Bern moved into the lead of the NLA with a 34-21 victory over Staffa on Friday evening. The away side took control early and never looked back, ending a run of narrow results Staffa had been involved in. To be fair, the hosts had been unlucky in their first two matches, drawing both, but this time the margin told a different story.
The result leaves Staffa at the bottom of the table with two draws and no points from two games. By then, the home crowd had seen enough to realise this was not one of their closer results. Bern, meanwhile, sits third with a win and a draw, though the gap at the top is still being decided.
Staffa's recent fixtures have been high-scoring affairs. They lost 33-39 to SchG Zurich in their opening match and had been involved in tight games against Zurich and Aarau sides earlier in the season. Things came to a head at home, where they could not find a way past a well-organised Bern defence.
Bern's form has been steadier. They put 44 past KYS Schaffhausen on Wednesday before losing 30-34 to St Gallen on Thursday. The away win here confirms they can compete with the league's better sides. The visitors kept knocking on the door in the first half and were rewarded with a commanding lead.
The standings now show a clear separation. Staffa remains on zero points after two matches, while Bern has already taken two points from theirs. The table goes out of the window in these games, but the pattern of results is becoming harder to ignore.