SK Sturm has to wait at least another week for the championship title. The Graz team couldn’t get more than a 2-2 draw away at LASK – initially not enough to dethrone series champions FC Red Bull Salzburg, the “Bulls” won comfortably at TSV Hartberg with 5-1. The second match point follows next week in the home game against Klagenfurt.
In this match, LASK looked for playful solutions right from the start, while one or two Sturm players’ legs seemed heavier than usual. The tension didn’t diminish when the home team scored the deserved 1-0 in the 20th minute. Florian Flecker just had to push the ball over the line after a nice move over Moses Usor and Adil Taoui.
This is how TSV Hartberg played against Red Bull Salzburg
Ten minutes later, LASK helped a lot with Sturm’s equalizer to make it 1-1. Goalkeeper Tobias Lawal played a goal kick towards Maksym Talovierov, behind whom Otar Kiteishvili rushed. Mika Biereth finally won the ball and played it back to Kiteishvili, who effortlessly converted.
LASK remained dangerous, Philipp Ziereis missed a header in a promising position around the 34th minute. Nevertheless, the lucky equalizer brought Sturm into the game better. Around the break it was also clear that Sturm would have to achieve the masterpiece on their own with a win, as Salzburg first scored 3-1 in Hartberg and 4-1 shortly after the restart. So there was no Styrian help.
It was up to Kiteishvili, the outstanding storm player of the past few weeks, to give Graz a 2-1 lead with his second goal of the game. In the 48th minute, the Georgian deliberately placed the ball in the far corner from the edge of the penalty area.
What followed was a fight that could hardly have been more exciting. The Upper Austrians pushed vehemently for an equalizer, while Sturm hoped to score the decisive counterattack. In the 72nd minute, Ziereis once again forced goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros into a brilliant performance with his header.
In the 76th minute, the goalkeeper was the storm’s last hope after referee Julian Weinberger decided on a penalty – Dimitri Lavalee had previously brought down Marin Ljubicic. The striker stepped up himself and sent Jaros into the wrong corner. In the 89th minute, the lucky punch to the championship title was almost successful, but Seedy Jatta put a header on the underside of the crossbar. Moments later, Jaros defused a long-range shot from Valon Berisha.
It remained 2:2. Sturm’s hopes for the fourth championship title in the club’s history live on. The lead over Salzburg is now two points. In a home win against Klagenfurt on Whitsunday, Sturm would secure the plate in front of their own crowd.