Veilchen lose 1-2 to Hartberg

Mandi Fischer and Co. suffered a 1-2 defeat to Hartberg in their alternative stadium. After two mistakes by the Violets, Vincze (14') and then Havel (16') scored for Schmid's team. After the break, the visitors settled in the opposition's half, with Wiesinger scoring the consolation goal from a corner (74'). Austria's final offensive went unrewarded.

In round 12 of the ADMIRAL Bundesliga, the Violets faced TSV Hartberg on Saturday afternoon. For the East Styrians, it was their fourth and final game at the Südstadt alternative stadium. Manfred Schmid's team had only managed to secure one point from their previous three "away" home games. Their last full success dated back to 14 September (2-0 against Ried). The Violets were looking for revenge against the Turn- und Sportverein after their 1-3 home defeat in August.  

Double blunder

For Austria, it was a nice return to the venerable Admira Stadium in terms of the setting. The away section had been sold out for days and was certainly not to blame for the Violets' poor start. After Sarkaria had narrowly missed the goal right at the start (8th minute), Hartberg took a lucky lead after a blunder by Şahin-Radlinger: After a corner, the purple goalkeeper punched the ball to his own teammate, Vincze was the quickest to react in the melee and thanked him by putting his team ahead (14'). Almost immediately afterwards, it was 0-2 from the Violets' point of view: after a long kick, Dragović was poorly positioned, Havel was allowed to pass and he coolly slotted the ball under the bar (16').

Hartberg digs in, Helm reacts

The shock for the visitors was short-lived. After a pass from Jojo Eggestein, the most prominent purple player in the first half, Ranftl found himself in an ideal shooting position, but the veteran's finish lacked punch (20'). Hartberg then did what Hartberg does, defending closely, allowing hardly anything through at the back and repeatedly finding space through counterattacks, but there were few notable chances for either side before the half-time whistle. The score remained 0-2 after 45 minutes.  

Manager Stephan Helm reacted, bringing on Kang-hee Lee for Manprit Sarkaria. The South Korean took over the number six position, allowing Mandi Fischer to move up a row. The Violets were clearly more active than before the break, establishing themselves in the opposition's half. Guest captain Jürgen Heil threw himself in front of a shot from Tae-Seok-Lee at the last second (52'). With Hartberg sitting extremely deep, it was a set piece that brought the Violets back into the game and gave the numerous travelling fans hope again: Plavotić flicked on a Barry corner and Wiesinger reduced the deficit to 1-2 with a quarter of an hour to go (74').

Final offensive unrewarded

After Şahin-Radlinger had thwarted the Styrians' chances with a brilliant reflex save (80'), the Violets launched their final offensive, but it failed to produce any more compelling chances. For Austria, it was their sixth defeat in twelve games this season, the third in their last four games. While Hartberg are level on points with the Violets, Stephan Helm's team slip to 7th place in the table. Next Saturday, 8 November, GAK will be the visitors to the Generali Arena.

TSV Hartberg – Austria Wien 2-1 (2-0)

Austria: Şahin-Radlinger; Wiesinger, Dragović, Plavotić (84. Raguž); Ranftl, Fischer ©, Barry, Taeseok Lee (78. Guenouche); Sarkaria (46. Kang Hee Lee); Eggestein, Botić (60. Boateng).

Hartberg: Hülsmann; Kovacevic (79. Fillafer), Vincze, Spendlhofer, Wilfinger, Hennig; Heil © (83. Kainz), Prokop (79. Diarra), Markus; Hoffmann, Havel (88. Fridrikas)

Goals: Vincze (14'), Havel (16'); Wiesinger (74')

Yellow cards: Heil; Lee, Dragović

Südstadt, referee Sebastian Gishammer