After three wins in a row, Salzburg wants to send a message to Graz at the start of the championship group. “It is important in the long term to give every game the necessary attention, to approach every game with great concentration and not to look ahead to the championship title. At the same time you have to develop fun and a flow. Then in the end it will go our way.”
Struber is aware of the lightness of being in Hartberg. “Hartberg can go into the championship group without any pressure and play freely,” said the 47-year-old before his 30th competitive game as Salzburg coach. But there is also danger in play. “They had a clear game idea that they implemented convincingly. Everyone knows how to solve their tasks. But we also know how we have to act against such a strong, position-based team. It’s about nipping their work in the bud.”
GEPA/David Geieregger Gerhard Struber has focused on his first league title with Salzburg
Defense as Salzburg’s trump card
In any case, his team carried out their defensive work with great care over the course of this season. Only twelve goals conceded after 22 rounds are a record for the league team. “For us, this is a very important circumstance and gives us hope for the upcoming games. We use a lot of our mentality, especially against the ball, and implement it very well. In this respect, the team is doing a lot of things right and is performing at a very high level.”
Schedule and table
23rd round, master group
Sunday, 5 p.m
Salzburg – Hartberg
Wals-Siezenheim, Red Bull Arena, SR Lechner
Possible lineups:
Salzburg: Schlager – Dedic, Solet, Pavlovic, Guindo – Gourna-Douath – Bidstrup, Gloukh, Kjaergaard – Ratkov, Fernando
Hartberg: Sallinger – Heil, Compost, Bowat, Pfeifer – Diakite – Providence, Sangare, Avdijaj, Prokop – Entrup
While the opponent is complete in terms of personnel, Struber still has to dictate some of his players. Compared to the recent 1-0 win at LASK, there is only one change. Left-back Aleksa Terzic has been suffering from muscle problems since the trip to Linz, and since veteran Andreas Ulmer is not expected to return until after the international break, Daouda Guindo will probably fill the position.
Hartberg is not satisfied
Hartberg wants to take the good atmosphere with him into the championship group, but is far from being satisfied with what has been achieved. In fifth place, the East Styrians are level on points with third-placed LASK, so a European Cup starting place is realistic. Hartberg only played an EC qualifying game once, in the 2020/21 season, but was defeated by Polish representative Piast Gliwice. “Our goal is to win an international place,” said captain Jürgen Heil.
Coach Markus Schopp not only relied on the favorite’s mental high, but also the playful strengths with which the “Bulls” have been able to trouble themselves over the course of the season. Nothing significant emerged from the three games, but in the Cup round of 16 they only had to give up in the penalty shootout. “We have always sold ourselves quite dearly in previous games.”
Reaching the master group is both a reward and a task. “You have to confirm that against Salzburg and send a signal that you are not only there against a team like that, but can also achieve a good result.” It would of course be a rare moment. In the 14 meetings between the two teams so far, Salzburg have won 13 times with a draw.
