Draw in St. Johann

Austria Salzburg’s lead narrows

No win: Austria Salzburg play to a draw in St. Johann.(Bild: Andreas Tröster)

After a draw at St. Johann, Austria Salzburg still have a four-point lead over Hohenems in the Westliga. Pinzgau returned to winning ways in the league against Wals-Grünau after their cup victory during the week.

Austria Salzburg's lead in the Westliga is shrinking again. The Violets struggled for a long time at St. Johann as they trailed from the 9th minute onwards. Philipp Illmer had put the home side ahead after an unnecessary trip by Austria goalkeeper Manuel Kalman. It took almost an hour for the league leaders to open the scoring. Midfielder Rene Zia (63) secured the point for the visitors after Sorda's free-kick.

A point that the Pongau side can live with much better. "We're very pleased, the team defended really well," said a happy coach Ernst Lottermoser. The only downer: central defender Kadir Özkan had to be substituted in the 94th minute with a knee injury. "Unfortunately, that doesn't look good," sighed the coach, according to whom three points are still needed to save the team from relegation.

Austria coach Christian Schaider, meanwhile, was disillusioned: "We didn't play well in the first half, we just weren't good enough." Thanks to the victory of first-placed Hohenems at second division contenders Imst (3-2), Austria still have a four-point lead with four rounds remaining. In order to qualify for the second division in sporting terms (the decision of the arbitration court will be made on Friday), the Violets need one more win to secure their place in the top two.

FC Pinzgau also celebrated a narrow victory in the regional cup on Wednesday. In the Salzburg derby against Wals-Grünau, Lukas Moosmann (53) scored the only goal of the game. It was Saalfelden's first three-pointer since four league games without a win on April 13. "In the defeat against Bischofshofen we knew that we weren't good enough, before that the squad was thin. There's not much space between third and ninth place, so it's good that we're now third and might even be able to attack second place," said a delighted Pinzgau coach Johannes Schützinger.