Rapperswil-Jona Lakers beat Ambrì-Piotta 3:2 in a club friendly on Wednesday. The match took place on September 10th at 5.45pm local time. It was Rapperswil's first game after a heavy defeat to Lugano four days earlier.
Ambrì-Piotta had won two of their last three before this one. They beat Kloten 5:1 and Schwenninger 3:1. But they also lost to Belfast 6:3 and Landau Tigers 6:3. The hosts started brightly enough.
Rapperswil-Jona came into this match with mixed form. They beat Nuremberg 7:4 and České Budějovice 7:2 in August. But they had lost to Zug 8:1 and Kloten 7:1. To be fair, they looked sharper here than in those earlier defeats.
Ambrì-Piotta took the lead first. Rapperswil-Jona responded with two goals of their own. Then Ambrì-Piotta found a second equaliser. By then the game had opened up a bit. Both sides were looking for winners.
Rapperswil-Jona scored the late goal to take all three points. The 3:2 result ended Ambrì-Piotta's run of two wins from three. It also gave Rapperswil-Jona a bit of confidence after that Lugano drubbing.
Both teams will be looking at this as preparation. Ambrì-Piotta need to tighten things up defensively. Rapperswil-Jona showed they can compete when they are not chasing from behind.