Sturm Graz, Austria and LASK get an easy start to the cup season

Rasmus Hoglund (4′, 32′) and Manpreet Sarkaria (45′, 62′) both scored for Storm, while David Avengruber (16′) and Luca Kronberger (90′) also scored. For Rothes, this was the biggest match in the club’s history, and it turned into a folk festival. Højlund’s quick helplessness didn’t bother him too much, the young Dane also featured as an assistant. The hosts defended themselves aggressively within their means and didn’t break a bad number.

“It was a confident performance, but a compliment to our opponents,” Sturm coach Christian Elzer summed up. “We were very influential in the first half. That allowed us to switch. The opponent made it difficult for us to score more goals.” Captain Stefan Herländer was satisfied: “It was a difficult match that I expected. We performed attractively well. The Vorarlburger team kept pace for 90 minutes.”

On the Austrian side, Manfred Fischer (10, 25 / penalty kick, 56, 74) and Aleksandar Djokic (11, 51, 55 / penalty kick) fought a special duel over who could leave the field as the most successful scorer. Austria took the lead by Fischer after a Gruber cross, fouling Wales goalkeeper Rene Engel – and then it happened in quick succession. Especially in the second half, the match took on the character of a training match. “We wanted to see from the start that we could dominate the game relatively early,” Fischer said. However, the goal revealed by Styria, a double-digit win, was not reached.

Meanwhile, Miroslav Klose celebrated his successful coaching debut in professional football with the SCR Altach. The Vorarlbergers won 3-1 in the eastern division club TWL Elektra, and soon-to-be veteran Atdhe Nuhiu cleared things up with a double (5, 19). After Ognjen Sipka’s goal meanwhile (40), Salzburg loaned Amankwah Forson (74) made the decision. LASK beat Schoyas 9-1 after Christian Auer put the outside side ahead after a minute. But Marin Ljubicic (44, 54, 56) with three, Thomas Guijinger (65, 77), Keito Nakamura (17), Filip Stojkovic (24), Branko Jovic (80) and Alexander Schmidt (90) within Linz’s victory.

Reed, who reached the Cup final last season, won 4-0 at Vienna’s Stadlau, with Christoph München scoring twice. However, the opponent had to act out of proportion for nearly 80 minutes after the red card. Austria Lustenau trailed 1–0 to FC Marshfield Donauen after a goal by Mark Ortner in the 12th minute, before Pius Graber equalized for the Bundesliga promotion team in the 47th minute. Stefano Sordanovic (53rd place) and Anthony Schmid (65th) paved the way for a 3-0 win. 2. On Friday, Bundesliga clubs Salzburg (the defending champions), Rapid, Austria Klagenfurt, Hartberg and WSG Tirol already advanced.

Blau-Weiß Linz, one of the promotion favorites in the second division, has warmed up for the new season with a 10-1 (4-0) victory over VfB Hohenems. Promoted to the second division, Vienna had to endure a bitter first-round defeat to eastern tier side ASV Siegendorf with 3:4 on penalties. Before that, the Vienna team conceded a 2: 2 equalizer through Armin Bester in the 121st minute. Next Friday there will be a direct duel between Vienna and Linz at the start of the second division.