East competition gains the upper hand

The sun is getting lower and lower in western soccer

The western league clubs such as FC Pinzgau had little to laugh about in round one of the ÖFB Cup.(Bild: Andreas Tröster)

Only one amateur team from the west made it through to the 2nd round of the ÖFB Cup. Clubs such as Bischofshofen and FC Pinzgau had no chance at all against the Bundesliga clubs. This is yet another reason for the associations to start thinking about and implementing their plans.

The east-west divide in Austrian amateur soccer has been an issue for years. The qualitative difference was highlighted once again at the weekend. Unlike the rest, the teams from the western leagues were unable to even come close to keeping up with the big teams. FC Pinzgau were beaten 6-0 by Austria Vienna, while Bischofshofen were beaten 11-1 by Hartberg. Only Wals-Grünau put up a brave fight, losing narrowly 2-1 to Austria Lustenau. Incidentally, SVG Reichenau were the only team in the Westliga to make it through to the second round. The Tyroleans prevailed against Austria Salzburg. 

Things look different further east. Neusiedl came close, at least in terms of results, in a 2-0 draw against Rapid. Kremser SC forced defending champions Sturm into extra time, while Carinthian League club Velden only lost to Bundesliga promotion contenders GAK on penalties. Donaufeld even knocked Altach out of the competition with a 2:0 win. 

Moving from reflection to implementation
The fact that "everything fell into place" in these (semi-)sensations is not the whole truth. The average standard in the Central and Eastern regional leagues is simply higher than in the Western League. Yes, also because there is more money there on average. But it can't be down to money alone. The western associations should think about how to become more competitive again. It would be even more important to put this into practice. Otherwise the already low sun will soon set.