Alexander Prass (20th) scored the decisive goal three days after the cup semi-final triumph over Salzburg, which gave Sturm all chances in the title fight in the championship group with seven rounds to go.Graz. A week after the relief “threesome” against Klagenfurt, LASK was unable to improve despite an increase in performance after the break, once again failed to score and only has one win from the last eight league games. In the table they are eight points behind Sturm, only three away from bottom team Hartberg.
- Also read: LASK fans forced the game to be interrupted
Sturm acted in terms of personnel as in the 4-3 win over Salzburg, only returnee Dimitri Lavalee replaced Jon Gorenc Stankovic, who was suspended for another game, or his cup representative Niklas Geyrhofer as a midfield vacuum cleaner. At LASK, still without talisman Robert Zulj, Andres Andrade came on in defense for the ailing Philipp Ziereis, while coach Thomas Sageder gave Filip Stojkovic and George Bello the chance again in midfield.
Grazers set the tone
The Grazers, loaded with adrenaline, set the tone from the start in front of 14,917 spectators. But initially they made the wrong decisions, like Gregory Wüthrich, who should have finished in a promising position himself (13th). LASK goalie Tobias Lawal prevented the first goal with a foot save against Mika Biereth (18th), a little later the time had come: As a result of a poorly cleared cross, Prass finished with a powerful low shot from 15 meters to make it 1-0.
Then the LASK fans made their big appearance. During their protest against Linz’s away uniforms, countless objects flew onto the pitch, but the five-minute interruption was unable to slow down the flow of the home team’s game for the time being. After Biereth had stolen the ball from the hesitant Andrade, William Böving shot past the far corner alone in front of Lawal (29′).
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Image: GEPA pictures/Hans Oberlaender (GEPA pictures)
Source: Nachrichten
