30 minutes of numerical superiority was not enough for a win. After the 2:0 Rapids over Tyrol, the Innviertlers fell back from the championship group places in seventh place. Now there is only one option to make it safely into the championship group – and that is a home win against the currently strong SK Sturm Graz.
“It’s a shame, it’s not a day to celebrate. The pitch wasn’t in good condition, Klagenfurt put itself extremely behind. We didn’t finish it properly,” said Ried’s goalscorer Stefan Nutz after the game. With the draw, the Klagenfurt stay ahead of the Innviertler and thus continue to have the better cards. These are Ried’s scenarios:
Ried wins against Sturm: With 31 points, the Innviertler are firmly in the champions group – no matter how the competition plays.
Ried draws: With a draw, a lot has to go for Ried. First Rapid would have to lose the home game against Klagenfurt. After all: Even the Klagenfurt are not through – and have to give everything. In addition, LASK can also get a maximum of four points from the games against Salzburg and Wolfsberg. If the black and white team wins two games, Ried would also be gone with a draw.
Ried loses against Sturm: Then the train left even with a Rapid defeat due to the direct duel.
Klagenfurt protests
Who knows what would have happened if Klagenfurt’s impulsive coach Peter Pacult had been there: He was absent yesterday due to illness after having lost his voice on Wednesday. The Carinthian protests were all the louder after the justifiable exclusion of Klagenfurt’s Dario Pecirep after an hour. Sports director Mathias Imhof: “The referee gave yellow, it was not such a clear wrong decision to turn it around,” said the man from Klagenfurt. Ried coach Robert Ibertsberger: “I don’t know if the red card was so good for us. We played really well and Klagenfurt withdrew completely afterwards.”
Source: Nachrichten
