The goalless draw between Salzburg and LASK puts Sturm two points behind Salzburg with seven laps to go. This means that there will be a top-class duel between Graz and Salzburg next Sunday in Styria, in which the Styrians can storm to the top with a win.
Despite a strong defensive performance at times, Klagenfurt had to accept their fourth defeat in a row. Peter Pacult’s team has not experienced such a negative series since promotion. With 15 points, the Klagenfurt team is still last in the master group.
Storm wins in Klagenfurt
Puntigamer Sturm Graz showed a reaction to the 1:2 against LASK and won a deserved 2:0 in Klagenfurt. Tomi Horvat (63′) and Jusuf Gazibegovic (92′) scored the goals in a game dominated by VAR checks, in which the Styrians struggled for a long time and missed a penalty through Otar Kiteishvili (57′).
Less excitement before the break
After the defeats in the previous week, there were five changes in the starting XI for both teams. On the Carinthian side, Pacult unpacked the three-man and five-man defense that was successful in Graz. And the starting phase already showed that the veteran coach had adjusted his team well to Austria’s second force. In front of a again shaky crowd (5,391), a game developed with few excitement.
Although Graz became more pressing after 20 minutes, they lacked creativity and accuracy in the last third. Klagenfurt’s defense around the strong Nicolas Wimmer left nothing to chance. Striking: With Sandro Ingolitsch and Dante instead of Jusuf Gazibegovic and the suspended David Schnegg, Sturm did not develop the power demanded by Christian Ilzer via the flanks.
Austria rarely found the opposing goal. If so, then there was an alarm. Affengruber blocked a well-aimed shot from Nicolas Binder (40′), who was supposed to score the goals after Markus Pink’s departure to China at Wörthersee.
Storm is rewarded with a lead goal
After the change of sides, the events that caused Sturm to quarrel came to a head: David Affengruber missed a top chance (48th) after Horvat crossed in before VAR tests were due: referee Josef Spurny took what was supposed to be a scoop goal from Emanuel Emegha after studying the TV pictures return. According to the referees, Albian Ajeti’s physical effort against Nicolas Wimmer was too bold.
Shortly thereafter, Andy Irving fouled Horvat, the best storm player on the penalty area line. Again, Spurny was questioned by VAR but stood by his decision. Kiteishvili failed with the poorly shot attempt by Menzel. Ilzer shook his head in disbelief at the line, but saw the knot burst in the 62nd minute. After Prass preliminary work, Horvat put the ball past Menzel.
Sturm had chances for another goal. Alexandar Borkovic after a standard situation (67th), Emegha with a technical deficiency (68th) and Joker Manprit Sarkaria (74th) had the 2-0 on foot. The finish continued in the same key. Sturm was closer to 2-0, the Klagenfurt team pushed for an equalizer late in the game. At the beginning of the seven-minute stoppage time, Sturm made everything clear through Gazibegovic. This goal also only counted after a long VAR interruption due to a disputed duel.
Comments on the game:
Peter Pacult (Klagenfurt coach): “In the end, it’s a deserved storm victory. We did a really good job defensively, especially in the first 45 minutes. Sturm kept the pace up and tried to force us to make mistakes. We lacked penetrating power up front. We fought back for a long time, but in the end the Graz quality prevailed.”
Christian Ilzer (Sturm coach): “We are very happy that we won, it was hard work. It was two halves like day and night. We couldn’t be happy at all before the break. We didn’t succeed in unbalancing the very compact and spirited team from Klagenfurt. We lacked speed and creative solutions. After the change of sides, it was like an explosion. We acted much more straightforwardly.”
On the VAR checks: “For me, not every touch in football is a foul. It was a tight decision, not an easy thing for Referee Spurny to do. But he gets taken out of there for minutes. In terms of football, this is far too much interruption and far too little flow of the game. If it takes that long, then the decision on the pitch was probably not entirely wrong.”
Admiral Bundesliga, champion group, 25th round
Sunday:
Klagenfurt – Storm 0: 2 (0: 0)
Klagenfurt, 28 Black Arena, 5,391 spectators, SR Spurny
Torfolge:
0:1 Horvat (63.)
0:2 Gazibegovic (93.)
Klagenfurt: Menzel – Gkezos, Mahrer, Wimmer – Bonnah (69th / Wernitznig), Demaku (81st / Blauensteiner), Irving (69th / Rieder), Benatelli, Moreira (81st / Jaritz) – Soto (60th / Arweiler), binder
Sturm: Okonkwo – Ingolitsch (70./Gazibegovic), Affengruber, Borkovic, Dante – Gorenc-Stankovic – Horvat (89./Wüthrich), Kiteishvili (80./Hierländer), Prass – Ajeti (70. Sarkaria), Emegha (89./ Teixeira)
Gelbe Karten: Kiteishvili, Ajeti, Gorenc-Stankovic, Emegha, Hierländer
The best: Wimmer, Menzel or Horvat, Prass, Emegha