Sturm botched Salzburg’s dress rehearsal for the cup final on Sunday. In a duel between two completely transformed teams, the Styrians got the upper hand for the first time this season. Lukas Jäger (14′) and Jakob Jantscher (72′) scored for Sturm, Benjamin Sesko equalized four days before Salzburg’s big double chance (22′).
With the surprising victory, Sturm took the final step to second place, which was already certain three laps before the end after Rapid’s 2-2 win over Klagenfurt. The reward is getting into the Champions League qualification. The guests from Salzburg had already ticked off their first goal on Sunday – and this time subordinated everything to the last remaining one on May 1st. The second defeat of the season in the league was the result.
Rapid could not celebrate a win before the Vienna football derby. The point after the 2-2 win against Austria Klagenfurt felt like a win, however, as they equalized twice in front of 13,400 spectators.
After a largely disappointing performance, especially by the hosts coached by Thomas Hickersberger and Matthias Urlesberger, the game really picked up momentum towards the end. Florian Jaritz (70′) and Turgay Gemicibasi (84’/penalty) made two goals for Klagenfurt, but Ferdy Druijf saved his team from defeat with a brace (78′, 88′). The second goal was a man down because goalie Niklas Hedl caused the penalty after an unnecessary hand slap against Schumacher and was ruled out.
The visit by Greil rightly did not count because of an offside position (64th). Jaritz’s shot fitted into the short corner after a Moreira ideal hole pass, with Klagenfurt’s offensive player being lucky that the ball was slightly deflected by Emanuel Aiwu. Jaritz immediately missed the chance to double (75′). So Rapid stayed in the game and equalized. Druijf only had to get the ball over the line after “Joker” Bernhard Zimmermann had put it in from two meters.
In the fight for the European Cup places, the WAC and Austria Vienna parted 1:1 (0:0). After the parallel game between Rapid and Austria Klagenfurt ended in a draw, everything in the table remains unchanged. The first success of the day for Austria was about an hour and a half before kick-off, after the Viennese had received the license for the coming season. The guests had more of the game in the first half, but the opening goal only came after the break through Aleksandar Jukic (51st). The WAC managed to equalize (64th) through “Joker” Dario Vizinger in a game that mainly lived from the tension in the fight for the European Cup.
WSG Tirol had already defeated LASK 4-0 on Tuesday. With the same result, TSV Hartberg prevailed against bottom Altach. Ried and Admira separated 1:1. The Bundesliga will not continue until the weekend after next, because the cup final between Salzburg and Ried will take place on Sunday.