The coach decided not to make any changes and relied on the starting eleven that had started four days earlier in the win over Red Bull Salzburg (4:3): Solomon Bonnah, captain Thorsten Mahrer, Nicolas Wimmer and Till Schumacher formed the defensive line in front of goalkeeper Phillip Menzel. In midfield, Rico Benatelli and Andy Irving in the center and Max Besuschkow and Christopher Cvetko in the half positions were preferred. Sinan Karweina and Jonas Arweiler were in attack.
The Waidmannsdorfers had conceded early goals three times in a row, so Pacult urged them to be awake from the start. But the bell rang even earlier: after 110 seconds, the home team completed their first attack with the opening goal: Tobias Kainz crossed from the right, Donis Avdijaj ran into the penalty area and, completely unchallenged, gave Menzel no chance with a direct shot.
In the period that followed, the East Styrians appeared to be wide awake and pushed the pace, while the Carinthians appeared sedate and at times downright sleepy. Menzel had to stop Maximilian Entrup (12th), shortly afterwards Avdijaj put a header into the side netting before Manuel Pfeifer (15th) was denied by the Klagenfurt keeper with a shot from a tight angle. But then it happened again: Once again after Kainz’s cross, Avdijaj (17th) scored a brace.
In the middle of the first half it seemed as if Austria were catching up. The guests found their way into the game better, but then threw everything over themselves: After Bonnah lost the ball as the last man, Avdijaj ran alone from the halfway line to Menzel, went around the goalie and pushed the ball into the empty goal. The hat trick for the Hartberg offensive strategist.
Pacult reacted to his team’s weak performance with a change at the start of the second half: Bonnah stayed in the locker room and made room for Christopher Wernitznig at the right back. Jannik Robatsch followed later for Besuschkow (86th) and Florian Jaritz and Sebastian Soto for Cvetko and Karweina (90th).
Despite the seemingly hopeless deficit, the SKA struggled to set a tone on the offensive. After Wernitznig’s cross, the ball jumped to Irving’s feet (47th), who shot low from 15 meters but was denied by TSV keeper Raphael Sallinger. Three minutes later, Klagenfurt’s director won this duel – 1:3!
The Waidmannsdorfers and their loud supporters had a glimmer of hope of catching up again, but the East Styrians were compact in defense and remained dangerous: Avdijaj (62nd) hit the crossbar from 16 meters. On the other hand, it worked: Arweiler (71′) completed a great combination via Irving and Besuschkow to connect.
The spark had become a spark – and the Klagenfurt team threw everything forward in the final phase, increasing the risk as the playing time dwindled. After Wernitznig’s cross, Karweina (81′) got a free header, but missed the goal. Very bitter, because another goal would have meant a point and fourth place instead of sixth.
After the final whistle, the Austria entourage made their way home to Waidmannsdorf by bus. In the championship group of the ADMIRAL Bundesliga there is now a double home game on the program: Sunday (2.30 p.m.) against LASK, then SK Rapid (May 12th, 5 p.m.) will be guests at the Wörthersee Stadium. Tickets are available Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the office and around the clock in the online shop.