The favored Lower Austrians defeated runner-up Sturm Graz 2-0 (1-0) in the cup final in Amstetten on Saturday and celebrated their eighth cup win in a row. The goals were scored by Melanie Brunnthaler (43′) and Julia Hickelsberger-Füller (45’+5′).
St. Pölten has now won the Women’s Cup eight times, and the competition had not been decided in the past two years due to the corona pandemic. The series champion already fixed the seventh championship en suite two weeks ago – with a season record of 17 wins in 18 games and a goal difference of 73:1 very confidently. The only goal conceded and the only loss of points was a 1-1 draw with runner-up Sturm. However, the SKN women won the decisive duel with the Styrians for the league title 4:0.
Assault on lost posts
Sturm was also lost in the first women’s cup final in his club’s history. At 28 degrees in the shade in Amstetten, the women from Graz had still stood up to them before the break. Before the eyes of ÖFB team boss Irene Fuhrmann, neither team took any major risks in the early stages. At SKN, team striker Stefanie Enzinger, who came on as a substitute early on after an injury to Amida Hamidovic, made her comeback a month before the start of the European Championship after her torn meniscus in April.
The favorites only scored goals in front of 300 spectators shortly before the break. After a long ball, Hickelsberger-Füller prevailed on the right side and served her strike partner Brunnthaler – 1:0. A few minutes later, Hickelsberger-Füller headed in a cross from her national team colleague Enzinger.
The game was marked by many interruptions and breaks in treatment. Sturm also tried after a change of sides, but there were no clear chances of a goal for a long time. St. Pölten was much closer to the third goal. The SKN women, mentored by Liese Brancao, continue to be undefeated at national level since May 2018. The last cup defeat of the St. Pölten women was almost a decade ago.
Source: Nachrichten
