Vienna Austria returns to the title race with a 2:1 victory against Sturm Graz

With the well-deserved 2:1 home victory of Vienna Austria over Sturm Graz, there are only six points between the top four teams in the championship group before the second half of the season. The Violets, who are now back in second place, reduced the gap to league leader Sturm to three points. Besides this fact, the performance of the team from Favoriten raised great expectations.

Vienna Austria against Sturm Graz with "best game of the season"

"That was close to the maximum performance," said Manfred Fischer. And that in a pressure situation, because with a defeat, all realistic hopes for the first championship title since 2013 would have been dashed. "We were with our backs against the wall, you could feel that the wind was getting stronger again, but the team didn't let itself be deterred," explained the captain. Maurice Malone was also relieved. He spoke of the "best game of the season" and a "really awesome fight," but emphasized something else: "It was important to give a response to the last few weeks, where we were criticized a bit."

Compared to the recent defeats in the derby (0:2) and on Sunday against Salzburg (1:3), a different energy was noticeable on the side of Austria in front of more than 14,500 fans in the Generali Arena. "I can't remember when we were so stable in attacking and defending. The guys were really fired up, very present in the duels from the start. We hardly gave Sturm any breathing room and were ice-cold in front of the goal," summarized Fischer. The spark quickly jumped to the audience. "The atmosphere was insane," said Malone. And coach Stephan Helm added: "It was electrifying."

He experienced a very pleasant working day on the sidelines. "The team played a huge game. Everyone knows what they have to do, the distances and processes are right. We were very clear in all phases of the game," analyzed Helm. He had already said after the Salzburg game, despite the four winless competitive games in a row, that they were on the right track. "The idea we have is visible on the pitch, even if the results were not so visible recently," said Helm.

Vienna Austria's Sturm duo with "huge added value for the overall construct"

"Trust the process" is his credo. "Things that we didn't do so precisely three days ago, we did a bit better. That gives us even more confidence for the future." It is also pleasing that Malone (40th) scored again as he did against the "Bulls" and his strike partner Nik Prelec (61st) scored for the first time since February 7th. "The two of them add tremendous value to our overall structure, it's incredible what they achieve up front. It doesn't matter who scores the goals," explained Austria's coach.

The Viennese also managed to remain unbeaten in the fourth competitive season duel with Sturm. Helm did not want to call the Graz team their favorite opponent. "They were always games at a really good level," emphasized the Burgenlander. On Sunday (5:00 PM), the next match follows with changed home rights at the Merkur Arena. "We must not forget, in three days we play against them again and the world can look completely different. That's why we keep a low profile," said Fischer.

Direct Duel for the League Lead Awaits Wiener Austria

This was also emphasized by veteran Aleksandar Dragovic, who said: "You shouldn't praise too much, only at the end of the season." The fact is that the Viennese have worked themselves into a position to take the league lead on Sunday with three points on their own. "The crucial thing is to establish yourself at these heights. To get used to it," said Helm. Prelec believes his team can achieve "everything" in the season's finish. "We just have to believe in it and keep going. We have shown that we can win against anyone."

Sturm (33) is still in pole position but also has to deal with Salzburg (29) and WAC (27) as competitors. "I believe it will remain tight and exciting until the end, we are not above things," said Sturm coach Jürgen Säumel. They lost in a "balanced" game against a "very cool, compact" Austria. "My team can do better, but not everything was bad," judged the 40-year-old.

"Move on and draw the right conclusions for Sunday," he gave as a motto. The Graz team can rely on fan support. "Today was not our day, now we have to look to take revenge in the next game," said striker William Böving. The table is ignored. "We focus on the games, after the last game we will see how the table looks."

(APA/Red)

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