2024-05-13 04:05:32
Red Bull Salzburg’s small chance of winning the football championship title is alive. With a 5-1 win in Hartberg and thanks to the support in Linz, the gap to Sturm Graz has shrunk to two points. On Sunday Salzburg has a “final at home” against third-place LASK. Sturm holds all the trump cards in the long-distance duel, but Luka Sucic emphasized on behalf of the team: “We believed in it before the game, now we believe in it even more.”
It’s a late rebellion from the old master. In the penultimate round, the “Bulls” overran TSV Hartberg for the third and final time this season with 5:1 (the fourth duel of the season ended with a 3:2 win). In the previous three Bundesliga games, the team had suffered defeats against Austria Klagenfurt and Rapid and a draw against Sturm. In view of these collapses, keeping the series going – all ten titles since 2013/14 went to Salzburg – was only a theoretical matter for many people.
But when it came to the poisonous Hartbergers, the team reared up and surprised many observers. Salzburg showed passion and self-confidence and presented themselves in front of the opponent’s goal almost as before with somnambulistic security. Karim Konaté scored three goals, but there could have been more. “At the moment I’m just feeling lucky because I saw a real team on the pitch today. A team that marches properly, that isn’t above taking the last meter to defend everything away. We don’t always have that seen,” admitted coach Onur Cinel in the Sky interview.
“Today you saw who Salzburg are,” said defender Samson Baidoo. “I would say the team was on their own and wanted to show that they can do better,” said sports director Bernhard Seonbuchner. In any case, the rumor that there was a strong group formation and animosity in the squad was not given any new breeding ground on Sunday. The losses of goalkeeper Alexander Schlager and Mads Bidstrup, two real pillars, were also well compensated for on the pitch.
The plan was to ignore what was happening around Sturm Graz and just do your own job. It was important “that we play our game, that we get the game on our side,” said Seonbuchner. Because the necessary luck in the result also came along, the showdown against the in-form LASK awaits, while Sturm plays at home against Austria Klagenfurt. “Sturm Graz has more pressure,” said midfielder Sucic. “We have nothing to lose. We are definitely second, we can still jump to first place,” said Seonbuchner.
For Cinel it is clear that Sturm holds the cards. Graz will be through with a win, but a draw might not be enough for them. Only three points help Salzburg – and goals from Klagenfurt. “Now there is another matchday, and the team that deserves it most after the last matchday is at the top,” said the German, who took over from Gerhard Struber in mid-April. His recipe? “We have to play our game, we have to perform as a team like we did today in order to maintain a certain chance.”
1715576870
#Energy #performance #Hartberg #strengthens #Salzburgs #faith