Veilchen beat Sturm Graz 3–1 in a well-deserved victory

The Veilchen secured their first win in the top flight on Saturday. After two consecutive draws, the Veilchen beat Sturm Graz 3–1 at home, rewarding themselves for a strong first-half performance. The goals were scored by Modesta Uka, Louise Schöffel and Carina Wenninger.

The Violets started the match with great determination. The home side won their first corner as early as the 4th minute, but lost possession during the set-piece. Shortly afterwards, Elisa Pfattner had her first attempt from distance, but her shot went over the bar.

Sturm Graz gradually found their rhythm, but the Violet defence held firm. In the 13th minute, goalkeeper Jasmin Pal was called into action for the first time and made a confident save. Just a minute later, Virginia Kirchberger showed her awareness: she sprinted back, won the ball decisively and then played it safely back to Pal. The Violets’ goalkeeper also dealt with a direct free-kick from the Graz side with ease (21').

Violet double strike before the break

The Violets kept creating dangerous chances in front of goal during this phase. In the 22nd minute, Dominika Škorvánková had a go, Lena Triendl followed up, but stumbled over the Graz goalkeeper, meaning the goal did not materialise. Immediately afterwards, Yvonne Weilharter had a shot on goal following a corner, but sent the ball just wide of the post. Further chances followed: Pfattner shot over from distance, a free-kick awarded for a handball by the Graz side was saved, and Modesta Uka’s follow-up shot also went over the bar. Škorvánková also tested the Sturm goalkeeper once more, but she made a strong save.

In the 34th minute, the deserved lead finally arrived: Louise Schöffel delivered a perfect cross to Uka, who spotted a gap in the Graz defence and slotted the ball home to make it 1-0. Just five minutes later, the Veilchen doubled their lead. This time, Schöffel found the net herself, perfectly converting a precise cross from Triendl to make it 2-0.

A commanding performance

The teams went into the break with this comfortable lead – and things heated up again immediately after the restart. Following a foul on Triendl in the penalty area, captain Carina Wenninger stepped up to take the penalty and confidently converted it to make it 3-0 (47').

After that, the hosts briefly lost their grip on the game. Sturm Graz kept trying to push forward, but clear-cut chances remained few and far between for both sides. A long-range shot from the Graz side in the 56th minute went over the bar.

It wasn’t until the closing stages that the game became more dangerous again. In the 76th minute, Stefanie Schneeberger crossed to Triendl, who, however, put the ball just wide of the goal. Four minutes later, the Veilchen put together a fine attacking move involving Weiss, Weilharter and Pfattner, but Schneeberger’s finish went just over the bar.

In the 88th minute, Sturm Graz managed to pull one back to make it 3-1, but it never really got exciting again. In stoppage time, the Veilchen even had chances to score another goal: first, Triendl drove the ball towards the penalty area, but her attempt was blocked. The last chance of the match fell to Chiara Pucci, who ran through on goal unmarked in the 94th minute and struck a fine shot, but the ball went just wide of the post.

Austria Wien vs. Sturm Graz 3-1 (2-0)

Austria: Pal - Wenninger, Schiechtl, Kirchberger - Schöffel (Schorn 59.), Pfattner, Weiss (86.), Weilharter - Škorvánková (Strode 59.), Uka (Schneeberger 68.), Triendl

Goals: Uka 34., Schöffel 39., Wenninger 47.; Deutsch 88.

Generali Arena, 307 fans, referee Florian Grabner