Two worlds

Silent St. Johann coach and courageous Grünauer

Petrit Nika (left) scored twice on Saturday.(Bild: Andreas Tröster)

Wals-Grünau made a very strong start to the spring season in the Westliga with two victories. New coach Christoph Knaus was particularly pleased with the performance at Rankweil. The situation is completely different in St. Johann. After two defeats, memories of the fall come flooding back. Nerves are probably already on edge.

No stone was left unturned in Grünau during the winter. They lost several key players and coach Josef Bauer. In his place, the Walser team have opted for former U16 coach Christoph Knaus. And this bold decision paid off. They started with a 2:1 win against Röthis and then won 2:0 at Rankweil at the weekend. "A controlled performance, we dominated for 90 minutes," said the coach happily, with Petrit Nika the match-winner. "He was a bit doubtful recently. That's why I'm all the happier for him," explained Knaus, who doesn't have to worry about relegation. However, Patrick Scheibenhofer was substituted with a suspected cruciate ligament rupture.

Meanwhile, St. Johann's hat is on fire after two defeats. "That's bitter. We had completely different plans," sighed goalkeeper Dominik Waltl, who made four saves against Silz/Mötz. Nerves must be on edge for the Pongau team, as coach Ernst Lottermoser was unavailable when asked by Krone. His successor has not yet been found, Hallein's Christoph Lessacher canceled yesterday.