The 3,000 spectators in Klagenfurt’s Wörthersee Stadium were in a celebratory mood long before the final whistle. The home side, pushing up from the second division, played too sovereign and superior. And in the end, the completely unsettled guests acted too harmlessly. In the coming season, Carinthia is likely to have two clubs in the top division in addition to the WAC and more than a decade after the Klagenfurt predecessor club Austria Kärnten.
Pacult tried to keep the tension high before the second leg on Saturday (5 p.m.). “As always in football, there is a second half with things like this,” warned the coach. “But it looks very good.” The 61-year-old referred to the opponent’s negative run, which had actually been going on since October. “Of course you can see that on the field.” The overall praise for his team was easy for the last Rapid master coach. “You can only take off your hat to how she managed this game.”
Klagenfurt clears St. Pölten in the first leg
The Carinthians don’t give the “wolves” from St. Pölten a chance.
The Lower Austrians were only passengers except for the initial phase. For Daniel Schütz, the idea was simply not ripe for the Bundesliga. “The embarrassment of the performance cannot be surpassed, we don’t need to gloss over it,” said the midfielder. “Like when we play against a Bundesliga team as second division followers. It’s a scandal, everyone has to question themselves. “
Baumgartner in the criticism
Coach Gerald Baumgartner was also criticized for his lineup after the game. The Salzburg man spoke of a forced reorganization in the defense and merely said: “It was difficult in all respects.” In any case, he avoided hitting his team publicly. “It’s a very disappointing result.”
Baumgartner was introduced as a “firefighter” just under a month ago. Four defeats and a draw later, he seemed at a loss. St. Pölten has only won one game since December, on Saturday a runaway victory is necessary to keep the class by relegation, as in 2018 against Wiener Neustadt. “We still have a minimal chance, but for that we have to score an early goal if we have to catch a day like this time in Klagenfurt,” said Baumgartner.
Klagenfurt has long since smelled a fuse. “We put on an outstanding performance, we couldn’t have dreamed of better. But we haven’t achieved anything yet, ”said Fabian Miesenböck, who made it 1-0. Double goal scorer Markus Pink added verbally. “4-0 is the starting position that we only wanted to achieve. That we succeeded is all the nicer. We have to confirm that on Saturday and then we’ll see where we stand, ”said the striker.
