Sturm is at the top of the table with eight points because the competition is only in action on Sunday. After four rounds, Altach holds just as many points. Graz is no longer worth a trip for the Vorarlbergers, the 20th guest appearance was the 16th defeat.
In the storm, Höjlund was a little surprising in the starting line-up. The Dane’s use was uncertain after a muscle hardening in his thigh. With Stefan Hierländer, another shaky candidate led Graz onto the field. Coach Christian Ilzer forced an eleven in the rhythm of the game. Altach coach Miroslav Klose replaced the young attacking midfield trio behind striker Atdhe Nuhiu due to apparently poor training performance as a result of the 3-2 win against Vienna Austria.
Höjlund scores after a Casali mistake
Altach goalie Tino Casali broke through the confused initial phase with a fatal bad pass. Alexander Prass intercepted the ball, Höjlund was there in the center and scored his third goal of the season with a slide (15′). On the other side, Stefan Haudum was surprised by the chance to equalize (25′). Sturm’s Tomi Horvat had extended a cross in front of Haudum’s feet, but Haudum “shaved” the ball.
Altach managed to shift the game to the Graz half. Sturm lurked for counterattack chances, limited himself to the bare essentials – and was lucky after a few half-chances in the 37th minute: After a Nuhiu header, the ball wriggled in the net. Referee Gerhard Grobelnik had already rated an aerial duel between Lukas Gugganig and David Affengruber as a foul and deprived the video referee of the possible intervention.
The favorite could have comfortably led to the break. But Höjlund failed with a casual chip on Casali. The 19-year-old young star, who started on the edge of offside in the center line, then trotted into the dressing room in disbelief.
Decision for storm in majority
Grazer pushed the pace again after the change of sides. Horvat (52./shot) and Gorenc-Stankovic (53./header) shots were central. Klose reacted and, in Alexis Tibidi and Jan Jurcec, brought in two players that were expected in the starting line-up. Altach suddenly became more dangerous, Nuhiu headed a cross from Manuel Thurnwald over the crossbar.
A counterattack by Graz brought Reiter a rare yellow-red card (67th). Grobelnik punished two offenses in one attack. Five minutes later, Emegha raised on their home debut. The Dutch U19 team striker, who came on shortly after being sent off, decided against the pass to Höjlund and beat Casali with a shot into the near corner (72′). Altach complained that the goal scorer had played a foul, but the goal remained the same.
The matter then became even clearer: 17-year-old Wels scored his first Bundesliga goal from a tight angle (78th). The youngster had come on for Hierländer seconds earlier and scored with the captain’s armband to be handed over. Emegha pushed a Ljubic cross from close range over the line for a brace (89′).
Comments on the game:
Christian Ilzer (Sturm coach): “In the end, the result was very, very clear – but it wasn’t the game at all. The result was the very best today, but: After 120 European Cup minutes on Tuesday, I’d love to go 4-0 up. Of course we have to talk about the how. It was important for me to have a well-established team. But then we didn’t think so quickly, didn’t recognize situations so quickly. We have been lucky in certain situations. But you have to be there at certain moments.”
Miroslav Klose (Altach coach): “It felt like it wasn’t a 4-0 defeat, but maybe more like a 1-0, 2-0. I just paid the team a compliment. These are not the teams we can compete with. We can take points with us here, and that’s what we want when we travel here. But they are a good team, even if they played on Tuesday. If we don’t get the first goal so early because we make another mistake of our own, then things look different.”
Admiral Bundesliga, fourth round
Saturday:
Sturm Graz – Altach 4: 0 (1: 0)
Graz, Merkur Arena, 8.617, SR Grobelnik
Torfolge:
1:0 Höjlund (15.)
2:0 Open (72.)
3: 0 Catfish (78th)
4:0 Open (89.)
Sturm: Siebenhandl – Gazibegovic, Wüthrich, Affengruber, Schnegg – Hierländer (77th/Wels), Gorenc-Stankovic (69th/Ljubic), T. Horvat (86th/Oroz), Prass – Sarkaria (68th/Emegha), Höjlund ( 86./Long)
Altach: Casali – Thurnwald (83./Bukta), L. Gugganig (73./Forson), Zwischenbrugger, Edokpolor – Jäger, Haudum (83./Aigner) – rider, Tartarotti (56./Tibidi), Schreiner (56./Jurcec ) – Nuhiu
Yellow-red card: rider (67th)
Yellow cards: Gorenc-Stankovic, Affengruber, Gazibegovic or Haudum, Jäger, Zwischenbrugger, Nuhiu
The best: Prass, Hierländer, Emegha or Thurnwald, Edokpolor, Tibidi
