Women’s CL: St. Pölten with no chance lost 0-2 at Lyon

The record winner of the “premier class” dominated Austria’s series champions at will on Wednesday evening in the OL Stadium, but only managed a 2-0 home win due to a lack of efficiency. The Lower Austrians held up better than Slavia Prague at 0:9 at the start. The Czechs also lost their second game with a 0-1 win at Brann Bergen.

This means that there is initially a “two-class society” in Group B. Like the French, the Norwegians from Bergen, who started with a 2-1 win in St. Pölten, have six points after two games in their CL debut season. St. Pölten and Slavia are forced to win in a direct duel in the NV Arena on December 13th in order to maintain a realistic chance of a top two place, which brings a quarter-final ticket. Lyon took the lead through Danielle van de Donk (4th), an own goal from Leonarda Balog (47th) ensured the final score. The hosts also won their eleventh competitive game of the season.

St. Pölten’s coach Liese Brancao opted for a five-man chain in which Balog played in the center. The 30-year-old was the only player in the starting line-up compared to the game against Bergen, while Anna Johanning initially only sat on the bench. Even the defender, who had recovered from a knee injury, was unable to prevent a bitter false start. After a little more than three minutes, Selma Bacha, who was outstanding before the break, got ahead of Sarah Mattner-Trembleau on the side and Van de Donk headed her cross in completely unmarked. The coordination in the guests’ defense wasn’t right at all.

After some uncertainty on the part of the French team, the equalizer was in the air a short time later, but Mateja Zver didn’t finish and played to Maria Mikolajova, whose shot was blocked (8th). It was the only notable SKN offensive action in the entire game. The French women let the ball run as they pleased and Bacha did whatever she wanted with her opponents, especially on the left side. However, the finish left a lot to be desired, both Wendie Renard (12th), Kadidiatou Diani (39th, 45th + 2) and Ada Hegerberg (41st, 42nd) failed to put the ball into the goal.

After the restart there was another cold shower without Zver, who was substituted in the 31st minute. Sara Däbritz didn’t hit a pass from Horan correctly, then Hegerberg finished and Balog unfortunately directed the ball into his own goal. A higher defeat also prevented a wrong decision. The strong Carina Schlüter was able to direct a Horan header onto the crossbar and parry Hegerberg’s follow-up shot before the Norwegian chested the ball into the goal. Referee Sandra Bastos decided on handball; there is no VAR in this phase of the competition.

As a result, Balog saved on the line (61′) and Schlüter was able to excel a few times. This means there were only two goals in Lyon’s first appearance of the season at the large stadium, where the men regularly play. As a result, St. Pölten, who suffered their third European defeat in a row, were able to return home with a positive feeling in the end. On Sunday the league hit against SPG SCR Altach/FFC Vorderland awaits in the NV Arena, in which the fall championship title is at stake.