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Ilzer: “We’re missing two important players in the Cup”

Sturm coach Christian Ilzer(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Read what the coach and players had to say after Red Bull Salzburg's 1-0 win over Sturm Graz here.

Christian Ilzer (Sturm coach): "I'm proud of how my team performed against a top team. We were dominant and clearly better, especially in the first half, but admittedly lacked the final punch. But we put up a great fight against Salzburg. We're not 15 points behind Salzburg, you have to see that we manage to be there this year as well. We won't give up in the league, even if it was a landmark win for Salzburg. The red cards are extremely bitter and hard. I have sympathy for my players, we are now missing two very important players in the cup (Gorenc Stankovic and Lavalee, please note)."

David Affengruber (Sturm defender): "Unfortunately we lost, but we proved that we can keep up with Salzburg. But we didn't create enough chances to score, we have to defend the goal we conceded better. There are still enough points up for grabs. We will do everything we can to stay in contention."

Gerhard Struber (Salzburg coach): "We had to invest a lot today and worked hard to get into the game. It was what we expected, a real fight, a top match that we deserved to turn in our favor. It's pleasing that we caused problems for a strong forward team away from home and were able to control the game very well. The points are worth a lot, but we have tough tasks ahead of us. We have to play every game cleanly and seriously and mustn't be lulled into a sense of security by our lead. That's always a danger in soccer."

Mads Bidstrup (Salzburg goalscorer): "The second goal in a row, on top of that in this important game, I'm happy for myself, for the team and for the fans. The points are very important, but we still have eight games left."