kadetten Schaffhausen: The triple winner lost 36:38 at home to HC Kriens-Luzern on Wednesday and had to hand over the lead to GC Amicitia. This does not correspond to the Kadetten’s self-image. They are all the more challenged in the fourth round. In this round, St.Otmar will be guests in the BBC Arena on Saturday from 6.45 p.m. After three games, the St.Gallen team has one win (26:25 against RTV Basel) and two losses (26:28 against Kreuzlingen and 34:37 against Pfadi Winterthur). It would not have been an unrealistic scenario if Michael Suter’s team were still unbeaten. In both Kreuzlingen and against Pfadi, a point win was close. The Otmar team put in a particularly strong performance against Zurich. Until the decisive scene occurred five minutes before the break, the hosts were in control. Pfadi’s top scorer Tim Rellstab hit goalkeeper Andreas Björkman Myhr on the head with full force. The Swede was unable to continue playing after the break.
The cadets must win, St.Otmar is allowed to win
The loss disrupted the structure. Thanks in part to David Knezevic’s 14 goals, St.Otmar was back at 29:30 after 52 minutes. But the top scorer suffered a foot injury in the second-to-last minute of the game. So St.Otmar was left without any points. It is questionable whether the two regular players will play in Schaffhausen; it was impossible for either of them to play any sports until the final training session on Friday. “If at all, only a partial appearance is possible against the Cadets,” says coach Suter. Maël Tobler, Simon Locher and Noah Bolt are also still unfit for action. Given these circumstances, Schaffhausen are the favorites. The Cadets must win – St.Otmar, on the other hand, is allowed to win.
From St. Gallen’s perspective, the Kadetten are particularly interested in one player – Ariel Pietrasik, who still played for St. Gallen in the 2022/23 season and was the top scorer with 157 goals. For the 24-year-old Pole, the game against his former club is not a special one. “There is only one player left in the squad from my time at St. Otmar. There are no special relationships anymore.” This player is Andrin Schneider. Looking back, the 21-year-old says: “Back then, I hardly had a special role in the team. I was just in the squad. For me and our team, that was the end of the beginning.” The winger speaks of the upheaval from the mid-season under Markus Burger to the current championship under Suter. “We are more professional, with clearer structures in the club and team, and with a higher intensity. This has also helped me,” says Schneider. His team has nothing to lose in Schaffhausen.
