Amstetten's Deinhofer

Leading man instead of “wonder footballer”

Always gives 100 percent: Lukas Deinhofer (center)(Bild: GEPA pictures/ Manuel Binder)

Since the return of captain Lukas Deinhofer, a different wind has been blowing at second division bottom team Amstetten. The 29-year-old is leading the way for the Mostviertel side and is far from done with the issue of staying up. On Friday, SKU hope to end their home slump against Admira...

The figures also confirm that Amstetten's homecomer and captain Lukas Deinhofer has had a positive influence on his team. With "Deini" there have already been two wins in the 2nd division this spring. Or to be more precise: two more points than in the entire autumn season. The right-back even had to miss the 1-0 draw against Leoben due to suspension. "I'm not a miracle footballer, but I'm someone who gets the team going," says Deinhofer, who played for regional league side Euratsfeld in the fall and quickly found his feet in professional soccer. "At the beginning I lacked a bit of sprightliness, but now I'm back in full swing.
"Hugely important in our situation"
This was most recently evident in the 2:0 win over Stripfing. "Wins like that are hugely important in our situation. You then go into the next game with a completely different level of confidence," said the 29-year-old, looking ahead to Friday's home clash against Admira.

Amstetten captain Lukas Deinhofer (left)(Bild: GEPA pictures/ Edgar Eisner)

Exciting: The bottom team is still waiting for its first league treble at the Ertl Glas Stadion. "We owe our fans something, we have to be consistent in our style of play." To achieve the seemingly impossible in the end? "Of course we believe in staying in the league, but we're not focusing on that at the moment."

SKU coach Patrick Enengl(Bild: GEPA pictures/ Oliver Lerch)

 Like Horn coach Philipp Riederer, his coach Patrick Enengl was given the green light for the UEFA Pro License course. Enengl: "I'm really pleased. But now the focus is only on Admira."

"Not a good meadow"
Speaking of Horn: The Waldviertel side are aiming for their third win in a row against struggling Stripfing on Friday. "It's not going to be a good meadow! Stripfing got off to an unfortunate start, but still have a lot of quality in their squad," warns Riederer.