The GAK takes another step towards the title. The Red Jackets celebrated a 1-0 win, which was very fortunate. The Rieders dominated the first half and found their best chance through Ante Bajic in the 25th minute. His shot went into the side netting. The Graz team defended cleverly, but couldn’t put together a build-up game. The Reds were lucky in the 43rd minute when Yannick Oberleitner should have seen a yellow-red card. But the referee team wasn’t sure who committed the foul. At GAK they were safe and played it safe by bringing on Lukas Graf for Oberleitner in the second half. Even after the break, the Rieders were the better and more active team. But it was the Red Jackets in the person of Thomas Mayer who scored the goal. He came on for Thomas Schiestl in the 62nd minute. With the goal on the credit side, GAK played a class better. “In the first half we didn’t do enough with the ball and weren’t brave enough. In the second we had a few good counterattacks. We’re happy to take the victory home with us,” says GAK coach Gernot Messner.
The spectators on Monte Schlako did not see a winner in the Styrian derby between DSV Leoben and Kapfenberg. There were no big chances throughout the game; Kapfenberg had the better opportunities in the first half. But it wasn’t enough for either side to score. “It was a typical derby. We put in a very good performance in terms of combat, but tactically it was fine. Unfortunately, what we are missing is a goal and finally three points again. It’s a shame we didn’t win, but we’ll carry on,” says Kapfenberg coach Abdulah Ibrakovic. DSV Leoben, on the other hand, has now also given up points against its Styrian rivals after the 0-1 defeat against Vienna in the last round. Especially after the break, the Leoben team dominated the game and couldn’t score a goal. Kevin Friesenbichler played for a few minutes again after a long injury break. “He gave the green light and then it was clear that he would get playing minutes,” said DSV coach Rene Poms. About the game he said: “It wasn’t a good game because Kapfenberg was destructive, worked a lot with high balls and did really well in defense.” With the final whistle, Poms turned his focus to Rapid. On Wednesday (8:45 p.m., ORF 1 live) the Hütteldorfers will be in Donawitz as part of the cup semi-finals.
The Lafnitz team will host SW Bregenz on Saturday (2.30 p.m.) and want to remain unbeaten in the fourth game in a row. There are two wins and one draw. The East Styrians have never scored seven points in a row this season.