Grazer Athletiksport Klub 1902 – As the first weather clouds gather in Vienna…

…The sun is still shining over GAK despite a rather lackluster draw against FAC.

The record of 70 points set by Austria Lustenau in the 2021/2022 season will not be broken this year, but at least in any other season they would have already won the championship early at this stage. So, on this White Monday, only the many City FC fans who traveled with us can consider themselves the clear winners thanks to their continued support.

A touch of summer kick

Less than 120 seconds played and the Floridsdorf team scored its first goal of the match from the penalty area. Although the ball rolled comfortably and clearly past the goal, FAC could have exploited it more from the start. As a result, the game itself moves at a moderate pace. Our red jackets sometimes try more, sometimes less, in the middle, while the blue and white at least do not allow themselves to hide behind or be pressured.

In the eighth minute, Maderner got the ball inside the penalty area after a failed attempt to clear the ball from Smarka, and after a quick turning movement, he immediately shot the ball, but he shot it relatively clearly over the goal. After a good 12 minutes, Kuchel was fouled in a promising record position – but Murat Satin's indirect free-kick was of no use. Shortly afterwards, the team received the first yellow card after a tactical foul by Popalović on Maderner, but here too nothing seemed more important than a shot in the dark. It became less exciting a little later when a back pass from Berchtold reached Christoph Niecht, but he remained calm and able to defuse the situation.

Towards the end of the first half, Floridsdorf were shown two more yellow cards, as they targeted Marco Berchtold's attacking attack on two successive occasions. However, the resulting stealth target of GAK has not been fully identified. Shortly before the final whistle, CAF created one last chance through Flavio before referee Oliver Wehl sent both teams to the dressing room with a more precise score than the Swiss Railways at 0-0.

Fresh wind stays away

The second half starts the same way as the first, with Floridsdorfer getting a chance to score. Once again, it is Flavio who unexpectedly appears in the penalty area, but he simply cannot create a free field of fire and fires the ball relatively clear over Graz's goal. Overall, the game is slowly starting to pick up speed, but neither team has a decisive advantage. Above all, GAK's tightly interwoven defence, as in the first half, hardly allows Vienna's players to be truly dangerous.

In the 50th minute, the best opportunity so far in this match in general and for the Royal team in particular. Beserovic passes a cross from the right side to the far corner. Grimps, standing at five, pulls himself up and directs the ball towards the goal. Christoph Niecht is in the right position, but he also shows a strong ability to react and can head the ball high over the crossbar. The next noteworthy action finally returned to the Floridsdorfers XVI. Smarka with a back kick, not towards the goal, but from outside the penalty area, in the spirit of his teammates in the Blue and White team.

The Red Jackets' obligatory double substitution was made, unusually, at around the 70th minute. Head coach Gernot Messner brought on Lichtenberger for Ilushvili and Jagr for Meier. Vienna remains the most active team in the second half. A not particularly dangerous long-range shot is cleared wide shortly afterwards, and the Floridsdorfers only gain more experience from the subsequent corner. Shortly after that, a stray shot on goal from Christophe Nichte. He was back there again, but he could have just as easily let the ball pass instead of choosing the safety option.

The additional double exchange in GAK does not have the desired effect either. Rosenberger replaces Holzacker, and Yastremski replaces Janczyg. The latter even scored a goal, which was also ruled out for offside. Finally, Kevin Prince Milla came on for Daniel Maderner, but he was no longer able to make a significant impact. With the nice weather and great atmosphere in the away sector, the match finally ended 0-0 and GAK's table tally increased to 66 points from 29 rounds.

Martin Morbut