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Europa League: Sturm says goodbye with points

After an early goal by Jakob Jantscher (7th / penalty), Graz could dream of their first victory. Kevin Volland (30th) managed to equalize before the break. Monaco coach Niko Kovac had waived a major rotation in the starting lineup on Sunday despite the upcoming league battle at Leader Paris Saint-Germain. Only after changing sides did the Croat give some of the regulars a break.

After heavy snowfall, the game was still on the brink at lunchtime, but thanks to the active support of the armed forces, the lawn in the Merkur Arena could be cleared in good time.

Jantscher does not hesitate long

The home side didn’t let that slow them down and got off to a brilliant start. Manprit Sarkaria shot Strahinja Pavlovic in the hand in the penalty area, the video referee stepped in and Swedish referee Mohammed Al-Hakim decided on the penalty kick after viewing the TV images. Jantscher used this confidently high in the corner.

GEPA / MJ Paul

Jakob Jantscher took precise measurements of his penalty kick and hammered the ball into the net to make it 1-0 (7th) untenable

Monaco struck back almost immediately, with a Volland header after Golowin corner saved the crossbar (9th). Otherwise, Sturm was inside the game well, had significantly less possession, but more dangerous moments. After a failed Matsima header return, Sarkaria came from the best position to finish, but missed the goal (11th). A degree by Alexander Prass was just blocked by Ruben Aguilar (17th).

Volland on the second attempt

That got its revenge in the 30th minute, and once again it became dangerous after a Golowin corner, one of five corners before the break compared to none of Sturm. The ball came to Volland via detours, which failed first to Jörg Siebenhandl, but defeated the storm goalie in the second attempt. After the restart, the changes made on the part of the guests did not have a negative effect, they had the game under control and pressed on the winning goal, even as the forces dwindled somewhat in the storm.

Eliot Matazo shot over it (49th), Wilson Isidor was stopped by the striker goalie running alone on Siebenhandl (58th) and later put the ball over it (66th). The hosts were offensive until the 92nd minute. Then Kelvin Yeboah appeared alone in front of Radoslaw Majecki, but did not bring his jack on the gate. Nevertheless, in contrast to the 0-1 defeat in the Principality, the Graz team took something countable from the game this time.

Despite the good performance, the current record was only marginally better: of the past eleven competitive games, only one could still be won. The last opportunity to improve that is on Sunday (2.30 p.m.) in the league away game at Austria Klagenfurt.

Voices for the game:

Christian Ilzer (Sturm-Trainer): “It’s nice, we took something countable with us, a fair draw. The first half was ours in terms of chances, Monaco had good opportunities in the second half. With Yeboah’s final chance, we were almost closer to victory. One point against a top team, I’m satisfied, there is special praise for my team. “

“If you want to win against Monaco, you have to take advantage of the top chances at this level, for example when I think of the chances of Sarkaria and Prass in the first half. The goal was annoying, as it was against Eindhoven in Graz and in Sociedad after standard situations, where we weren’t quick enough to act. “

Jakob Jantscher (Sturm scorer): “I think that we played a really good game, especially in the first 20 or 25 minutes, and we took the lead there. In the second half we had the chance to win with a ‘Lucky Punch’ from Yeboah, but I think it was also a conciliatory conclusion. I hope that we will be there again next year and then be able to score more points. “

Niko Kovac (Monaco coach): “I gave all the players time to play, we also changed in time to be fresh for Paris. I’m happy with the result against a good Austrian opponent. The second half was the better, we had more opportunities, we should have scored at least one goal, but Sturm also had a great chance, so the result is fair. Sturm did exceptionally well in the first half, was aggressive with a lot of pressing, we had more space in the second half, but didn’t take advantage of our chances. I am very satisfied with the direction we have taken. “

UEFA Europa League, Group B, sixth matchday

Thursday:

Sturm – AS Monaco 1:1 (1:1)

Graz, Merkur Arena, SR Al-Hakim (SWE)

Goal sequence:
1:0 Jantscher (7./Elfmeter)
1:1 Volland (30.)

Sturm: Siebenhandl – Gazibegovic (81 / Jäger), Affengruber, Wüthrich, Dante – Ljubic (87 / Stückler), Gorenc-Stankovic, Niangbo (73 / P. Huspek), Prass – Sarkaria (82 / Wels), Jantscher 46./Yeboah)

Monaco: Majecki – Aguilar, Matsima, Pavlovic, Caio Henrique (46./Jakobs) – Matazo, Tchouameni (46./Jean Lucas) – Isidor (80./Gelson Martins), Volland, Golowin (57./Diop) – Ben Yedder ( 46./Boadu)

Yellow cards: Prass or Aguilar, Pavlovic, Golowin

The best: Wüthrich, Prass, Sarkaria or Golowin, Volland

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