Giorgio Contini had to make two injury related changes in the first half, meaning that the YB coach soon ran out of options to provide fresh impetus from the bench following the absences of Tanguy Zoukrou and Joël Monteiro.
GC, on the other hand, relied on the game that Tomas Oral installed in Niederhasli. Counter-attacking from a stable defense. And it was precisely one such counter attack that the Zurich side caught the Bernese side out.
After a cross from the left, Sonny Kittel was free in the middle and beat Marwin Keller, who returned to the YB goal.
It was German former Bundesliga player Kittel’s first ever goal in a Grasshoppers shirt and one that gives the record champions an important three points in their fight to stay in the league.
Young Boys, on the other hand, suffered another setback in their race to catch up towards the final round after losing 1-0 in Winterthur.