Pfadi through to European final
Pfadi Winterthur have become only the third Swiss handball team ever to reach the final of a European competition, after scraping to victory against Poland's Slask Wroclaw in the semi-final of the Challenge Cup.
After losing 34-28 in the away leg, Pfadi pulled off a 29-23 home win in Sunday’s second leg. Although that left the combined scores level at 57-57, the side from north Switzerland were declared the winners, having scored more away goals.
Pfadi’s victory was sealed only in the dying moments of the second match, with South Korean star Chi-Hyo Cho converting a penalty just six seconds before the final siren. A mere 12 seconds earlier, Polish forward Krzystof Gorniak appeared to have won the match for Wroclaw with his seventh goal of the evening.
Three weeks from now Pfadi will now be looking to become the first Swiss team to win a European title, when they take on Yugoslavia’s Jugovic Kac. The only two previous appearances of Swiss clubs in European finals saw St Otmar St Gallen (1982 Champions Cup) and Amicitia Zurich (1987 Cup Winners’ Cup) finish as runners-up.
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