The ÖFB selection lost 1-0 to Scotland after extra time in the opening round of the European play-offs in Glasgow’s venerable Hampden Park on Thursday. This means that the ÖFB dream of participating in a world championship for the first time has burst early. The Scots, on the other hand, will meet Ireland again in the second round in front of their home crowd on Tuesday.
Abigail Harrison (92nd), a substitute who works for Bristol City in the second English division, made the decision in front of a new Scottish women’s record crowd of 10,182 spectators in the Scottish national stadium. The Austrians never really came close to the level of performance they showed at the European Championships in England on their way to the quarter-finals. Thus, the fourth duel with the Scots also ended in defeat. And that after a game with few chances for both sides.
Heavy rain and sometimes strong winds, the weather in Glasgow was almost the same on the day of the match as it had been since the ÖFB team kickers arrived in Scotland on Monday. The hosts felt visibly more comfortable, played the game before the break and convinced with a very safe ball performance. The only drawback was that they didn’t try to finish in the decisive zone. As a result, a rescue by ÖFB goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger in a duel with striker Martha Thomas (14th) was the only one for the time being.
The ÖFB squad, which started in a 4-1-4 formation, tried above all not to concede a goal and were very secure on the defensive. There was little going forward, only twice when there was a shot was there at least something in the air. Nicole Billa shot the goal net with her left (24′), Julia Hickelsberger-Füller’s ball hit the top of the bar after Zadrazil’s preliminary work (43′).
After the restart, the conditions were better without rain and the Fuhrmann-Elf acted much more courageously and thus had more shares in the game. A long-range Hanshaw shot went wide (68′). However, the longer the game lasted, the more balanced things became. Both teams were looking for the decision. On the Austrian side, a shot by Katja Wienerroither, who had just come on as a substitute, was too weak (85′), another shot from just outside the box went wide (87′). That should pay off.
In the finish, the Scots were closer to scoring the winning goal, and for the first time the crowd was really a factor, causing quite a stir. That didn’t change in extra time either, as it started off to the liking of the supporters. Harisson headed a Cuthbert corner into the net. The offensive player almost managed a double strike, but ÖFB captain Carina Wenninger was able to direct a header into the corner (99th).
The equalizer was only vaguely in the air, a haze shot didn’t find its way into the goal (101′). With that, the Austrians left the pitch in front of the eyes of the ÖFB leadership around President Gerhard Milletich with hanging heads, after they had celebrated the previous evening with their team boss Irene Fuhrmann in the team quarters in Glasgow on the occasion of the election for the trainer personality of the year.
The hoped-for “really cool showdown” with Ireland on Tuesday in the NV Arena in St. Pölten will not come to anything. Scotland, number 23 in the world, ranked slightly worse than Austria (20th), can continue to dream of participating in the World Cup for the second time after 2019.
Source: Nachrichten
