Women's premier league

“When the anthem sounds, you get goosebumps!”

Brunnthaler (2nd from right) & Co. want to reach the top flight again this season.(Bild: GEPA)

On Wednesday, the women of SKN St. Pölten start the Women's Champions League qualifiers in Georgia. After two consecutive appearances, attacker Melanie Brunnthaler is eager for a hat-trick.

Different countries, different customs. St. Pölten's footballers experienced this first-hand in Georgia. The chauffeur mutated into a racing driver on the four-hour drive from Tbilisi to the team hotel in Tsakulbo. The numerous overtaking maneuvers in the tunnel? You have to like them. "Nobody could sleep then," laughs Melanie Brunnthaler, who starts with the Wolves in the Premier League qualifier against Baku (Aze) on Wednesday.

If they clear that hurdle, the winner of the match between Vllaznia (Alb) and Guria (Geo) awaits in the final of the mini-tournament in Georgia on Saturday. "We don't know much about our opponents, but we're ready," said the SKN, brimming with confidence after three league wins to start. What's more, it doesn't always have to be the big names: "We especially enjoy the many trips. You constantly get to know new cultures and fly to places you would otherwise never get to," says home-grown player Melanie Brunnthaler.

Brunnthaler has recently returned to top form.(Bild: GEPA)

She recently reached the group stage of the Champions League twice in a row with St. Pölten and is now dreaming of a "hat-trick". "We now have to look from game to game," says the attacker. "But of course that's our big goal. When you stand on the pitch and the anthem sounds, you get goosebumps..."