Wacker Thun claimed a narrow 25:23 victory over St Gallen at home in the National League A on Saturday. The result leaves the hosts five points clear of their visitors after seven rounds of matches. Thun now sit fifth on seven points while St Gallen remain in seventh place on six points.
By then the home side had already shown they could compete with anyone in the league. Their recent run included a 34:33 win over Pfadi Winterthur and a 30:30 draw with Bern. They had also lost narrowly 27:28 to HSC Thun Aarau earlier in September. To be fair, this was not a dominant display but one that held together when it mattered.
We had tipped the hosts to win at 56 per cent confidence and the prediction proved correct. Thun kept their side in it through the opening exchanges and found a way to close out the game. St Gallen camped in the final third for periods but could not find the breakthrough they needed.
The visitors have not lost a single game this season, drawing four of their seven matches. Their form has been consistent, though results like this one show the margin for error is thin. They had won 31:24 against Handball Staffa but lost 25:31 to Kadetten Schaffhausen in their most recent outing.
What the result means is straightforward. Thun extend their advantage over St Gallen to one point in the table. Both sides have played the same number of games so the gap is real. The home side will fancy their chances of moving into the top four if they can maintain this level of consistency.
