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In 2024, Benjamin Conz (32) was barely in Ambri’s goal: in the first match after the Spengler Cup against the ZSC Lions, he was substituted after 27 minutes and conceded four goals. Three weeks later he played just 17 minutes in Biel before getting injured. His final mission? In the final qualifying round, he shutout the sweepstakes game in Kloten. Against Lugano, “Benji” had to content himself with the role of door opener again in the first play-in round.
In the decisive phase it was the Finnish regular goalkeeper Janne Juvonen (29) who secured Ambri 8th place with a strong performance. That’s why it was a big surprise on Monday when coach Luca Cereda decided to nominate three foreign defenders and Conz for the play-in first leg in Biel. However, the team from Biel, which selected Joren van Pottelberghe three times last season in place of the Finn Harri Säteri during their play-off run, was not surprised. “If we had been surprised, we would have prepared as juniors,” says coach and sports director Martin Steinegger.
Conz only knew in the morning that he would be in the starting line-up that evening. “Of course I was happy. These are games that you are happy that you were able to play.” The Jurassician, who will return to his parent club Ajoie next season after seven years in Ambri, made perfect use of this. Without him, the team from Ticino would probably not have had a 1 Went home with a draw of -1.
Conz doesn’t feel like the hero of the game
«Do I feel like the hero of this game? Relief! No, not really,” says the veteran. He had every reason to do so, as he saved 32 of the opponent’s 33 shots. Only when Tino Kessler was finished was he powerless.
So Ambri goes into today’s second leg at the Gottardo Arena in a good position – a win, however and whenever, is enough to advance to the quarter-finals of the play-offs against the ZSC Lions – where the vote goes down to the boiling point will rise. “The pressure will be on them,” Conz claims. “It’s up to us to grab them by the throat from the start. This season the games against them have always been very even, and I expect nothing different this time.”
With his heroics in Biel, Conz caused problems for coach Cereda. Actually, you can’t knock out a goalkeeper after a performance like that. Or is it? After all, Juvonen is the undisputed number 1 of the Biancoblù. When asked whether the Finn would return to goal, Cereda remained tight-lipped after the 1-1 draw in Biel. “I don’t know yet. We’ll decide that on Wednesday morning,” he says in the RSI interview and can’t resist a small smile at the corners of his mouth.
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
