Thun target greater glories

Hodzic strike
Hodzic stretched out a leg in the 89th minute to seal the Swiss side's first Champions League victory against the Czech champions at the Stade de Suisse in Berne on Tuesday. The result propelled the competition debutants into second place in Group B behind Arsenal FC, who secured a 2-1 win against AFC Ajax having defeated Thun by the same scoreline on Matchday 1 at Highbury.

Third aim
Before the Sparta match Thun coach Urs Schönenberger indicated he would be happy to see his team finish third in the group and earn a place in the last 32 of the UEFA Cup. But following the wild celebrations at Thun's adopted stadium, captain Andres Gerber is setting his sights higher.

Raised hopes
"Our goal is to win every game and qualify for the next round," Gerber told uefa.com. "We will try to hold on to second spot now we have taken it. But if we don't manage to qualify, then it will not be so bad to finish third."

Ajax double
Gerber said the club's inaugural victory in the tournament will give the players confidence for their next two group matches, both against Ajax. Thun travel to Amsterdam to take on one of European football's most evocative names on 18 October before welcoming the Dutch side to Switzerland on 2 November.

Improved confidence
"This is our first victory in the Champions League and it's nice to know that we can win at this level," the Thun captain continued. "It gives us a lot of confidence. Ajax are a big club, but the games in this group so far have shown that anything is possible. We came close to getting a point against Arsenal, but were beaten in added time at Highbury. Sparta nearly defeated Ajax at home [in Prague] and we beat Sparta in the last minute."

League emphasis
Despite their new-found confidence in the Champions League, Thun's first priority is to remedy their somewhat erratic domestic form when they meet Super League leaders and champions FC Basel 1893 on Sunday. Thun lost their last league game 2-1 against FC Aarau and struggled to a 1-0 victory against lowly FC Düdingen in the first round of the Swiss Cup.

Basel target
Coach Schönenberger will hope his side, who were the only credible challengers to Basel last season, can close the four-point gap on the league leaders and improve on their current fifth-placed position. After Tuesday's exploits, they will not be short of confidence.