After a first half characterized by tactics and few chances, Graz turned up the heat after the break and deservedly took the lead. After a pass from Otar Kiteishvili, who made his starting comeback after an injury break, substitute captain Jon Gorenc-Stankovic shot the ball past Patrick Pentz to score the gold goal (51′). Goalkeeper Jörg Siebenhandl destroyed the only good chance of equalization for Austria by Romeo Vucic with a foot defense (69th).
For Austria it was the first defeat in 2022. Sturm, on the other hand, remained unbeaten at home for the sixth time in a row and now has five points ahead of the new third Rapid and six over Wiener Austria. Sturm will now have to deal with Rapid twice, while Manfred Schmid’s team will face two duels with Salzburg.
Sturm wins Schlager against Austria
At the end of the 26th round in the master group, the Styrians won the hit against Austria Vienna 1-0 (0-0) and shook off the guests in the table. For the “Violets” it was the first defeat this year.
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Startelfcomeback von Kiteishvili
At Sturm, coach Christian Ilzer opted for an offensive variant, in which Kiteishvili was back in the starting XI for the first time in over six months. Manprit Sarkaria, who was in great form recently, started in the midfield diamond instead of Stefan Hierländer, who was plagued by knee problems. Jakob Jantscher was back in attack.
Austria countered with a defensive five-man chain. Marvin Martins was out ill, Muharem Huskovic was out of fitness, and Vesel Demaku, who is about to join Sturm, was not in the squad. In attack, Noah Ohio started alongside Marco Djuricin.
Goalless first half
Sturm started briskly and attacked the Viennese from the start. Gregory Wüthrich had two chances to take the lead early on from standard situations. In the seventh minute, the central defender surprisingly appeared alone in front of Patrick Pentz, the Austria keeper reacted brilliantly and had the ball in front of the line when he followed up. Pentz was also there three minutes later when Wüthrich shot from a corner kick.
The ball-safe Grazer swarmed out early, had the upper hand in midfield and put Austria under pressure. Hardly any offensive action, but the Violets managed to give Rasmus Höjlund and Co. not a meter of play in the centre. Ohio, thanks to its speed, was the biggest source of danger for Sturm’s defense. The Leipzig loan ignited the turbo after half an hour, but put the ball too far ahead, Jörg Siebenhandl was there.
Gold goal just after the break
Sturm continued his efforts after the change of sides and was rewarded. Kiteishvili saw a wall of people from a free-kick but delivered a well-judged nudge at Gorenc-Stankovic. The Slovenian, left alone, acted deliberately and defeated Pentz from close range to score his fourth goal of the season.
Austria had to react, Schmid made a triple change and switched to a back four. Substitute Vucic suddenly had the chance to equalize. Siebenhandl successfully spread in front of the 19-year-old (69th). It was Vienna’s first shot on goal. In an intense game, Sturm took things a little more calmly and shifted his focus to keeping the result. Austria could no longer develop a second top opportunity.
votes on the game
Christian Ilzer (Sturm coach): “It’s a deserved win. Wins in the champions group count double, we’re happy to have won this important game. It has been shown that it is difficult to score against Austria. We got off to a great start, but didn’t take our chances. Austria concentrated on defending and counterattacking.”
“Defensively we had everything under control, except for one situation. Otar started because he is a difference player. He showed his qualities especially after halftime. We missed him a lot during his serious injury. We weren’t at the highest level today, but overall it was a good performance.”
Manfred Schmidt (Austria coach): “We slept through the first ten minutes. Patrick Pentz kept us alive. In the second half we overslept the situation when we conceded. After the triple change we were a bit more dangerous. But we didn’t use the space well and didn’t take advantage of any counterattack opportunities. I wasn’t happy at all today. Sturm should have taken the lead, we could hardly hold the ball in the first half. But the chance of the European Cup is still alive.”
Admiral Bundesliga, 26th round
Sunday:
Sturm – Austria 1:0 (0:0)
Graz, Merkur Arena, 12,023 spectators, SR Ebner
Tor: 1: 0 Gorenc-Stankovic (51st)
Sturm: Siebenhandl – Gazibegovic (86./Jäger), Affengruber, Wüthrich, Dante – Gorenc-Stankovic – Sarkaria (70./Kuen), Kiteishvili (78./Niangbo), Prass – Höjlund, Jantscher (86./Hierländer)
Austria: Pentz – Ivkic (61st / Keles), Mühl, Schoissengeyr, Galvao, Suttner – Braunöder (81st / Kreiker), Fischer, Martel – Ohio (61st / Jukic), Djuricin (61st / Vucic)
Yellow cards: Ivkic, Martel, Vucic, Schoissengeyr
The best: Gorenc-Stankovic, Kiteishvili, Wüthrich and Pentz, Galvao, Ohio
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